Because of the pandemic, so many people are facing hunger every single day. As need increased sharply this past year, we were able to support partners across the state providing food in ways that kept people safe and, in some cases, kept people home—thanks to the generosity of friends like you.
Community has always been at the heart of feeding people, but if there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us all, it’s that none of us is an island. We depend on each other. This past year, we felt that truth more than ever as Vermont Foodbank front line workers and out statewide network of food shelves, meal sites, and community partners adapted everything we do so that people in Vermont had access to nourishing food no matter what they are going through.
By working together, older adults and neighbors with vulnerable immune systems were able to receive home deliveries of food. Here is one such story, as told by Feeding Chittenden, a partner who provides home deliveries:
Debbie has moved around a lot in her life. She spent several years homeless in Burlington, sleeping in various shelters and communal living situations. Even when she was homeless herself, Debbie was there for others. She’d listen to people’s problems, and she’d share what little money she had to buy food for others. Debbie especially loves to cook for people, everything from cakes to steak to shepherd’s pie. She explains, “I love to help people. That’s what God put me on this earth for. Not to hurt people. You have to give, give, give, whether they reciprocate or not. It doesn’t matter. You still have to help people, and I’ve done it all my life.”
But now, Debbie can’t get around the way she used to. She was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, and she also lost some mobility due to a car crash and blindness in her right eye. With the pandemic and Debbie’s health conditions, leaving her apartment is riskier than ever.
Debbie says that she wants more than anything to be “independent.” Thanks to community members like you, and Feeding Chittenden’s home deliveries, Debbie can still receive fresh groceries and cook for herself in her own apartment.
Support neighbors during this difficult time, if you can. Give help.
For Bethel Area Food Shelf, a local partnership that redirects fresh groceries to neighbors facing hunger has helped address rising community need. Now, they’re thinking creatively toward long-term food security.
Having been on the receiving end of help himself over the years, Michael, the cook at Mustard Seed in St. Johnsbury is giving back by making sure his neighbors have a nourishing meal and a warm place to chat.
Bob and Barb are Vermont farmers with a passion for growing and sharing one staple, nutrient-dense crop with their community: potatoes. They also partner with Vermont Foodbank to make sure their local potatoes are available to neighbors experiencing hunger.
