Elysia lives in St. Johnsbury and is a community consultant for Vermont Foodbank. She brings her expertise to help improve services and increase access to food for folks in her community.

This month, we're celebrating you and those who've offered the Gift of Support and in so doing have joined us on the journey of creating a food-secure Vermont by sharing part of a recent interview with friend and neighbor Sara.

What do you get when you mix ingenuity, community-mindedness, and wisdom that comes with age? You get Velma, a 79-year-old, quick-witted grandmother who’s been helping people facing hunger in the Northeast Kingdom (NEK) for over four decades.

Nicole is a paraeducator in Vermont. Her wage doesn’t cover living costs and she frequently has to make impossible decisions when it comes to affording groceries, health care, and housing. Thankfully, she’s able to access nourishing food through programs and services you help support.

In July of this year, Vermont was battered by rainstorms and catastrophic flooding. Washouts and landslides severed roads between many rural towns. Despite being closed off, the Foodbank network—that you help support—came together to support neighbors who, in many cases, lost everything.

With help from community partnerships, and help from you, culturally relevant produce is being delivered directly to migrant farmworker households.