About Us

The mission of the Vermont Foodbank is to gather and share quality food and nurture partnerships that will end hunger in Vermont.

A food bank is not a food shelf: A food bank secures large quantities of food and food-related products from commercial suppliers, concerned citizens, and other sources. After the product is examined and sorted, it is then offered to the Foodbank's member agencies in exchange for a low per-pound "shared maintenance fee." Food banks do not give food directly to low income people. There is only one food bank in Vermont – the Vermont Foodbank. A food shelf is a local, non-profit community agency that directly provides bags or boxes of food to low income people in its area for home preparation and consumption. A food shelf may obtain food from the Foodbank, from individual donations in its community, and through wholesale and/or retail purchase.