Increased need seen around the state – Urgent Plea for Local Food Donations

Barre – The Vermont Foodbank is urging Vermonters to reach out to their local food shelves and pantries with donations of food, volunteerism and funding.  Over the past few months, several Vermont Foodbank Network Partners have received media coverage about empty food pantry shelves and the need for more donated food. 

 

The Vermont Foodbank, the state’s largest hunger relief charity, serving more than 270 network partners throughout the state, is currently experiencing a similar shortage in food.  The Foodbank’s current inventory is substantially depleted with current food stocks nearly fifty percent below 2006 levels.   “For many of our network partners, when the Foodbank is running low on food, the consequence is felt throughout the charitable food assistance system,” said Doug O’Brien, CEO of the Vermont Foodbank.   A recent independent study identified that sixty-four percent of Vermont food pantries cite the Vermont Foodbank as their most important source of food.    

 

The decreased food inventories at the Foodbank and also at food shelves and pantries around the state are coming at a time of the year when requests for food assistance often spike as seasonal jobs dwindle and increased fuel and utility costs hit low-income families particularly hard.  “We are seeing increased requests for food services all around the state – from Burlington to Brattleboro,” said O’Brien, “a trend that has been continuing for sometime.”  A Vermont Agency of Human Services study reports that the population served by food shelves has increased in 12 of the state’s 14 counties. 

 

“We are urging Vermonters to help our food shelves – and our needy neighbors – at this time by donating their time, money and especially food to local food providers,” said O’Brien.  “We’ve reached out to Senator Leahy and our entire Congressional delegation,” said O’Brien “and I’m pleased to announce that the Farm Bill now winding its way through Congress will increase USDA commodities in Vermont by 80 percent or more this spring, but in the meantime, we have an urgent need for food donations now.”

 

An estimated 14,000 low-income Vermonters will access a food shelf or food pantry this week, according to a recent study conducted by Mathematica Policy Research.  Last year, an estimated 66,000 unduplicated low-income Vermonters had to seek emergency food assistance from local food shelves, pantries, and soup kitchens.  

 The Vermont Foodbank is urging Vermonters to donate food directly to their local meal site and/or food pantry. These organizations are the first to respond to the individuals and families in need of food assistance in towns throughout our state.  Please visit www.vtfoodbank.org to find the location and contact information of the food shelf in your community.  

Please note:  All donations of food and funds are greatly appreciated; however, non-perishable, canned meat, fish and poultry, canned vegetables, canned soups and chili, and peanut butter are especially in high demand.

  

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