HOPE, farm team up to distribute produce

Two local organizations are teaming up to tackle food security in Addison County and provide more residents with fresh, locally grown produce. 

For many Vermonters, reliable access to the food they need is not a guarantee. In fact, the nonprofit Hunger Free Vermont reports two in five Vermonters are now experiencing food insecurity. 

On Saturday, March 30, come to Town Hall Theater in Middlebury to see Bess O’Brien’s new documentary “Just Getting By.” This film is a sweeping, and yet intimate look at the lives of Vermonters who are struggling with food and housing insecurity.

The Covid-19 Pandemic pushed food insecurity in Vermont and the nation to levels not seen in decades, well above the peak of 14% in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and recession.

Since January the 4/5 class at Ripton Elementary School has been providing lunches once a month for the homeless people at the Charter House in Middlebury. 

On Saturday, March 25, I had the exciting adventure of a one-minute shopping spree at Greg’s Market.

Bristol’s Have a Heart Food Shelf is teaming up with New Leaf Organics to provide individuals in the 5-town area with more locally grown produce. 

Our neighbors’ challenges can be invisible. Like the folks who show up at Have-a-Heart Food Shelf each month.

A study conducted by the food systems researchers at the University of Vermont earlier this year revealed that food insecurity in the Green Mountain State is 22.9% higher in 2022 than it was in 2019.

Thanks to a grant-funded refrigerator on wheels, HOPE will increasingly be able to bring food to hungry, transportation-challenged people — especially those in the rural fringes of the county who are homebound, frail and elderly.

A new program launched by the Metta Earth project is hoping to establish more connections between food producers and community members experiencing food insecurity. Its recipe for success includes a special ingredient: home cooking.

The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) will soon launch a new food-access program that will allow qualifying low-income residents to order their provisions — and arrange for delivery or pickup — with a few strokes on their computers o … (read more)

The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund recently highlighted the outline of an important plan on how to ensure food security in the Green Mountain State.

This extra help is part of the federal Coronavirus Relief Bill. It will not permanently change a household’s monthly benefit.

The unprecedented COVID-19 response program that provides meal assistance to Vermonters in need while supporting local restaurants, farmers and food producers, has received an extension to continue programming through the end of December