As Summer Begins and School Lunches End, One in Four Kids in Vermont Are At Risk of Hunger
By John Sayles, CEO of the Vermont Foodbank
With
schools letting out and summer break beginning, kids throughout the
state are preparing to spend their days playing in the sun, swimming in
lakes, and packing as much fun into the long, sunny days as possible.
But for 33,900 children in Vermont, summer also brings worry about where
their next meal will come from. Nationally, more than 22 million
children receive free or reduced-price meals through the National School
Lunch Program during the school year. But when school is out, their
families must find a way to stretch their budgets to afford those
missing meals.
Hunger deprives kids of more than just food. It limits their ability to
reach their full potential. On empty stomachs, kids don’t have the
energy to focus, learn and grow. At the Vermont Foodbank, we’re
committed to ensuring that kids have access to the food they need year
round, because summer should be fun and enriching for everyone.
In fact, we envision everyone in Vermont having enough food to eat every
day, being healthy, and taking action to end hunger and poverty. That
happens through the Vermont Foodbank’s gleaning program where volunteers
are busy in the farm fields harvesting fruits and vegetables that would
otherwise go to waste, and instead ensuring they make it onto the
plates of Vermonters who could not otherwise afford them. Additionally,
the Vermont Foodbank’s VeggieVanGo program distributes fresh produce to
families with children at many local schools and hospitals during the
summer months and throughout the year.
This work would not be possible without your generous support. So we are
thrilled to have partners like Hunger Mountain Co-op to make sure all
Vermonters have the food they need to thrive.
Last December, the Co-op community (over 9,000 member-owners, 160
employees, and 500+ Vermont vendors) helped raise over 800 pounds of
food and $5,000 for the Vermont Foodbank, along with donating over
$20,000 worth of grocery bags filled with healthy pantry staples to area
schools and local organizations.
This June, the Co-op raised funds to fight hunger at the register. Co-op
shopper chose to “give change” by rounding up their total to the
nearest dollar. That change directly benefited the Vermont Foodbank,
where every $3 equals five meals for our neighbors in need.
Hunger Mountain Co-op is also helping ensure all our neighbors have
access to healthy, quality food by offering a 10% discount to co-op
member-owners currently enrolled in 3SquaresVT, the WIC program, or
receiving supplemental security income (SSI). Anyone interested in
learning more should visit hungermountain.coop or stop by the Co-op’s
customer service desk.
Thank you to our wonderful community members and partner organizations
like the Hunger Mountain Co-op for helping make sure all Vermont
children have the food they need this summer.
With schools letting out and summer break beginning, kids throughout the
state are preparing to spend their days playing in the sun, swimming in
lakes, and packing as much fun into the long, sunny days as possible.
But for 33,900 children in Vermont, summer also brings worry about where
their next meal will come from. Nationally, more than 22 million
children receive free or reduced-price meals through the National School
Lunch Program during the school year. But when school is out, their
families must find a way to stretch their budgets to afford those
missing meals.
Hunger deprives kids of more than just food. It limits their ability to
reach their full potential. On empty stomachs, kids don’t have the
energy to focus, learn and grow. At the Vermont Foodbank, we’re
committed to ensuring that kids have access to the food they need year
round, because summer should be fun and enriching for everyone.
In fact, we envision everyone in Vermont having enough food to eat every
day, being healthy, and taking action to end hunger and poverty. That
happens through the Vermont Foodbank’s gleaning program where volunteers
are busy in the farm fields harvesting fruits and vegetables that would
otherwise go to waste, and instead ensuring they make it onto the
plates of Vermonters who could not otherwise afford them. Additionally,
the Vermont Foodbank’s VeggieVanGo program distributes fresh produce to
families with children at many local schools and hospitals during the
summer months and throughout the year.
This work would not be possible without your generous support. So we are
thrilled to have partners like Hunger Mountain Co-op to make sure all
Vermonters have the food they need to thrive.
Last December, the Co-op community (over 9,000 member-owners, 160
employees, and 500+ Vermont vendors) helped raise over 800 pounds of
food and $5,000 for the Vermont Foodbank, along with donating over
$20,000 worth of grocery bags filled with healthy pantry staples to area
schools and local organizations.
This June, the Co-op raised funds to fight hunger at the register. Co-op
shopper chose to “give change” by rounding up their total to the
nearest dollar. That change directly benefited the Vermont Foodbank,
where every $3 equals five meals for our neighbors in need.
Hunger Mountain Co-op is also helping ensure all our neighbors have
access to healthy, quality food by offering a 10% discount to co-op
member-owners currently enrolled in 3SquaresVT, the WIC program, or
receiving supplemental security income (SSI). Anyone interested in
learning more should visit hungermountain.coop or stop by the Co-op’s
customer service desk.
Thank you to our wonderful community members and partner organizations
like the Hunger Mountain Co-op for helping make sure all Vermont
children have the food they need this summer.