RutlandHerald.com - We Are Vermont

The season of plenty?

'Healthiest state' also is one of the hungriest

Kristi Trout, left, and Spencer Cook, who both work for the Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee and the Aloha Foundation, fill boxes with canned goods while volunteering at the Vermont Foodbank in Barre Town earlier this week. PHOTO BY JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

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he number of Vermonters suffering from severe hunger has risen so high so fast, the state now has the sixth worst percentage of residents facing the problem in the nation.

Vermont made national news last week when the nonprofit United Health Foundation named the state the healthiest state in the country, based in part on its comparatively low rates of obesity and child poverty.

But a just-released U.S. Department of Agriculture report says more than 14,000 Vermont households (one in 20, or triple the number since 2000) face hunger so severe that adults frequently go without food, while one in 10 residents now relies on donations to eat.

"Hunger strikes more than the homeless and jobless," says John Sayles, chief executive officer of the Vermont Foodbank, the state's biggest charitable distributor. "Hunger is affecting single moms, working families, the person who lives next door or down the street and just can't make it."

So how should the rest of the state respond? Helping seems as simple as sharing a sandwich or dropping off canned goods at a community cupboard. But anti-hunger advocates are seeking more economical and efficient ways to provide food at local stores, schools and some 300 shelves, soup kitchens and shelters.

The Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger is pushing to expand school breakfast and lunch programs for the 30,000 children who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The Burlington-based statewide nonprofit also is working to enroll more residents of all ages in 3SquaresVT, the renamed government food stamp program that already serves a record one in eight Vermonters.

"We've known that hunger is on the rise, especially with the economy, but we were surprised to see the extent it has increased in our state," campaign executive director Marissa Parisi says. "In these hungry households, children are not reaching their educational potential, elders are not getting the nutrition they need and parents are risking their own health to make sure they provide for their children."

The Foodbank, for its part, expects to distribute 8 million pounds of soup to nuts statewide this year using a 26,000-square-foot warehouse in Barre, a 3,000-square-foot branch in Wolcott and a 21,000-square-foot distribution center just opened in Brattleboro.

The nonprofit will deliver a half-million more pounds of food than last year. But that's not enough to satiate a client load that local cupboards estimate is up as much as 40 percent.

"The economy is stabilizing, but people still are losing their jobs and homes," Sayles says. "People are coming in saying, 'I used to donate to the food shelf but now I need some help.' If we had the resources, we could distribute 10 million pounds of food this year. And we're concerned the need will grow."

So begins anti-hunger advocates' challenge. On one hand, they don't want to discourage people from giving "shelf-stable proteins" — peanut butter, macaroni and cheese, canned ham, tuna or spaghetti and meatballs — directly to community organizations.

"It's important that people make a connection with their local agencies," Sayles says. "Donating to your food shelf not only helps feed people but also gets citizens involved and raises awareness."

On the other hand, the Foodbank began in 1986 to boost efficiency and fill in gaps by collecting directly from commercial suppliers and distributing to a network of 280 local shelves, shelters and assistance programs. The outfit can turn a $10 donation into 25 pounds of food, Sayles says, "because we have a lot more buying power than someone at a grocery store."

Community cupboards appreciate canned goods and boxed cereal, but they also want to offer clients a balanced diet. And so the Foodbank annually contracts with eight Vermont farms to grow nearly 50,000 pounds of produce, gleans another 300,000 pounds of misshaped or forgotten fruit and vegetables from fields statewide, and collects meat, dairy and other perishable donations from supermarkets, restaurants and their suppliers.

But producers and distributors have become more efficient, too. Many who used to donate surplus or seconds now sell them at discount stores. And so anti-hunger advocates are encouraging contributions of food, money and time at both the local and state level.

"You tend to get lots of help during the holiday season," Sayles says, "but the need is constant year-round."

More than two-thirds of the 30,000 Vermont children who are eligible for free or reduced price lunch, for example, turn to food shelves when school's not in session, while a growing number of adults seeking help cite the sudden loss of jobs or hours in the worst economy since the Depression.

The Foodbank belongs to the national Feeding America network of hunger-relief charities, which has launched a "Real Stories" Web page so households receiving help can share specifics while maintaining a sense of dignity through partial anonymity.

Diana and her husband Chris, a self-described "hard-working couple" in a "close-knit family of five," represent Vermont. Although the two are said to shop at discount stores, clip coupons, grow their own vegetables and cut their own firewood, they're cash-strapped enough to require a monthly box of staples from their local food shelf.

"If we weren't struggling," Diana is quoted, "we definitely would not have a need for places like this."

Although the Web page offers similar vignettes from each of the 50 states, anti-hunger advocates say the overall situation isn't easily summarized.

"It's impossible to quantify the need of Vermont is 'x' and if we had that many baskets there would be no hunger," Sayles says. "It's a different story for every person. We're doing the same thing we did before the economic crisis, but the need is more. The more we can raise awareness, the more effective we can be."

kevin.oconnor@rutlandherald.com



BOX:

To give/receive:

— The Vermont Foodbank's Web site, www.vtfoodbank.org, has a "find a food shelf" link with more than 300 locations statewide. The nonprofit can be reached at (800) 585-2265.

— The state's 3SquaresVT program (formerly known as food stamps) offers more information at (800) 479-6151 or www.vermontfoodhelp.com.

— The Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger can be reached at (802) 865-0255 or www.vtnohunger.org.