As the state’s largest hunger relief organization, The Vermont Foodbank works with partners to provide nourishing food to Vermonters in need. Food is distributed at food shelves, meal sites, senior centers, schools, hospitals, and other community sites.
Specifically, the Vermont Foodbank:
SNAP-Ed supports the following Vermont Foodbank initiatives:
A Rutland-based non-profit, Come Alive Outside inspires communities to create awareness, intention, and access for residents to be more active outside their homes. Their programs and events are designed to show Vermonters how enjoyable getting out and getting active can be.
SNAP-Ed helps fund the organization’s Summer and Winter Passport Programs, which encourage children and families to be physically active throughout the year. Participants are given incentives to stay active and a “passport” to track physical activity.
The Vermont Garden Network’s mission is to help people of all ages feel empowered and prepared to grow food, build confidence, and connect with each other. They achieve this through:
Also called the Veducator, the Vermont Garden Network’s mobile classroom is a van stocked with a kitchenette, collapsible tables and benches, gardening tools and equipment, and free seeds. With these resources, staff go directly to families and communities to help them grow and maintain gardens. They also provide educational resources and workshops on ways to grow, harvest, prepare, and store food from the garden.
University of Vermont’s Cooperative Extension Community Nutrition Education Program implements the national Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). EFNEP offers free, hands-on nutrition education for income-eligible parents and caregivers, teens and children. At the highest level, this program strives to combat hunger, malnutrition, and poverty through one-on-one education. SNAP-Ed compliments these efforts by allowing Extension to reach a broader audience.
The Families Eating Smart Moving More curriculum provides online lessons and in-person cooking activities. This program teaches evidence-based nutrition principles—like shopping with a grocery list, using ingredient labels to make food choices, making half your plate fruits and vegetables, drinking water instead of sugary drinks, and being active and reducing sedentary behaviors—as part of a healthy lifestyle.
The People's Farmstand, in partnership with the Peace and Justice Center, is a Burlington-based pop-up farmstand providing free, local, and organic produce. They believe that all people should have access to food that is culturally significant and is produced using environmentally conscious methods and fair labor practices.
The People's Farmstand's "Veggie of the Month" initiative will expand on the provision of free, local, and organic produce to Burlington's diverse communities. This work fosters significant behavioral and environmental changes. By introducing a diverse range of nutritious vegetables, which may be unfamiliar but are abundant during Vermont’s growing seasons, the People’s Farmstand aims to enhance community nutritional knowledge, diversify dietary habits, and elevate overall vegetable consumption.
Abenaki Helping Abenaki (AHA) supplies community members with healthy food and necessary essentials in times of need. AHA is committed to educating Nulhegan Band citizens and other Native Americans on traditional, organic, agriculture and sustainable living.
AHA provides educational opportunities for people who are experiencing food insecurity using evidence-based nutrition education curricula. Nutrition education focuses on gardening and how to properly grow your own healthy food, preservation of that food for longer-term consumption, benefits of increased vegetable and fruit consumption, budget-friendly meal preparation, and other topics.
