This month, we're celebrating you and those who've offered the Gift of Support and in so doing have joined us on the journey of creating a food-secure Vermont by sharing part of a recent interview with friend and neighbor Sara.

On Tuesday, January 30th a group of advocates and community members met at the Statehouse in Montpelier for SNAP Awareness Day—a day to educate Vermont leaders and policy makers on the importance and suggested improvements to SNAP, a federal food security program known as 3SquaresVT here in Vermont. SNAP Awareness Day goes beyond raising awareness about SNAP as a stand-alone program.

What do you get when you mix ingenuity, community-mindedness, and wisdom that comes with age? You get Velma, a 79-year-old, quick-witted grandmother who’s been helping people facing hunger in the Northeast Kingdom (NEK) for over four decades.

This recipe comes to us from Velma, an NEK grandmother who's been cooking and caring for her community for over four decades. Read more about Velma in our most recent newsletter, but for now, try out the slaw, it's delicious!

The start of a new year offers us a chance to pause and reflect. It is a time to consider goals and dreams, practices we wish to continue, changes we’d like to make, and accomplishments we want to work toward.

Nicole is a paraeducator in Vermont. Her wage doesn’t cover living costs and she frequently has to make impossible decisions when it comes to affording groceries, health care, and housing.

In July of this year, Vermont was battered by rainstorms and catastrophic flooding. Washouts and landslides severed roads between many rural towns. Despite being closed off, the Foodbank network—that you help support—came together to support neighbors who, in many cases, lost everything.

With help from community partnerships, and help from you, culturally relevant produce is being delivered directly to migrant farmworker households.

At the Fairfield food shelf, neighbors are supporting one another through purchasing and distributing food grown within their own community. Thanks to a Foodbank grant program, and supporters like you, community members experiencing hunger can enjoy more local food grown by their neighbors.