 This is Dennis McMahon and welcome to Positively Vermont. And my special guest today is John Sales, the CEO of the Vermont Food Bank, was going to be tell us about some of the group's activities, particularly during this holiday season, and most importantly, how you can participate in helping the Vermont Food Bank on its urgent mission to fight hunger and food insecurity and all those issues that face many fellow Vermonters. So John, welcome to Positively Vermont. And first of all, would you tell us a little bit about yourself? Sure, Dennis. First, thanks for having me on again. Always a pleasure to talk to you and your viewers. A little bit about me. Wow, I've lived in Vermont since 1999. I moved here and worked for the Public Service Department, usually doing utility regulation, first in telecommunications and then just generally, moved on after about six years to the Agency of Natural Resources. Was there for about four years and was the deputy secretary when I came to the Vermont Food Bank in 2009. And I've been at the food bank for 13 years now. That's kind of hard to believe. It's been a constant time of change and growth and impact. And we don't have time to look back right now, but boy, a lot has changed since then. Imagine. Well, tell us a little bit about the Vermont Food Bank, a bit about its history and its scope and give us some background. And then I'm gonna ask about how it functions, but give us a little background on the food bank. Sure, the Vermont Food Bank has been around since 1986. It was actually created in central Vermont by central Vermont Community Action and some other local groups, the Friends Service Group and some others. It was the local food shelves and meal sites who are all, a lot of them still around today. We're just having trouble sourcing enough food. And so they got together and started this organization called the Food Bank to be a central hub. And we still are the only food bank in Vermont. And we work with about 300 partners all across the state. Those are your local food shelf, whether that's in Colchester or the South Burlington food shelf, feeding Chittenden, Cider and Grand Isle. I mean, they're just in every community in the state. Soup kitchens, senior centers, after-school programs, really any kind of nonprofit organization that's helping to feed people who have trouble affording enough food for themselves, are partners with the Vermont Food Bank. That includes schools and hospitals across the state too, where we do our veggie van go, mobile distributions, mostly a fresh food, fresh produce, meat and dairy. So it operates through local food banks. And how is that done? Do you have a central warehouse and do you have a distribution? Give us a little idea of the scope of how this operates. Yeah, as I said, we're a statewide organization and the food bank, we distributed, well, prior to COVID, it was 11 or 12 million pounds of food a month. So we're a medium-sized food distribution company. We have distribution centers in Barrie, in Rutland and in Brattleboro. And from those three places served the whole state. In COVID, the 2020, the first year of COVID, we distributed close to 20 million pounds of food. So it was quite an increase, almost double. And this year or last year, 2021, which is almost over now, we distributed about 17 and a half million pounds of food. So it's down a little bit, but still significantly more than it was prior to COVID. So we have a fleet of trucks and drivers and folks working in the warehouses. We source food from the local businesses and farms. We do gleaning, we purchase food from local farmers. We also get a lot of food from the federal government through federal programs, which are then distributed out in communities. And then just donations from both local, regional and national organizations. All the supermarkets donate to the food bank. And we get donations from national manufacturers through our relationship with Feeding America, which is a national organization of about 200 food banks across the country. That's great, John. Could you give us an idea? There's a term that we discussed last year, and that's called food insecurity. Can you tell us what that means and how does it relate to Vermont? Yeah, food insecurity and hunger are kind of the same thing. Food insecurity is more of a technical term used by the federal government. And what it means is that people don't have enough money to purchase the food that they and their family need to live an active and healthy lifestyle. So if you're buying food that's not as nourishing as you would want because you can't afford fresh, healthy food. If you're buying less food than you and your family really need and skipping meals. If you're periodically run out of money for food every month or every couple of months because something happens in your life, then you could be categorized as food insecure. Hunger is really, it's a physical sensation, but it's also a situation that a lot of people find themselves in through no fault of their own. They're working hard, they're doing the things that they need to do. And just in the way our system is set up, find themselves without enough money to purchase the food they need. You give us an idea also of the idea of nutrition, just not food itself, but how does that play into the wellbeing of individuals and groups and people around the state? I don't know if you get involved in nutrition education, but could you discuss that aspect a little bit? Yeah, we actually do get involved in nutrition education. We have a program initiative called VT Fresh, which we work with food shelves and meal sites around the state and kind of transform the, well, this was pre-COVID when people would walk into a food shelf, but kind of transform the experience into one where there's fresh fruits and vegetables available and lean meats and dairy and it feels more like a grocery store experience. And also recipes, we actually right now, if you go to our website, you can find kind of a VT Fresh challenge where if you try out some of the recipes, you can get entered in a drawing to win a $100 gift card. So that's for folks who are interested in trying some recipes. They're all vegetable based. So carrots, beets, parsnips, kale, all kinds of good healthy foods, really a lot of it grown in Vermont that we distribute. But I think it's so clear that the kinds of foods we eat determine a lot about our lives and our health and how much healthcare we need. And particularly for children, the research is crystal clear that without proper nutrition, kids don't develop mentally and emotionally in ways that allows them to learn, to play and to really fulfill their potential as human beings. So at the food bank, we get a lot of donated food and we distribute that, but when we're sourcing food, when we're purchasing food, when we're talking to donors about the foods we want, we're looking for local, we're looking for fresh, we're looking for nutrient dense. It really is good. It's fresh produce oftentimes from Vermont farm. It's dairy, it's eggs, it's meat. It's the kinds of foods that people tell us they want. We ask people who go to food shelves, what kinds of foods you want. And the first thing we hear is fresh foods and vegetables. It's what people want. Then it's dairy and then it's whole grain breads and pastas. So people crave good nourishing food and we want to make sure that that's on the shelf. That's great. Now, last time we spoke was in July of 2020 and we've been all through this pandemic. Maybe you can tell our viewers what life has been like in the last period and how the food shelf has been coping with it because some of the sources have not been there. Closure of certain meeting places and things like that. So give us an idea of what it's life has been like in the last few months. Yeah, actually. Yeah, I mean, since July 2020, in March of 2020, of course the whole world got flipped up on its head and the food bank had to really reinvent the way we were working overnight. So it was not safe for people to go into food shelves and shop for food. It was not safe for us to have our veggie van goes set up like a farmer's market where people were walking through these beautiful tents and choosing the vegetables they wanted. It wasn't safe for the volunteers to come into our facilities to be sorting food. So everything switched, all these 300 partners had to switch on a dime and start pre-packing boxes and setting them out. People making appointments to pick up food. There were a number of federal food box programs that got started. There were huge massive mass food distributions at airports with cars lined up for miles. Fortunately, that didn't last for a long time. We kind of fine-tuned it, but it was really over a year where we were doing these box distribution programs. And those were a pre-packed box of fresh food, often some kind of cheese, meat and some fresh produce. And at 19 or 20 locations around the state where people could sign up and just drive up and have that box popped in the backseat or in their trunk and drive off safely. Those have all winded down now. A lot of those were federally funded and supported. And we've seen a big increase of people coming to our veggie van goes, which again are all over the state and have changed to a pre-sorted bag of produce and then whatever else we have, dairy, eggs, meat, that again gets loaded right into somebody's car as they drive through. And as I don't, some food shelves have gone back to people visiting usually with appointments now, I think. The world is not back to whatever normal was before. And I think things are gonna always look different from here on out. We're trying to figure out the food bank, what has worked well, what works for people, what do people like as far as getting food in different ways and how can we kind of refine and fine tune the methods that we're using now? It's more food than ever is going out. And we've been able to accomplish this and now we have to figure out how we're gonna sustain it. That's amazing. And one of the statistics and I was amazed to read is that of course you hear about this with any charity or nonprofit that a lot of the expenses wind up for administration. And I think one of your hallmarks is your low administrative expenses, something like 7%. Can you tell us a little bit about that? I know it's tuning your own horn but I think it's important to talk about it. Yeah, first I would say that I think it's, I'm very proud of the way the Vermont Food Bank operates and that we make sure that our donor dollars are going to execute our mission, which is that everyone in Vermont has enough food to eat every day, that people have equitable access to nourishing food and that everyone is taking action to end hunger and poverty. I don't really like the distinction of low admin expenses is because those expenses are things that are absolutely necessary for performing nonprofits to function well. The Food Bank, because we're so operational, you know, we are in coordinating distributions, it means that almost all the dollars that come in are going toward that and because we're a large organization, we can get something we don't have to have as many people per dollar raising the money, although we have to have people raising the money because when folks make a donation to the Food Bank, that's feeding our neighbors, we gotta make sure that we thank them and that people are aware of the work that's happening because it's that awareness that fuels the support. It's also that we get so much donated food and government food, federal government food, it helps keep our expenses down and so we can create enough food for five meals for every $3 donated and we're leveraging that with volunteer efforts, like I said, and donated goods and services to supplement the great work that our team does. If I noticed that in one of your letters that went out, it's very effective and it talks about just how much you can get per dollar from your donors, it's amazing. I think you have these little tickets that holiday food delivery ticket, which I think, tell us what this little program is about. Right, it's really a way for people to visualize what their donation is going to do. You know, it's not everyone can come and take a look at one of our distribution centers and one of my favorite things to do was give tours prior to COVID, not so much now, but it really is that tangible. It really is that when you make a donation to the Vermont Food Bank, that dollar of those dollars go towards things like purchasing food or paying the driver and leasing the truck, because it's actually more efficient to lease our trucks than to own them and drive those refrigerator trucks around the state to make sure the food is where people are. You know, a warehouse full of food is no good if people can't get to it. And so it really is about making that point that each dollar is actually going to feed people and that because of the way we operate and our scale, we can be very, very efficient. You know, we buy food by the truckload, literally a 53-foot tractor trailer pulls up to our dock and it's full of canned corn or frozen green beans and then that food is either distributed at no cost or our local partners can purchase that through a co-op program at that truckload cost. So it really is a more efficient and effective way to get food out there. Although I will say the most effective and dignified way for people to access food, if they can't always afford it, is to get the resources to be able to go to their local store and do that. And that's the Three Squares Vermont Program, federally known as SNAP or Food Stamps. Really encourage people if they're struggling to afford food to go to our website, vtfoodbank.org, or they can go to vermontfoodhelp.com and you can learn all about whether you are eligible for Three Squares Vermont. Or still in the pandemic and it's the run up to the end of the year and the holiday season and that doesn't mean things are gonna stop. Your obligations will continue right into the next year, but tell us a little bit how you're navigating this 2021 holiday season. Yeah, you know, it's operationally it's challenging because of COVID still here and because of the high transmissibility in Vermont. So we're being very, very careful. It's really important that our team stay healthy and we've been really fortunate so far in taking the precautions necessary to make sure that our drivers are still out on the road every day. Some of the things we've been doing really as a result of COVID, we had a surge of support from the state of Vermont through, passing through some of the large amounts of federal dollars that have come through. And it's allowed us to, for instance, buy a lot of food from Vermont farmers and growers. You know, early in COVID, some of the markets dried up. So the schools weren't buying food anymore. The restaurants were closed and the food bank was able to step in and create markets for some of our local farmers. And we've continued those relationships and gotten some appropriations from the Vermont legislature. So actually this time of year, we're still getting that from the local growers, warehouses and food distribution centers and getting that fresh local food out to people for the holiday season. We just did our turkeys this year, more turkeys than ever. I think it was 6,400 turkeys were distributed throughout the state. And just making sure, although people, hunger is all year round, but this is a special time in people's lives and food is a really important part of the holiday season. And we just wanna make sure that families can maybe not worry that one night and celebrate and have a beautiful meal on the table with some things that they wouldn't otherwise eat and just be thankful for their neighbors. And I wanna thank the folks who reach out for help too, because it takes a lot of courage to do that. It takes a lot of courage to say, wow, I don't think I can afford enough food this month. I'm gonna go to a veggie van go or I'm gonna stop into my local food shelf. But that is also what keeps our communities vibrant and keeps folks ready to bounce back from setbacks. Well, we wanna give people an opportunity to get more information. You have a very good website that you described, but what do you need right now? How can people help physically, financially or maybe information-wise? Give us a little list of maybe first-time viewers or people who haven't even heard of Vermont Food Bank. What do you need and how people can help? Sure, of course, as you pointed out, Dennis, dollars are stretched farther by the Vermont Food Bank and so financial contributions. And it really is, like I said, we've gotten some more federal funding, but through the state, prior to COVID, we got about 1% of our operating budget through state grants. It's gone up to about 4% to 5%, but 95% of that of how we do our work comes from donations and people can learn how to donate at vtfoodbank.org, which is our website. And people can also, more importantly, find out how to access food resources and all the different programs that are available, whether you're over 60 and can get access to certain programs or you're a young mom and maybe you can get access to WIC. All that information is there. And we have people that can help navigate those programs also. So there are text numbers and phone numbers that folks can call. In fact, I'll give you a phone number at the end, but also I wanna encourage people to donate and volunteer at their local organizations. So, whether it's Feeding Chittenden, the South Burlington Food Shelf, in Bethel, in Canaan, wherever you are around the state, you can actually go to our website and use the food bank finder or the network partner finder and find a local organization often needs volunteer help. The food bank uses volunteers and you can fill out a volunteer application right on our website also. And then I also wanna encourage people to talk about food insecurity and hunger as an issue in Vermont, particularly to your elected representatives, to your state senators and state representatives and even your local select boards. It doesn't surprise me anymore, but it surprises some folks that a lot of people don't really realize that hunger is an issue in our own neighborhoods, in our own communities and that there's something you can do about it. That's great. So we could do physical labor and send a letter. The legislature will be back in session in January and so will the House and US Senate. So it might be an appropriate time at the holiday season to write something about it. Absolutely, and it makes a big difference. We will be before the legislature again with this extended heightened need. It's gonna go at least through the next year. We will be in the legislature again asking for more of that pass through federal support. And so a letter to a local legislator makes a big difference. That's great. I wanna thank you, John, for all you're doing and thank you for being with us today on Positively Vermont. And please keep in touch and maybe we'll get a progress report in a little while and hopefully things will improve. But thank you so much for all you do and all your volunteers and supporters. Thank you. I appreciate the chance to talk to you, Dennis and talk to your viewers. And yeah, we're gonna make sure that things get better. Let's keep working on that. That's great. Well, thank you, John. And this is Dennis McMahon. My guest today has been John Sales, the CEO of the Vermont Food Bank. Thank you for watching.