 This is Dennis McMahon and welcome to Positively Vermont. My guest today is John Sales, CEO of the Vermont Food Bank, who's gonna tell us about some very important work that the Food Bank does and is especially mindful of it during this season. Welcome, John. Hi, Dennis, thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. Tell us a little bit about yourself, please. Sure, you know, I've been in Vermont since 1999. I live here with my family. I moved to work for state government. I worked for state government for almost 10 years, and then I've been at the Food Bank for almost 15 years now. It's really challenging and rewarding work. Tell us a little bit about the history of the Vermont Food Bank. Sure, yeah, the Food Bank was created by other nonprofits when this was in the 80s, when the need for food assistance seemed to be really increasing and they didn't have the capacity to source enough food. And so in 1986, the Food Bank was created and started in the Barrie area and just really serving organizations in the region and then has expanded over the years. Quickly, we were serving the entire state. Today, we have three locations. We have distribution centers in Barrie, in Rutland and in Brattleboro, and we serve about 350 partners. Those are food shelves and meal sites, places like Feeding Chitenden, the Winooski Food Shelf, the Shelburne Food Shelf, and senior centers. After school programs, we have a big program with the JFK School in Winooski and hospitals and just any place that serves food that is serves food to people who might not otherwise be able to afford it can partner with the Vermont Food Bank. We get our food from local manufacturers and distributors, the grocery chains from local farmers. We purchase or get donated food from over 300 local farms and we have two federal government programs that's probably a little less than a third of our food. We get food from national donations through our relationship with Feeding America and we also purchase a lot of food. Let us talk a little bit about the scope of the problem. And I know this year has been particularly difficult. Could you, in that perspective, tell us what the situation is like or has been like in Vermont about food insecurity, about people in hunger? Yeah, you know, the first thing is to realize that people who can't afford enough food, food insecurity as we call it or hunger is really just financial insecurity, right? There's plenty of food in the grocery store and at local markets and farmers, farmers markets and farm stands. They're just folks who in their budgets, it's a balance, right? You gotta pay the rent, you've gotta keep the car in the road, so you can get to work, you gotta keep oil in the oil tank and sometimes there just isn't enough money at the end of the month and food is the one fungible thing in your budget, right? You can skip a meal and so your kids can eat and we've set up the system for better or worse where there are places where people can go and get food assistance and it's very low barrier. And you know, everyone, Dennis, everyone who finds themselves going to a food shelf or a meal site or one of our veggie van go distributions, everyone has their own personal reasons for being there. It's hard to generalize about why folks find themselves getting food assistance. One thing I will say is I'm glad when people do because we want everyone in Vermont to have what they need to thrive at the food bank and if that means needing to get some help with food to help supplement the budget for that month then please find a place in your community where you can do that. Well, I know there's been several factors contributing to this other than the overall need, the pandemic and also the flooding we had in the various parts of the state earlier this year. Could you tell us how that has impacted on your services? Yeah, I think about that as kind of these cascading disasters, you know, COVID which started in, you know, 2020, 2019. Time just all melds together. But you know, it was, I think back to that and people were scared, including me. And there was huge, huge need. I mean, I don't know if folks, your viewers remember but there were miles long lines at the state airports where big food distributions were taking place with the National Guard helping out. And while we don't have that anymore the need, the number of people coming and getting food assistance is actually higher than it was during COVID. So COVID went away but there were a lot of assistance from the federal government. So there was rental assistance, there was an enhanced unemployment, three squares Vermont, which is food stamps, the benefits increased during COVID. There were all kinds of assistance programs over the stimulus payments. All of that eventually started going away and it's all gone now. The last one was in April where the last enhanced three squares Vermont payments. So families that were getting food assistance of about $500 a month, some of them went down to, you know, $50 a month. The minimum benefit is $23 a month. So there were some mostly elderly, older Vermonters who were getting $23 a month down from a couple of hundred. So a big, big, big, big difference. And then on top of that inflation hit, right? Food inflation, 20, 30%. And still, while prices aren't rising as fast they haven't gone down. And then on top of all that is the flooding, which didn't impact every place in Vermont but it was pretty broadly distributed. And the people think about having your home pretty much washed away. The impact is tremendous. And we're still seeing that and we're going to see that for years. We certainly learned that during Truck Will Storm Irene that recovery from a flood takes a long time. And, you know, we've got these cascading disasters and people are finding themselves in a place where it's really difficult to make ends meet at the end of the month. And I know your website has a lot of this information. And I think it's very important, but the level of the problem. I know you have some percentages on that. And you know, it's hard to put percentages into real personal impact. But how is that statistically out there right now? Yeah, about two in five people in Vermont in some way are touched by the food bank, right? Whether that's a meal at a senior center or going to one of our veggie van go produce distributions or visiting a local food shelf, getting a backpack or going to a school pantry. And it's a lot of people, you're right. And, you know, I think it's important to understand too that the food bank is only here because of the support from Vermonters. And it really is truly is neighbors supporting neighbors. And we're an independent nonprofit and rely on donations from folks in Vermont from people who have second homes here, people who have lived here before, but, you know, we get donations from around the country, but it's mostly people from Vermont. And how is the Vermont food bank tied in with other food banks or other agencies of the government to assist you in your work? Yeah, we're part of a national network called Feeding America. There are over 200 food banks across the country that are part of the Feeding America network. Feeding America supports us in a lot of ways. First of all, as food, we get food through national donors. We can get produce really any time of the year. And we just have to pay for the trucking to get it here to Vermont, donated food. And also Feeding America does a lot of public affairs work. So working in Congress to try and make sure that things like the Three Squares Vermont benefits the SNAP program nationally are robust. The federal food programs that the food bank runs a couple of acronyms, TFAP and CSFP. But again, those are part of the Farm Bill, which is being negotiated right now in Congress. And so we need to make sure that we have a voice at the table and Feeding America helps make that happen. Tell us the level of cooperation, you know, Vermont being an agricultural state, the level and kinds of cooperation you have with the farmers in our community. Yeah, we love our farmers here. And the farmers love the food bank too. So we have about 30 farms. The food bank does gleaning, which is going on to the farms actually with volunteers and picking the crops that the farmers wouldn't otherwise take to market. So we glean with about 30 farms. There are some other groups, Salvation Farms and Central Vermont Community Harvest, to name a few that do gleaning in other parts of the state. The food bank gleans in the Burlington area and in the Brattleboro area. And then we purchase food from farmers, right? So I mentioned that the food bank purchases a lot of food and we try and buy local whenever we can. And so we actually contract with farmers all over the state, both for deliveries at our distribution centers that then get redistributed, but also by making grants to a local food shelf, say the parent child center in Rutland is a good example. They get a grant from a program we call Vermonters, Feeding Vermonters, and then they can take that money in turn and they buy food from their local farm. It might be a very small farm where they get three or four CSA shares that come in and then they can split that up and share that with the families that come into the parent child center. So we try and touch farms of all sizes and make sure that that locally grown food is getting to people in Vermont who might not otherwise be able to afford it. We know that that locally grown food tastes better and is more nutritious for all of us. That's great. And you have a relationship with some 311 farms. Yeah, that's right. And- Yeah, you just think about the intervail. There's a number of farms right down there. We have probably a dozen relationships with farmers just in the Chittenden County area. That's amazing. And how about the work with other community groups? Again, the numbers seem high for a small state, but tell us how you interface with various community organizations and what kind of community organizations. Yeah, sure. Of course, the food shelves, the meal sites, a place like King Street would be an example of something you might not think of, but of course they have families there and they're feeding them and they're partners with the Vermont Food Bank. Feeding Chittenden, of course, being in Burlington has a really high volume of folks that they serve. And there are largest bi-volume partner. The community, the other community action agencies like Capstone and Brock are great partners. One is the hospitals. We started years ago doing our Veggie Van Gogh and Veggie Van Gogh I've mentioned is a mobile fresh food distribution program. So we partner with schools and hospitals and either every couple of weeks or once a month, the food bank shows up in the hospitals or schools, organize folks to the logistics and get volunteers there. And we just show up with a couple of truckloads of vegetables and maybe some dairy or eggs and folks can drive through and get their cars packed up with some fresh food to take home. And a lot of that is Vermont food. We talk about the local farmers that we purchase from. A lot of that or most of that actually goes through our Veggie Van Gogh program. Another good one is the SASH. So yeah, you know SASH program. It's a support and services at home and it's the congregate living, the older Vermont or the senior housing sites. And we go ahead and just deliver crates of fresh food, fresh produce to the senior centers or the senior housing. And then there's coordinators there that distribute it and to the folks there to make sure that our older neighbors are getting fresh food. Right. Now, in addition to the old idea of food and distribution, you have some of these innovative projects, the community kitchen academy and things of that nature. Tell us about some of those projects. Yeah, CKA, which we do in partnership with Capstone here in Barrie and also with Feeding Chittenden is a culinary training program. And it's folks mostly who are unemployed or underemployed and they get a 13 week, actually I don't think it's 13 weeks in it. There's a couple of different variations but it's a culinary training program and they get certificates of completion, a lot of support in finding jobs. And actually we've got over 80% placement rate in full-time employment at the end of the program. And while people are learning culinary skills and how to cook, they're preparing meals and portions that are then distributed out through Feeding Chittenden and Capstone Community Action. So literally feeding their neighbors while they're learning job skills. And the food banks out in the community in other ways too, we're right now working in Bennington in Addison County in Northeast Kingdom doing some community organizing and figuring out how we can help lift up the voices and the power of people in local communities to find their own solutions. Because I think we all know that in Vermont in particular, it's very community focused and communities want to do things in ways that work for them. And it can be different whether you're in the Northeast Kingdom or in the Bennington area or Brattleboro or Chittenden County. And so we wanna work with communities so that as the food bank, we're showing up in a way that serves them and not in ways that we decide. Well, I know this might not be as appetizing as the concept of food and eating well and making sure there's no hunger, but there are some legislative matters that are pending. Could you describe what concerns does the Vermont Food Bank have on the federal level and on the state level about possible legislative action or legislative initiatives? And how can people help with that? Yeah, thank you. I mentioned the Farm Bill earlier at the federal level. The Farm Bill is the most important piece of legislation having to do with food. It only comes up for reauthorization every five years. And the Farm Bill funds the SNAP program which in Vermont is three squares Vermont. I mentioned TFAP which is a food program we get in Vermont. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program, CSFP, WIC there, which is the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. There is so much happening in the Farm Bill and right now because of the chaos in Congress, things are not moving as quickly as they need to. Now there was a continuing resolution so the programs aren't going to end within the next year but we need to really enhance those. So call our congressional delegation and let them know that it's important to you that we have a strong Farm Bill in Vermont. At the state level, really what I'd like to do first is thank our state legislators. They've done some great things in the last few years. The child tax credit that was passed, the state level, that's the kind of thing that makes a huge difference in families' lives. When we had the federal child tax credit which was I think about $300 a month for a child under six, we saw child poverty decrease by almost half in this country. 50% decrease in child poverty. And as soon as that expired which was about nine months after it started, child poverty went back up to the level it was before. So we know that it works. And I thank the Vermont legislature and the governor for implementing that program. And then the Universal School Meals which just was passed in the last two years. Again, it is a way to make sure that our children are getting fed. And it's going to be very impactful in Vermont. So I'm very happy about that. This year, the Vermont Food Bank is actually asking the legislature for $5 million in funding and that will go directly to purchasing food. And a lot of that food will be from Vermont farmers. I said, we purchased from over 300 Vermont farms and also grants to our local partners to the food shelf in your community. Last year we granted about 1.2 or no, I'm sorry but $2.4 million in grants to local food shelves and meal sites around the state because they have needs too that aren't always filled by food. And so we would ask folks to look at our website. You can see different ways you can support us. And when you talk to your local legislators, just let them know that the work the food bank does is important to you and that making sure everyone in your community has enough food to eat is important to you. That's great. Now, how can individuals, I know we have volunteer opportunities and some of the legislative maybe letters to the editor and things like that. But what about finances? How can people help if they're so inclined to help financially? Yeah, as I said, we are an independent nonprofit and we really do rely on people making donations to do the work that we're able to do. And to everyone who does donate and there are a lot of people in Vermont that do, I say thank you to those who wanna find out how you can help. The best way is to go to our website which is vtfoodbank.org and you can just click on give. It's right there. And also volunteering. There's a, you can click on how to volunteer, how to help and as we said, advocating. So those are the three things we ask people to do, right? To donate, to volunteer, and to advocate. And that's how we're gonna really make progress against hunger in Vermont and across the country. That's great. I wanna thank you for all the work you've done and all the support that you've given to so many people and all your team. And it's been a pleasure to see you today and also in the past on Positively Vermont. And I just like to give you this chance to give us a final few thoughts to convey to everyone out there who is going to be watching. Yeah, thank you. You know, the most important thing is if you think it would help to have some food assistance to help fill that budget gap in your family, please reach out. You can find the resources near you by dialing 211. They have a list of all the resources that are available or by going to our website, vtfoodbank.org. We're there because we want to be there. We want you to show up. And to all those of you who maybe don't need help and would like to find a way to help others, again, go to vtfoodbank.org and you can see all the options to donate, to volunteer, and to advocate. That's great. Well, thank you, John. We're certainly gonna be in touch and do some more follow-ups on this on a more frequent basis as the need arises and as we progress into the next legislative session and all the things surrounding this. And I wanna thank you for all you do and all the people that work with you and appearing today on Positively Vermont. Thank you, John. It's a pleasure. You're welcome and I appreciate the time to meet your viewers. Thank you. This is Dennis McMahon. Thank you for watching Positively Vermont. My guest has been John Sales, CEO of the Vermont Food Bank. Thank you all.