Editor’s note: In September, the Caledonian-Record published an exclusive series by AP award-winning writer Bethany Knight of Glover on poverty and cash welfare benefits in the Northeast Kingdom. The Caledonian-Record and Knight have generously allowed VTDigger to republish an edited version of the series.
Vermont is ranked the ninth hungriest state in the nation, and the Northeast Kingdom has more grumbling little tummies than Chittenden County. ThreeSquaresVT, the state’s food stamp program, reports 2,167 children in Caledonia, 2,165 in Orleans and 440 in Essex counties receive assistance. Another 9,000 Kingdom residents over the age of 18 get food aid.
“On Mondays at the day care,” says Jan Rossier, director of the Northeast Kingdom Community Action Center (NEKCA) in St. Johnsbury, “we see kids who are ravenous.”
At NEKCA’s Parent Child Center, children are fed two meals and a snack a day. Young mothers in the Reach Up program tell Rossier, “I don’t eat so my kid can.”
During the summer months, when school lunches are not to be had, Rossier reports another uptick in hunger, further evidence of “food insecurity.”
Food insecurity, according to Hunger Free Vermont, “is the lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times due to lack of financial resources. Adults in households determined to be food insecure are so limited in resources that they are running out of food, reducing the quality of food their family eats, feeding their children unbalanced diets, or skipping meals so their children can eat.” Based in South Burlington, Hunger Free Vermont is a nonprofit organization devoted to the prevention of hunger in Vermont.
Every year more children in the Northeast Kingdom qualify for free or reduced price school lunches. Children in households receiving 3SquaresVT automatically receive a free school lunch, as do those receiving migrant education benefits. Close to 40 percent of Vermont public and private school students ate a subsidized breakfast and lunch in 2010. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is the oldest federal nutrition program, started in 1946 when the military realized young recruits were showing up malnourished. At that time, state Sen. Jane Kitchel, D-Danville, says hunger became, “A matter of national security.”
Hunger’s grip on an ever growing number of children in the Kingdom is especially startling, as the state population of children is dropping dramatically. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the state’s child population dropped 12 percent, or 18, 290 children, from 2000 to 2010. There are fewer children, but more go without.
Children in families not on Reach Up qualify for 3SquaresVT through Vermont’s broad-based categorical eligibility, the same process used for fuel assistance. Assets are not considered and the income test is 185 percent of the federal poverty level.
Seventeen food shelves serve the Kingdom
Unlike 3SquaresVT and school lunches, there are no state laws or restrictions guiding the use of food shelves.
In June, of the 17 food shelves in the Northeast Kingdom, eight allowed unlimited visits, six allowed one visit per month and the other three split the difference. Newport has three pantries for the poor, at the United Church, St. Mark’s and the NEKCA building.
“It’s a horrible feeling to try and police the use of the food shelf,” says NEKCA’s Kathy Metras, a manager of several departments. “Some people get their food stamps, and two days later, they are here for food. We don’t want to turn people away. How do we know?”
“It’s a horrible feeling to try and police the use of the food shelf,” says NEKCA’s Kathy Metras.
While the agency recommends visits to its food shelf be limited to once a month, stock is available to anyone who walks in, from 8 to 4:30, five days a week, on the honor system. No records are kept.
“We tell people they can come every three days, that’s our unwritten rule,” Metras says. “We try to give them enough to last three days. … If we kept it stocked in Newport, it would cost $10,000 a month. We can’t.”
NEKCA’s food shelf has purchased and donated food, she said, including “rescued food” from Shaw’s supermarket.
“We feel really good working with Shaw’s on rescued food; we really appreciate them,” Metras says. About five times a week, Shaw’s alerts NEKCA it has a donation. NEKCA staff run over, weigh and report to store management the amount being taken.
“We have to pay an employee five hours a week to do this,” Metras says.
The St. Johnsbury food shelf at NEKCA is operated by Reach Up welfare participants to fulfill their work requirement. “They are so proud filling the shelves and getting recognized for helping,” says Rossier.
Reach Up participants receive nutritional counseling, health screening and food through WIC, the state Department of Health’s Women, Infants and Children supplemental nutrition program.
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Benefit application is online
Applications for Reach Up, 3SquaresVT and fuel assistance can be done online; with eligibility calculated using formulas based on the number of people in the household and the availability of other income, such as Social Security or VA benefits.
Eligibility for programs is integrated, so when a parent qualifies for Reach Up, her family automatically gets 3SquaresVT and Medicaid coverage. Vermonters on SSI and SSDI automatically receive 3SquaresVT and fuel assistance. Children whose family receives 3SquaresVT automatically receive free school lunches.
Recipients can also track their spending and account balances online.
Applications for other programs, including Medicaid, can also be made at www.myBenefits.vt.gov
Bethany Knight of Glover is a former newspaper reporter, magazine editor, college journalism instructor, gubernatorial speech writer and health care executive. She co-authored five reports on Vermont issues produced by the Ethan Allen Institute. A licensed nursing home administrator, Knight’s books for caregivers are sold by Hartman Publishing. Her first novel, “On the Edge of Tickle,” can be found at www.smashwords.com.
