A program called Everyone Eats has been combating food insecurity during the pandemic in Vermont, but funding for the program runs out in mid-December.
That timing couldn’t be worse, participating organizations say. They’re calling on lawmakers to find a way to keep the program going just when it will be needed more than ever.
Ending the program in December — when winter is just beginning — would be ”senseless,” said Rich McSheffrey, owner of Cornerstone Pub and Kitchen in Barre.
Cornerstone is one of the 100 restaurants cooking meals for hungry Vermonters through the program. Now, 20% of the meals that Cornerstone makes go to Everyone Eats.
Everyone Eats provides meals for people who are food insecure, while also supporting restaurants whose business has taken a pounding in the pandemic. For some restaurants, this stable source of income has made the difference between laying off workers and keeping them.
For Vermonters, the program has been a safety net at a time when many people need help. Some now face the impossible choice of paying rent or buying their next meal.
Brittany Sperber said the program serves “anyone who needs a free meal, no questions asked.” Sperber was working at Skinny Pancake when it shut down between March and May; she now also works with ShiftMeals and coordinates Everyone Eats of Central Vermont. (Clarification: Sperber was referring to ShitfMeals, which provides a meal to anyone who needs one, no questions asked. Vermont Everyone Eats requires that participants certify that their access to food has been hurt by COVID-19 or are otherwise experiencing food insecurity.)
With CARES Act funding set to expire on Dec. 14, it is unclear how this need will continue to be met.
Since the pandemic began, food insecurity has increased drastically in Vermont. While 1 in 10 Vermonters were considered food insecure before the pandemic, now that rate is more than twice as severe with 1 in every 4 Vermonters experiencing food insecurity. Women are twice as likely to be impacted than men, and for communities of color, the burden is four times worse.
The program requires restaurants to source 10% of their food locally to support Vermont farms and agriculture. Sperber said that among the 12 restaurants in central Vermont that are participating, that percentage is actually higher, at around 32%.
Food insecurity is also a health issue, and doctors at Central Vermont Medical Center have been prescribing fresh food to patients to tackle health issues. The hospital has also set up sites for weekly meal distribution for employees and patients alike.
“Not everyone has the time to take the cabbage from start to finish,” said Jess Laporte, the community health program manager at the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. The Conservation Corps, with Laporte’s supervision, grow the crops that make their way into 400 health care shares that are distributed at the hospital.
This year, those boxes have also included pre-cooked restaurant meals, which Laporte says has been both helpful and inspiring. It gives recipients an idea of how they might transform their leafy greens into dinner.
Farmer and chef Joe Buley of Joe’s Kitchen at Screamin’ Ridge Farm urges lawmakers to find the money to keep the program going. “People need this,” he said. “At least get us to spring time.”
Buley says he lost 60% of his business when the pandemic began. Before he joined the Everyone Eats program, his restaurant had already started serving free soup on Wednesdays.
Sue Minter, executive director of Capstone Community Action, agreed that now the responsibility is on lawmakers to fund the relief program and keep Vermonters from going hungry. “Congress must pass another stimulus bill,” Minter said.
But, for now, Minter said, “If you need help, help is here.” She encouraged anyone in need to seek assistance, whether through the Everyone Eats program or through permanent programing offered by the state.
The program received $5 million from the Vermont Legislature in August. Since then, Everyone Eats has partnered with 100 restaurants, serving 150,000 meals so far. Distribution has been set up in all of Vermont’s 14 counties.
Information about distribution and how to get a meal is available on the program’s website www.vteveryoneeats.org.