VERMONT FOODBANK
Programs
Vermont Food Distribution and Access Program
IN FISCAL YEAR 2023, THE VERMONT FOODBANK DISTRIBUTED 12.6 MILLION POUNDS OF DONATED FOOD, PRODUCE, USDA FOODS, AND PURCHASED FOOD DIRECTLY TO INDIVIDUALS AND MORE THAN 220 NETWORK PARTNERS. OF THAT, A RECORD 4.1 MILLION POUNDS WAS FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. AND A FULL 49% OF THE FOOD DISTRIBUTED WAS FRESH FOOD (PRODUCE, MEAT, AND DAIRY). THE VERMONT FOODBANK ALSO WORKED WITH MORE THAN 200 VERMONT FARMS TO GATHER AND SHARE MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION POUNDS OF LOCAL FOOD WORTH OVER $2.4 MILLION. DURING THE SAME PERIOD, THE FOODBANK FUNDED MORE THAN 480 GRANTS TOTALING ALMOST $2.7M TO NETWORK AND COMMUNITY PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS. THESE GRANTS, WHICH TOUCHED EVERY COUNTY IN VERMONT, DEEPENED OUR IMPACT AND HELPED SOLVE TARGETED CHALLENGES TO FOOD ACCESS IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES (EXAMPLES INCLUDE INCREASING REFRIGERATION CAPACITY TO ENABLING PURCHASING FRESH PRODUCE FROM LOCAL, SMALL-SCALE FARMS). THE FOODBANK WORKED WITH MORE THAN 21 PARTNERS, HOSPITALS, AND SCHOOLS TO HOST FRESH FOOD DISTRIBUTION EVENTS, PRIMARILY DRIVE-THRU, ACROSS ALL VERMONT COUNTIES, DISTRIBUTING FRESH FOODS TO AN AVERAGE OF 7600 HOUSEHOLDS A MONTH. THE VERMONT FOODBANK CONTINUES TO SEE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN EXPENSES OVER PRE-PANDEMIC BUDGETS. HOWEVER, INCREASES IN REVENUE ENABLED THE VERMONT FOODBANK TO CONFIDENTLY INCREASE ITS EXPENSES TO MEET A TREMENDOUS INCREASE IN FOOD INSECURITY IN VERMONT, BROUGHT ON BY THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC. REVENUE IN FISCAL YEAR 2023 MET PROJECTIONS, MAINLY THROUGH PRIVATE PHILANTHROPY AND A $2M APPROPRIATION FROM THE STATE OF VERMONT. A 2022 STUDY BY THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT SHOWS THAT 2 IN 5 PEOPLE IN VERMONT HAVE EXPERIENCED FOOD INSECURITY IN THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR. THIS DATA IS SUPPORTED BY 2022 DATA SHARED BY THE USDA. THESE STUDIES SHOW THAT FOOD INSECURITY IS FAR HIGHER THAN THE 9.6% FOOD INSECURITY RATE VERMONT SAW BEFORE THE CASCADING CRISES OF THE PAST THREE YEARS, AND IS ALSO HIGHER THAN AT ANY POINT IN 2020 OR 2021. THIS SUMMER'S CATASTROPHIC FLOODING AROUND THE STATE CREATED AN ADDITIONAL CRISIS FOR OUR NEIGHBORS EXPERIENCING HUNGER AND HAS PUT ADDITIONAL PRESSURE ON THE CHARITABLE AND EMERGENCY FOOD NETWORK. THIS LEVEL OF NEED IS BEYOND WHAT OUR NETWORK OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WAS BUILT TO ADDRESS. THE NEED WAS MADE STARKER WITH THE END OF FEDERAL PANDEMIC-ERA PROGRAMS SUPPORTING OUR NEIGHBORS' NUTRITION NEEDS. THIS WAS FELT PARTICULARLY STRONGLY AMONG NEIGHBORS WHO ARE LEAST ABLE TO ADJUST QUICKLY TO THESE CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES. SINCE SNAP (3SQUARESVT) EMERGENCY ALLOTMENTS ENDED IN APRIL 2023 (AN AVERAGE OF $500/MONTH IN LOST BENEFITS PER FAMILY, AFFECTING 40,000 HOUSEHOLDS), THE FOODBANK'S NETWORK OF FOOD PANTRIES, FOOD SHELVES, AND MEAL SITES HAS SEEN A MARKED INCREASE IN VISITS. IN JUNE 2023, VF DISTRIBUTED 988,913 LBS. OF FOOD. IN AUGUST IT WAS 1.42 MILLION LBS. - A 44% INCREASE. WE ANTICIPATE THAT THIS LEVEL OF NEED WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN HIGH, ESPECIALLY IN FLOOD IMPACTED REGIONS.THE VERMONT FOODBANK, THE STATE'S ONLY FOOD BANK, IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN THE STATE OF VERMONT. INCREASED REVENUE HAS ENABLED THE VERMONT FOODBANK TO: PURCHASE MORE FOOD TO MEET THE NEEDS OF NEIGHBORS, INCLUDING AN INCREASE IN LOCAL FOOD PURCHASES; INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF FRESH FOODS (FRUITS, VEGETABLES, DAIRY AND PROTEINS) BEING DISTRIBUTED STATE-WIDE; PROVIDE INCREASED, DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO COMMUNITY PARTNERS, INCLUDING FOOD SHELVES, FARMS, AND FOOD ACCESS PROGRAMS (OFTEN SMALLER NON-PROFITS WITHOUT CAPACITY FOR FUNDRAISING AND/OR GRANT MANAGEMENT); CREATE NEW FOOD DISTRIBUTION MECHANISMS TO BOTH MEET INCREASED NEEDS AND DO SO SAFELY IN THE MIDST OF THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC; INVEST IN NEW IDEAS TO INCREASE FOOD ACCESS (HOPEFULLY REDUCING FUTURE NEED FOR LARGER-SCALE EMERGENCY RESPONSE); AND TO HAVE NECESSARY RESERVES TO CONTINUE TO SERVE AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF BOTH "NORMAL AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE CHARITABLE FOOD DISTRIBUTION/FOOD ACCESS IN THE STATE OF VERMONT.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesOct 1, 2022 – Sep 30, 2023Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$32.3MProgram 1 [2025]
IN FISCAL YEAR 2025, VERMONT FOODBANK DISTRIBUTED MORE THAN 14.1 MILLION POUNDS OF DONATED FOOD, USDA FOODS, AND PURCHASED FOOD DIRECTLY TO INDIVIDUALS AND TO MORE THAN 220 NETWORK PARTNERS. OF THAT, OVER 4.4 MILLION POUNDS OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES WERE DISTRIBUTED, AND 50% OF THE FOOD DISTRIBUTED WAS FRESH FOOD (PRODUCE, MEAT, EGGS, AND DAIRY). VERMONT FOODBANK ALSO WORKED WITH ALMOST 225 VERMONT FARMS TO PURCHASE, GATHER AND SHARE CLOSE TO $1.9 MILLION WORTH OF VERMONT-GROWN FOOD. DURING THE SAME PERIOD, THE FOODBANK FUNDED 369 GRANTS TOTALING CLOSE TO $1.3M TO NETWORK AND PROGRAM PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS. THESE GRANTS, WHICH REACHED EVERY COUNTY IN VERMONT, DEEPENED OUR IMPACT AND HELPED SOLVE TARGETED CHALLENGES TO FOOD ACCESS IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES (EXAMPLES INCLUDE INCREASING REFRIGERATION CAPACITY TO ENABLING PURCHASING FRESH PRODUCE FROM LOCAL, SMALL-SCALE FARMS).THE FOODBANK ALSO WORKED WITH 77 PARTNERS, HOUSING SITES, HOSPITALS, AND SCHOOLS TO HOST A TOTAL OF 760 FRESH FOOD DISTRIBUTION EVENTS ACROSS ALL VERMONT COUNTIES, DISTRIBUTING FRESH FOODS TO AN AVERAGE OF MORE THAN 10,000 HOUSEHOLDS A MONTH. THE VERMONT FOODBANK CONTINUES TO SEE INCREASES IN EXPENSES OVER PRE-PANDEMIC BUDGETS, AT THE SAME TIME THAT FEDERAL FOOD AND FUNDS ARE BEING CUT AND POLICY CHANGES ARE MAKING IT HARDER FOR PEOPLE TO MEET BASIC NEEDS, INCREASING THE NEED FOR CHARITABLE FOOD. VERMONT FOODBANK HAS RELIED ON RESERVES TO CONTINUE TO MEET THIS INCREASED LEVEL OF NEED. REVENUE IN FISCAL YEAR 2025 MET PROJECTIONS, MAINLY THROUGH PRIVATE PHILANTHROPY, AND A $1M APPROPRIATION FROM THE STATE OF VERMONT.A 2022 STUDY BY THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT SHOWS THAT 2 IN 5 PEOPLE IN VERMONT EXPERIENCED FOOD INSECURITY IN THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR. THIS DATA IS SUPPORTED BY 2023 DATA SHARED BY THE USDA, WHICH ALSO SHOWS A SECOND YEAR IN A ROW OF RISING FOOD INSECURITY RATES. THESE STUDIES SHOW THAT FOOD INSECURITY IS FAR HIGHER THAN THE 9.6% FOOD INSECURITY RATE VERMONT SAW BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, AND ALSO HIGHER THAN AT ANY POINT IN 2020 OR 2021, DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC IMPACTS. FEDERAL POLICY CHANGES ARE INCREASING FOOD AND ECONOMIC INSECURITY, AND DATA TO MEASURE THE IMPACTS OF THESE CHANGES MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN THE FUTURE. THE LEVEL OF NEED IS BEYOND WHAT OUR NETWORK OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WAS BUILT TO ADDRESS. THE VERMONT FOODBANK, THE STATE'S ONLY FOOD BANK, IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF VERMONT'S FOOD SECURITY RESPONSE SYSTEM. INCREASED LEVELS OF FOOD INSECURITY OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS HAVE STRAINED RESOURCES AT BOTH VERMONT FOODBANK AND ITS NETWORK OF MORE THAN 220 FOOD ACCESS AGENCIES (FOOD SHELVES, MEAL SITES, ETC.). PHILANTHROPIC SUPPORT REMAINS STRONG, BUT THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO SUSTAIN INCREASED LEVELS OF OPERATIONS ARE OUTPACING FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND FEDERAL CUTS ARE IMPACTING BOTH RESOURCES TO VERMONT FOODBANK AND ITS PARTNERS AS WELL AS INCREASING FOOD INSECURITY FOR PEOPLE IN VERMONT. VERMONT FOODBANK IS ADVOCATING ALONGSIDE PARTNERS FOR INCREASED STATE SUPPORT TO HELP CLOSE THIS GAP.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesOct 1, 2024 – Sep 30, 2025Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$28.7M
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