As the coronavirus pandemic inflicts a mounting toll on the Vermont economy, state officials have begun to develop a 鈥渕ass feeding plan鈥� for residents who can no longer afford to put food on the table.
has lent a helping hand to low-income families for almost 35 years. And for the last two of those, Executive Director Rachel Kring has overseen the organization's food shelf, which operates out of a donated building.
Until COVID-19 came on the scene, the food shelf had a community greeting area, where people could sit down and chat while they waited to browse the aisles for food.
鈥淎nd right now since we鈥檙e bringing everything out to cars, we鈥檝e just got stuff staged here and there and everywhere,鈥� Kring said.
Logistics aren鈥檛 the only thing that鈥檚 changed since : Kring said the number of people coming by for help has spiked as as a result of COVID-19.
鈥淥ur board has been talking about us being in this for the long haul, and what鈥檚 going to happen when suddenly the crisis is deemed over 鈥� it鈥檚 not over for those families that we serve that are already living check to check and will possibly come out of this with a mountain of bills, maybe no job to go back to,鈥� Kring said.
"In April of last year, the food bank distributed probably around 900,000 pounds of food, and if we stay on the pace we're on right now, it will be about 1.6 million pounds this month." 鈥� John Sayles, The Vermont Food Bank
The Hinesburg Community Resource Center isn鈥檛 the only local food shelf that鈥檚 seen a jump in demand. John Sayles, CEO of the Vermont Foodbank, said .
鈥淚n April of last year, the food bank distributed probably around 900,000 pounds of food,鈥� Sayles said. 鈥淎nd if we stay on the pace we鈥檙e on right now, it will be about 1.6 million pounds this month.鈥�
A by the University of Vermont found that the number of food-insecure households during the first few weeks of the coronavirus pandemic
Sayles said he fears the worst is yet to come.
- 33%: The amount by which the number of food-insecure households in Vermont increased during the first few weeks of the pandemic, according to a recent UVM survey
- 40%-100%: The amount by which supplies traffic at the Vermont Food Bank's member food shelves has increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic
- 900,000 pounds: The amount of food the Vermont Food Bank distributed in April, 2019
- 1.6 million pounds: The amount of food the Vermont Food Bank is on track to distribute in April 2020
鈥淒epending on what the new normal is, I think we鈥檙e seeing at least a year tail for people who are food insecure, and maybe longer,鈥� Sayles said.
Jenney Samuelson, who serves as the Agency of Human Services鈥� point person at the state鈥檚 , said Vermont has developed a 鈥渕ass feeding plan鈥� to address the problem.
鈥淭he plan that we have developed that we are calling the mass feeding plan is exactly that 鈥� that in this unprecedented time of COVID, [we are] ensuring that individuals and communities around Vermont have the resources that they need to ensure that everyone is well-fed,鈥� Samuelson said.
Samuelson said the state will have to and transportation logistics to ensure it meets the new demand.
Sayles said those plans include new modes of food distribution.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e seen on the news in some other cities some large car-based distributions at strategic spots around the state. We鈥檙e actually working on plans for that now,鈥� Sayles said.
Samuelson said it鈥檚 not clear yet how much the mass feeding plan will cost, but she said the state expects the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pick up a significant share of the cost.
Kring said small organizations like hers are going to need the help.
鈥淩ight now we鈥檙e treading water and we鈥檙e prepared and we鈥檙e doing it,鈥� Kring said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 a little scary feeling like a small organization like ours is going to be responsible for so much, potentially.鈥�
