Rally for Change

Anytime you check-out at City Market, you can choose to "round up" your total to the nearest dollar. At the end of the month, we donate 50% of those funds to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, 40% to an organization that aligns with our Global Ends, and 10% to a local non-profit.

In November, you collectively donated $21,499.93! 

  • $10,749.96 for the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf
  • $8,599.97 for Janet S. Munt Family Room
  • $2,150.00 for Special Olympics Vermont

December's 50% Partner: 

Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf

The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf is the largest direct service anti-hunger organization in Vermont. The Food Shelf provides critical nutrition assistance to more than 11,000 Chittenden County residents who struggle with food insecurity and hunger every year. Food Shelf programs provide groceries, hot meals, job training and support for thousands of our neighbors.

In October, the Food Shelf received $11,015.52 from Rally for Change. These funds will help provide more than 19,800 meals to our neighbors who are experiencing hunger or food insecurity. This donation will also help to provide Thanksgiving meals for thousands of families who need nutritional assistance this holiday season.

December's 40% Partner:

The Intervale Center

The Intervale Center is a dynamic food and farming non-profit in Burlington, VT with a mission to strengthen community food systems. Founded in 1988, the Center manages a 360-acre campus of farmland, trails and open space along the Winooski River. Their influence radiates out from this beloved place as they work across Vermont to enhance farm viability and land sustainability, and more broadly as we serve as a model for food and farming organizations throughout the world. For 30 years, they’ve led a community food revolution. They've pioneered game-changing initiatives like community-supported agriculture (CSA), large-scale composting, food hubs and farm incubators. They continue to innovate so that more good food is available for more people!

December's 10% Partner:

U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immagrants

Vision: Immigrants, refugees, and uprooted people will live dignified lives with their rights respected and protected in communities of opportunity.

Mission: To protect the rights and address the needs of persons in forced migration and support their transition to a dignified life.

Since 1980, USCRI Vermont (formerly Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program) welcomed over 8,000 refugees and asylees to Vermont. They give newcomers the tools they need to break through social, cultural, and economic barriers so their previously interrupted lives can flourish. The first welcome begins with navigating American culture, laying solid foundations for a fresh start, and making essential community connections to successfully integrate into our community. USCRI Vermont provides wraparound services, including case management, employment services, English Language Learning, interpretation and translation services, and volunteer support to ensure that each person’s needs are met and that they can become self-sufficient within a few months of arrival in the US. People with refugee backgrounds are now integral to the economic and social vitality of our community.

About Rally for Change

In October 2014, City Market updated its program for collecting donations at the register! Previously, we selected a different non-profit each month and donated 5 cents for each bag our customers reused (our "Change for Local Non-Profits" program). Every register also included tear off coupons so customers could donate to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf. In addition, each year in February we sold $1 Hearts for the Intervale Center and in September $1 Lunch Trays for Hunger Free Vermont, with all donations going to each respective organization. We've consolidated all of these programs into our new "Rally for Change" program which allows customers to "round up" their order at each register, each time they check-out at the Co-op.

In the name of education, opportunity, and streamlining how we do things here at the Co-op, we created a Rally for Change program! This program allows customers to “round up” their payment at the register (e.g., a $25.42 checkout could be rounded up to $26 for a $0.58 donation). The Co-op will then donate this “round up” change to a variety of local non-profits each month (so, not just one!) that are doing amazing work in our community. Want to round up to the nearest five or ten dollars? You can do that too! Each month, we’ll share who will be receiving the donations (in our newsletter, with store signage and through staff education).

With more than 4,000 transactions each day through our registers, we all have the opportunity to share what we think of as “small change” to rally for bigger community-wide change. This new Rally program will take the place of the “tear off” coupons we have at the registers and will also take the place of our Change for Local Non-Profits (or bag refunds) program.

Not to worry, a large percentage of each month’s donation will go to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf and we anticipate that this program will actually increase their donations. Through this new program, we will also continue to offer donations to local non-profits that are on the waiting list for our previous "Change for Local Non-Profits" bag refund program (and any new ones that we add to the list!). Here’s how the donation percentages will work out each month:

  • 50% to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, every month

  • 40% to an organization that aligns with the Co-op’s Global Ends 

  • 10% to a local non-profit that may not directly align so closely with our Global Ends, but still works to make our community a better place (much like the Change for Local Non-Profits Program)

This new program gives our cashiers and staff an opportunity to engage with our customers and together we’ll both support and learn more about the organizations that make our community a better place to live. We’re excited to give it a try and are interested to hear what you think!

Past Recipients

Do you run a local non-profit that aligns with our Global Ends?

Your organization can apply to become a Rally for Change 10% Partner. We are currently filling slots 4 years out (it's a popular program and our community has many amazing non-profits!). Visit our donations page to learn how to apply.