A Season for Introspection

By Clem Nilan, General Manager

The winter holidays are a special time to connect with those we love. The shortening days and longer nights make this an introspective season - a great time to enjoy a good book, to try out a new comfort food, and to be thoughtful. It's an especially appropriate time to remember those in our community who go through each day in hunger and need.

Throughout the year, the Co-op works with a variety of local organizations that help feed our community like, the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, Hunger Free Vermont, Burlington School Food Project, and the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington.

I asked Rob Meehan, Director the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, to give us a summary of what he's seeing day-to-day. Below is Rob’s reply.

As you know, these are particularly challenging times for thousands of people throughout Chittenden County that are served by the Food Shelf.  When Tropical Storm Irene hit Vermont, many of our visitors were already struggling with the rising costs of living expenses such as food, rent, heating oil and gasoline.  Emergency food providers throughout Vermont have been overwhelmed since the storm hit with an increased number of people in need.  And with long-term recovery just beginning, those increases are likely to be sustained for some time to come.

We continue to provide food to seniors, people with disabilities, the homeless, and working families who cannot make ends meet. And there are many more new visitors who have lost their jobs. At the Food Shelf, we are determined to make sure that no one, especially no child, goes hungry this holiday season or at any time throughout the year.

Hunger makes its presence known here  at the Co-op. Foods for All sales were $136,495 in November, representing over 9% of all member sales. This total is a 7.3% increase over last November. There are 1,241 members participating in the FFA program out of a total of 7,488 total members. FFA membership is over 16% of membership, or 1 in 6 members.

Hunger Free Vermont recently challenged community members to build awareness of hunger in our community by participating in their 2011 3SquaresVT Challenge. The annual Challenge seeks to highlight what it’s like to eat on the average 3SquaresVT benefit - approximately $1.80 per meal for a single person. Hunger Free Vermont’s intent is to draw attention to the experience of living on a strict food budget allotment and how that may or may not change your daily life both physically and psychologically as a participant.

During the Challenge, Hunger Free Vermont invites comments on their blog. Day 3 of the Challenge had some participants commenting on the difficulty of attending gatherings on a very limited food budget. Said one comment,

This is the part I find the toughest - in fact, psychologically, it's much worse than just "difficult." It's downright horrible. I've had to turn down invites to go out to restaurant dinners and potlucks, despite really wanting to hang out with friends. I don't think people realize until you have to say "no" how much our cultural activities revolve around food and how much it's just expected that we contribute to that. Even at "free" events in the community, usually the food isn't free, so why should I take my child there and then have to say no to what she sees other kids eating? It really just isn't fair...

One Day 7 commenter noted that she made use of City Market’s bulk bins and homemade meals during the Challenge. We just started a series of classes called Pennywise Pantry to highlight those very ideas – keeping your cupboard stocked with affordable foods that are close to nature, nutritious, varied, and plentiful.  If you haven’t taken a stroll through our bulk department, you’re in for a surprise as we offer a wide variety of products and you only need to purchase what you need (it’s even better if you bring your own container!).

All of us at City Market wish you a safe and healthful holiday season. And we wish for a world where everyone has enough to eat. We’re thankful for the folks who staff and volunteer our community’s organizations working to eradicate hunger; their collective accomplishments are humbling.

During this thoughtful and introspective season, consider donating to any one of these non-profits. When you’re next at the Co-op, consider making a donation to the Food Shelf at the register by using the pull-off Velcro tags.  Last year we sent over $30,000 in customer donations to the Food Shelf. Rob included a note me of thanks to our patrons for this support, “The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf is very grateful to City Market and City Market customers for their support in fighting hunger in our community. From all of us at the Food Shelf, Happy Holidays!”