Through Aug. 31, a few of the food shelves in Southeastern Vermont will be collecting healthy lunch and snack foods and school supplies for the children and families they serve in their communities.
The food shelves that are participating in the Back-to-School Food and Supplies Drive are Our Place Drop-In Center in Bellows Falls (802-463-2217), Guilford Cares Food Pantry (802-257-0626), Springfield Family Center (802-885-3646), and Townshend Community Food Shelf (802-365-4348). For more information, call the food shelf closest to where you live or work or look for the posters in your town.
These organizations and the food shelves in Putney, Chester,and Brattleboro are working together to improve access to healthy local food. Requested food items to donate include: tuna fish, peanut butter, crackers, raisins, apple sauce, fruit or pudding cups, and non-sugary cereals.
School supplies suggested by a local teacher include: No. 2 pencils, pens, markers, crayons, colored pencils, zipper pencil cases, folders, paper (lined, construction, and plain) composition notebooks, and 1-inch binders.
More than 17,000 children in Vermont live in households that are food insecure at some time during the year. Food insecurity is defined as the lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times due to a lack of financial resources. It can be more acute this time of year, when family budgets are stretched thin to buy clothing, shoes, backpacks, and school supplies for their children.