The Giving Season: The changing face of hunger
By Lynn Monty, Free Press Staff Writer • Monday, December 13, 2010
University of Vermont students involved with the Food Salvage group prepare a Sunday dinner at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf each week. PHOTO CREDIT: Emily McManamy, Free Press
David Frye, 44, of Burlington, works full-time as a dishwasher and prep cook at Wake Robin nursing home, but he has to visit the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf monthly because his income doesn’t meet his basic needs.
“By the time I’ve paid rent I have no money for food,” Frye said.
Frye visits the food shelf once a month to receive a large box of canned goods, cheeses, breads, fruits and vegetables.
“Every little bit helps in this economy,” he said. “Because of the economy the way it is, people have no choice. A lot of people who come have cars, like myself, and drive in. We are not homeless by any means, we just need some help.”
Frye personifies a growing trend the staff and volunteers at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf are seeing, more working people and families needing help to make ends meet.
Bob Maritano, 71, of Winooski, has seen the face of hunger change in his 22 years as a volunteer at the food shelf. He serves as a food drive coordinator and food recovery specialist, sometimes working 12 to 14 hour days. He has witnessed thousands of people take advantage of the services offered there and has seen many new faces in the past couple of years.
“There’s a big push now because of the holidays when people have an even greater need,” Maritano said. “But Jan. 15 is no different than Christmas Day, poverty is 24/7.”
A U.S. Deparment of Agriculture study published in November shows Vermont and Alabama tied in having had the biggest increase in “food insecurity” in the last decade. the USDA definition of food insecurity is having “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.”
The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf serves between 12,000 and 16,000 people annually, according to Rob Meehan, the executive director.
“We know there’s a problem because we see it every day,” Meehan said. “And it’s not always the homeless person who lives on a park bench coming in, it’s working families who are trying to pay the utility bills.”
U.S. Census data indicate 68,700 Vermonters of all ages live in “food insecure” households. Thirty-seven percent of Vermonters could not afford either enough food or enough nutritious food in 2008.
In Chittenden County, according to the USDA food security report, there has been a 33 percent increase in 3SquaresVT, formerly known as food stamps over last year.
Lois D’Arcangelo, 67, of Shelburne became a volunteer at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf five years ago after working as a teacher in the Burlington area for 30 years. Now she spends time helping folks register at the food shelf. Most clients come in once a month for a box of food that would have cost about $200 at their local grocery store. The homeless can come get a box of food every two weeks, she said.
D’Arcangelo said she has seen an increase in the number of clients. “People who have jobs and people who’s social security is frozen come here now,” she said. “I personally know people who are having to choose between visiting the doctor and going grocery shopping. Most people don’t want to have to come here.”
Meehan said about 1,000 volunteers help out at the food shelf annually. “There are a lot of folks who are in the low income community who have a hot meal in the morning and then volunteer in the warehouse,” he said. “The need is increasing and so is the generosity.”
People do not need to register or even give their name for the daily hot meals served at the food shelf. Every morning from 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and every Sunday night at 5:30 p.m. a meal is served to anyone who visits. A line of about 300 people begins to form at about 4 p.m. every Sunday night, Maritano said.
Meehan and Maritano agreed that the food shelf needs money. “We can purchase three pounds of food for $1 ,” Maritano said. “Where are you going to shop at those prices? We have a lot of people to feed.” The foodshelf buys food from the Vermont Foodbank. Meehan said their mission is to not see any children go hungry in Chittenden County. “In order for our entire economy to get better we need this sector to be lifted up and not just for the economy, but so their spirits are lifted up. We are seeing more working families. The end user is changing and we are packing more and more people in here.”
