Raising Money for the Hungry and the Homeless; Nationally and in Vermont

Nov. 14 through the 22 is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. This national social movement is held every year on the week leading up to Thanksgiving in order to reflect on and raise awareness for the hunger and homelessness that exists in our country.

Hunger Free Vermont is a statewide nonprofit education and advocacy organization whose goal is to provide “nutrition education and [expand] access to nutrition programs that nourish Vermont’s children, families and communities.”

Katie Green, Adult Nutrition Specialist from Hunger Free Vermont, commented that, “[the] organization’s mission is to end the injustice of hunger and malnutrition in the state of Vermont. We go about doing that in a holistic way, and really trying to get at the root causes of food insecurity.”
Using U.S. census data from 2010-2012, the organization exposes the prevalence of hunger in the state and Addison County.

At the state level, Hunger Free Vermont reports that 13 percent of all Vermont households, or 83,200 Vermonters are food insecure. According to the organization, this means that 19 percent of Vermont Children live in food insecure homes and 7.5 percent of Vermont seniors live with food insecurity. Further, the organization found that 12,290 Vermont Children depend on emergency food from food shelves each month.

In Addison County specifically, Hunger Free Vermont states that one in five children are food insecure. Of grade school and high school students, 38 percent are eligible for free or reduced priced lunches. However, there are zero after school meal programs in the county even though six towns are eligible. In addition, ten senior community meal sites serve meals at least twice a week.

To help people afford three meals a day, the USDA funds 3SquaresVT, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.

“I think that all programs have room for growth … but that program serves over 82,000 Vermonters and helps them afford nutritious food, and put better food on the table for themselves and their families. So I would say it’s a very successful, and very essential program,” Green said on the effectiveness of 3SquaresVT.

According to a report conducted by the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF), the budget totals for 3SquaresVT in 2014 were $867,138. While the federal share made up 50 percent of SNAP funds for 3Squares VT, state funded dollars amounted to $346,214 and private discretionary funds totaled $87, 355.

In 2001, Hunger Free Vermont found that there were 38,558 3SquaresVT participants in 2001. Today, there are over 93,000 participants. According to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) as of 2015, the change in participation in the last five years has increased by 39.4 percent. Although the number of participants in 3SquaresVT is rising, Hunger Free Vermont reports that about one in five eligible individuals do not yet have access to the program.

While 3SquaresVT fails to reach everyone who needs SNAP benefits, Green points out that Vermont is taking some key steps to address this shortcoming.
“In the state of Vermont we have expanded eligibility for the program,” Green said. “Some states do not allow expansion eligibility, but we allow up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level. So this in Vermont makes a lot more people eligible for the program.”

Based on the inherent need for food stamps, 3SquaresVT created certain parameters for eligibility. For one person, an individual must have a monthly gross income limit of $1,801. An individual who qualifies for benefits based on these standards would receive approximately $37 a week from 3SquaresVT.  For a family of four, the household income must have a monthly gross income limit of $3,678. A family of four who is eligible to receive benefits would receive approximately $99 a week from 3SquaresVT.

Although the number of participants is on the rise, Green acknowledged the stigma that is still attached with the 3SquaresVT program.

“There shouldn’t be stigma or shame associated with just trying to provide healthier and more nutritious meals for individuals and their families,” said Ms. Green. “Changing the name to 3SquaresVT was something that we did as a state to try and alleviate some of that stigma … the fact that eight out of ten people in their life will experience economic hardship at some point [means] it is sort of a myth that this is a program that only a few people use and rely on”

In addition to food insecurity, homelessness is also a prevalent issue in Vermont.

According to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, there were 25 percent more homeless Vermonters in 2013 than there were in 2012. Based on data collected in 2013, the report found that in total there were 574 people in emergency shelters, 215 people in transitional housing and 160 people who were unsheltered.

Given the growing need of homeless shelters throughout the state, United Ways of Vermont identified 16 locations that offer emergency shelter, transitional housing, and community shelters.

For example, the John Graham Shelter, located in Vergennes, has been open for 38 years. The shelter itself can house up to 25 residents at a time. By owning scattered transitional housing, the John Graham has been able to increase the number of people they serve up to 75 people at a time.

The Charter House Coalition, located in Middlebury, was founded in 2005. According to the Coalition’s website, the Charter House served 24,000 meals in 2014 and housed 79 adults and children. Doug Sinclair, the Coalition’s Volunteer Executive Director, also added that the Charter House’s volunteer ranks have tripled to over 970 in 2014, as with their donations from individuals and organizations. Furthermore, Sinclair reported that the Charter House is already housing 26 people a night. Sinclair compared this figure to back in 2008, when the Charter housed about 20 adults and children over the entire winter.

With these impressive figures, Sinclair highlighted how the Charter House has been quick to respond to the community’s needs.

“Thanks to the increasing support our organiation receives across Addison County, especially from churches and Middlebury College students, more and more people have become part of our community of neighbor helping neighbor ... simply stated, as the need has grown, so has the response,” Sinclair said.

When asked why he felt the number of guests eating and sleeping at the Charter House had been increasing steadily, Sinclair pointed out numerous examples.

With the economic downturn in 2008, Sinclair explained how low and middle income families have become unable to keep up with meeting their basic necessities such as food and housing.

In addition, Sinclair suggested that challenges relating to mental illness and substance abuse have led more locals to turn to the Charter House.
“While we do not have hard local data to back that up,” Sinclair stated, “our experience with our neighbors who are served by our programs is consistent with the national data. There is no question, we are seeing more challenges related to mental illness and substance abuse.”

Additionally, Sinclair pointed to senior citizens, especially those who do not qualify for health care, who find it increasingly difficult to stay in their homes.

Sinclair noted, “[seniors] seeking to maintain their independence strive not to take advantage of government programs, but will accept the support of organizations like Charter House Coalition.”

Vermont Foodbank is responsible for 225 food shelves and meal sites, feeding as many as 153,000 Vermonters each year.

In addition to hunger and homelessness, this week also raises awareness about the prominence of poverty in the state and the county.

According to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) as of 2015, the poverty rate in Vermont is 12.3 percent. In comparison to other states, this statistic ranks Vermont 40th out of 50 overall. In addition, American Fact Finder published that in 2013, Vermont had a 4.6 percent unemployment rate and that 7.6 percent of families and people had incomes in the past 12 months that fell below the poverty line.

The Addison County Community Action Group (ACCAG), who started Helping Overcome Poverty’s Effects (HOPE), is a local poverty relief organization that has been working to address the mounting poverty in Addison County since 1965. According to their website, HOPE’s vision is that “all people in Addison County have access to the tools and resources necessary to meet their own basic needs.”

Jeanne Montross, Executive Director at HOPE described the work of the organization.

“We are a first response, and a last resort. We do what no one else does. Many other local agencies refer people to us when they don’t know where else to turn,” Montross said.

Montross explains that unlike other government assistance organization, HOPE doesn’t use formulas.

Instead, Montross said, “we sit down with people and ask them what they need. If it makes sense, if no one else provides the resource, and if we can afford it, we do it.”

For Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week, the College’s Community Engagement Office has planned many events.

Elle Bacon, the College’s AmeriCorps Vista member, organized the week’s events along with several students, including Bella Carey ’17.5, Julia Trencher ’18  and Abla Lamrani-Karim ’16.

Bacon prefaced by saying, “these events are by no means a holistic discussion of both hunger and homelessness and they do not encompass all that could or should be discussed.”

However, she then explained, “my intent for this week is to continue current discussion on campus about these issues, while also (hopefully!) sparking new conversation and action.”

Through Volunteer Service Organization (VSO), 14 students went to HOPE last Friday and helped prepare holiday food for their food shelf.
Julie Ehrlich ’17.5, one of the volunteers, said, “HOPE is an amazing organization that works really hard to fill a lot of the gaps caused by poverty in Addison County ... HOPE does the best they can, but there are only so many people working there full time. In a short time, a group of many volunteers significantly helps HOPE accomplish what would have taken them hours or days.”

Ehrlich continued by saying, “the take away message of volunteering at HOPE is that in order for an amazing organiation to do amazing things, it really needs support and volunteer help from the community.”

On Tuesday Nov. 17, Katie Green from Hunger Free Vermont came to speak at an Atwater dinner.

Green first talked about the issue of food insecurity and hunger in Vermont, and went into detail about the history of hunger.  Green explained, “I think that a lot of people who aren’t familiar with the issue of hunger … can be surprised that hunger is such a far reaching issue today.”

Then, Green discussed the ways in which Hunger Free Vermont uses advocacy and legislative means to work to end the injustice of hunger, and the ways in which the organization works within a community.

On Wednesday, Nov. 18, there was a screening and subsequent discussion of “A Place at the Table.” The documentary, released in 2012, is told through the lens of three individuals and examines the issue of hunger in America.

Bacon explained why she chose this movie.

“This documentary, I think, does a pretty good job acknowledging the devastation of food insecurity in the United States,” she said. “It connects individual stories with the larger systematic issues that prevent individuals and families in poverty from ‘making ends meet’ and debunks the myth that there is a certain type of person that is ‘hungry” in the U.S.”

On Thursday, Nov. 19 at 4:45 pm, the Community Engagement Office is sponsoring volunteers to attend Charter House Community Supper.
Bacon highlighted the community-based ethos of the Charter House supper.

“While we will not be serving the meal, my intent is to ask students to share a meal with those they might not otherwise,” she said. “I hope students will engage in community beyond the campus and get out of their comfort zone. Community Supper is more than a meal, it is a social event for a lot of the people that attend, and I think one way in which students can bridge the campus-community gap is by showing up, conversing and listening as a willing and open participant in such social events.”

In addition to publicized events throughout the College, some professors have taken it upon themselves to focus on the issues.

For example, in her class ‘Hunger, Food Security and Food Sovereignty,’ Professor Molly Anderson gave her students the opportunity to participate in the SNAP Challenge. Each student who participates was given the allotted $37 to spend on food for the week.

“Since our class is about hunger and food insecurity, and how various agents are trying to address these problems,” Anderson explained, “I wanted students to understand that food insecurity is significant in the US as well as in other countries.”

“Although the SNAP Challenge is just a small window into the kinds of difficult decisions that food insecure people make on a daily basis,” Anderson pointed out, “It is a way to raise our awareness and understand better at a gut level the issues that are caused by lack of jobs with a decent wage, lack of job training, poor daycare options for our next generation and insufficient food stamp allotments.”

“For me, I think the take away [of this week] is just to raise awareness on the issue, and get some talking points out there,” Green commented.