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Vt. is 6th Hungriest State in Nation

Barre, Vermont - November 23, 2009

In just a few short days, most Vermonters will be digging in to a big Thanksgiving dinner, but not everyone in the state will have a seat at the table. A new report shows Vermont is the sixth hungriest state in the country.

At the Vermont Foodbank in Barre they gather and share food to nurture thousands of Vermonters each year, this past year more than ever before. The food bank delivered more than 7-and-a-half million pounds of food in 2008. They expect to top 8-million this year.

"The Foodbank has 280 network partners across the state and these are the food shelves and the soup kitchens and the senior centers that we distribute food to. We've seen a 35 to 40-percent increase in demand over the last year," said John Sayles of the Vermont Foodbank:

So a recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture may not have shocked these folks, but it did surprise others. The report ranks Vermont as the sixth hungriest in the country, 12- percent of the state's households struggling with food insecurity and relying on food shelves and other organizations for help.

Congressman Peter Welch says some are even considered severely hungry.

"But in this moment of Thanksgiving, we have 1 in 20 of our Vermonters who are really hungry and they are not going to have a Thanksgiving and we're not going to be aware of it," said Representative Peter Welch.

Welch is a co-sponsor of the Roadmap to End Global Hunger and Promote Food Security Act. The bill would create a White House Office on Global Hunger to coordinate federal food programs and would also increase U.S. investments in school programs, nutrition, and other safety net offerings. The public can help, too.

Number one, advocate. Talk to your family. Talk to your friends. Talk to your co-workers and let people know that hunger exists in Vermont and that we all have to do something to help affect that," said Sayles.

The need and the numbers may be growing, but Sayles says hunger was around before the recession and will be around after the recovery. So the folks at Vermont's largest food bank will continue to spread the word and will continue to gather and share food with vulnerable Vermonters.

You can learn more about the Vermont Foodbank and how you can help fight hunger. 

www.vtfoodbank.org

802-476-3341

Toll Free: 1-800-585-BANK

Bridget Berry Caswell - WCAX News