2003-2005 US Census - 3-year Average:
. 15 percent of Vermont children are overweight or obese.
. About 90 percent of public schools in Vermont offer federal breakfast and lunch programs, but many families don't participate because they don't know they're eligible for the program.
. In 2006, 29,000 children received free or reduced-cost meals in Vermont schools, according to Robert Dostis of the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger. When you include their younger siblings, who are not in school, that comes to 42,000 children who are eligible for federally subsidized summer meals. Only about 5,000 of those children have access to a summer program, because few communities offer one or because their parents are unable to get them to the program.
For more information, contact the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger at dkeeney@vtnohunger.org.
Most states have similar programs.
Other Sets of Statistic on Hunger in Vermont, 2005
. Vermont's food shelf caseload grew by 23 percent between 2003 and 2005. The caseload averages 10,379 households per month, but the volume exceeds that because 76 percent of the food shelves serve some households more than once a month.
. The average number of prepared meals served monthly by community kitchens grew by 6 percent, largely due to the creation of six new meal sites.
. 54 percent of food shelves that were active in 2003 have larger caseloads today. A 28 percent increase in the number of families with minor children using food shelves contributed to the caseload growth. These families now represent 51 percent of the food shelf caseload.
. Over half of the households dependent on food shelves are families with children. An average of 11,437 children are fed from food shelves each month, a 21 percent increase over two years. Different families use the food shelves each month, so the total number of children whose families risk or experience food shortages is probably significantly greater.
. 8,400 households visited Vermont's emergency food shelves each month on average during 2002. One quarter of these people were the elderly. For all populations, this was an increase of 16 percent over 2001.
. In 1990, Vermont had 70 emergency food shelves. In 2005, that number was 134. In 1990, there were 14 community kitchens. That increased to 31 in 2005.
. Community Kitchens are serving an average of 22,716 prepared meals a month. 8 percent are going to children, and 23 percent are being served to people over the age of 65.
Most of the money that goes to the food shelves comes from donated funds from the local community. Thousands of pounds of vegetables and fruits are also donated from local farmers. Other food comes from the supermarkets. Vermonters are providing nearly $8.9 million in food services each year to food shelves and community kitchens. This is based on data from a 2003 survey, which counted only certain food services. It did not account for federal meal programs or donations from Vermont merchants.
In addition, the Vermont Foodbank of Barre sends several million pounds of food to local food shelves throughout the state each year. In 2004, the Foodbank sent about 4,250 tons of food to local agencies, an increase of 30 percent over 2003. Food shelves have the wholesale cost for this food.
Despite the increase, the demand is growing. According to Deborah Flateman, the former Vermont Foodbank director, "We're seeing more people who are actually working who are in need of assistance." Flateman said an estimated 140,000 people used the charitable food distribution system at some point during the year. Vermont has a population of around 623,000.
Source of Stats:
Report from a 2005 survey of Vermont Food Shelves and Community Kitchens: Vermont Department for Children and Families
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* It is estimated that the cost of obesity is $141 million in health problems a year in Vermont.
Vermont Food Commodity Program - Vermont's commodity food program is coordinated by the Department for Children and Families in Waterbury, where the federal food commodities are processed and distributed. The central warehouse is located at LuckyDay in Plainfield. Commercial food distributors pick-up and transport the commodity foods to the schools as well as individuals that provide this service to single and groups of schools, as well as child care centers.
Another federal commodity program provides fresh produce to the schools through the USDA and the Department of Defense (DoD). Forty-two schools participate. In some states, local produce is used but very little local produce is purchased other than apples now and then in Vermont. The cost of those items is subtracted from the school's total commodity entitlement ? . In the future, it might be more difficult to procure local fresh fruits and vegetables under DoD as there will be just one central federal food coordinator instead of the current system of regional coordinators. Bureaucracy rolls on.
In 2001-2002, Vermont spent over $79,000 of their DoD funds for apples, potatoes, peeled baby carrots, oranges, lettuce, and kiwi. In 2006, that figure was closer to $95,000. The amount of Vermont products purchased was minuscule. Schools receive about 10 to 15 percent of their food on average in federal food commodities. Local produce and food products come out of school budgets.
Source:
Some of the above information came from Vern Grubinger, Overview Of School Food In Vermont, a report for the University of Vermont Extension and the Center for Sustainable Agriculture, September 2004.
* Please note - Food Pantries and Food Kitchens are managed by community members and churches, not by the USDA.
Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger
www.vtnohunger.org (802) 865-0255 email: vtcech@vthunger.org
The Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger is a non-profit member supported organization working to eliminate hunger in Vermont. Founded on the belief that no child should ever go hungry, VTCECH is committed to protecting children from the risk and experience of hunger. The agency helps communities initiate or expand school breakfast, lunch, and summer meal programs; offers classes to teach low-income parents to plan, shop for, and prep for nutritious meals with a limited budget; trains people who are working on the front lines to feed the hungry. VTCECH'S education and advocacy work addresses hunger on local, state and national levels.
The Campaign has a number of projects that address the hunger issue, including the following:
. Assisting schools in establishing school breakfast programs
650 more students participated in breakfast programs in 2006 in previous years.
. Expanding access and participation in the Food Stamp Program - There was a 5 percent increase in the program in 2006.
. Helping community groups provide nutritious meals to low-income children in the summer when school is not in session.
. Ensuring that infants and young children receive the nutrition they need to grow and develop when they are enrolled in early child care - whether they are in child care centers or home-based child care facilities. 4,500 children participated in the Child Care Food Program.
. Improving food security for parents, young adults and youth by providing classes that teach the skills necessary to make nutritious food choices, as well as providing instruction in meal planning, budgeting, shopping and cooking. This program is called Cooking For Life. In 2006, there were 58 six-week classes with 633 low-income participants in 42 locations statewide.
Side Notes:
Some people play the blame game with poor families rather than helping them make responsible food choices like the Cooking For Life program.
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