Food Shelf News
by Kerrie Pughe,
May 6, 2010, page21.....

Feinstein Challenge update
Thank you to these additional contributors: Larry and Linda Hamilton, Jeanette Thibault, Jeffery and Irene Horbar, Alice Trageser, Eleanor West, Joseph and Jennifer Dickerman, Emile and Diane Cote, Susan and Hans Ohanian, Charlotte Grange 398. 
The Feinstein Challenge concluded at the end of April with $5,894.63 collected as of this writing. These funds will keep our Food Shelf door open during the upcoming months. The Feinstein Challenge and the holiday gifts we receive are the largest source of the Food Shelf donations for the entire year. Thank you to all who are making this important work possible in our community. Please remember donations to the Food Shelf are always gladly accepted.
Donations may be mailed to: Charlotte Food Shelf & Assistance, c\o 3319 Mt. Philo Road, Charlotte, Vermont, 05445.
 
“Plant a Row” update
Elizabeth Berger organizes this program. She collected seed packets and is making them available to those who would like to plant an extra row in their gardens to supply the Food Shelf with fresh veggies this summer. The seeds are available at the Charlotte Congregational Church.

Wish list for May
Crackers, children’s snacks and sunscreen (summer is around the corner).

Meal in a bag for May 13 and 27
Pizza kits and spaghetti goulash 

Gently used clothes program update
This program, run by Laura Iglehart, distributed 23 bags of spring and summer clothes to Charlotte kids in April. Laura and her husband, Jon Davis, distributed the bags at the morning food distribution and delivered some to homes as well.

Vermont Foodbank update
We are a proud member of Vermont Foodbank, which is nationally recognized as one of the most effective food banks in the U.S. Through its outreach education program, it keeps hundreds of Vermont volunteers connected, sharing information and strategies that work. Cindy Robinson, Nancy Bloch and Karen Doris attended the 4th Annual Vermont Foodbank Hunger Conference held at the Burlington Sheraton on April 27. The Foodbank’s mission is to gather and share quality food and nurture partnerships that will end hunger in Vermont. Last year, the Vermont Foodbank distributed nearly 7.5 million pounds of food to its 280 member food pantries, soup kitchen, shelters, senior canters and after-school programs.
“Bridges Out of Poverty” trainer and consultant Prudence Pease, who lives in Tunbridge, discussed the hidden rules and mental models of economic class, and the causes of poverty.
The keynote speaker was Joey Berg, who published All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America? Berg leads the New York City Coalition Against Hunger and served for eight years in the Clinton Administration at the U.S Department of Agriculture. He compared hunger to cholera and TB, which it was once assumed could not be eradicated. But government efforts over 100 years ago made an end to both. Berg said the cost of hunger in children is a lifetime of poor health, lost time at work and huge medical bills for end-of-life care. He spoke strongly for early intervention to end childhood hunger as a responsible human act and fiscal necessity.

Fast Facts:
• Approximately 8,200 people receive emergency food assistance in any given week in Vermont.
• 33% of households served by the Vermont Foodbank have at least one child younger than 18 years old.
• 37% of households served by the Foodbank include at least one employed adult.
• 35% of clients served by the Vermont Foodbank do not have access to a working car.
• 69% of households served by the Vermont Foodbank have incomes below the official federal poverty level.
• 42% of Foodbank clients choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel, 23% choose between food and medicine or medical care, and 34% of clients choose between food and paying their rent or mortgage. 
-Data collected from Hunger In America, 2010 

All non-perishable food donations may be dropped off at the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church (main entrance) or at the Food Shelf during the distribution mornings. Fresh garden veggies, perishable foods or foods that require refrigeration are best brought to the food shelf by 7:15 a.m. on those the mornings. If this time is not convenient for you, please call Lisa at 425-2952 to arrange a mutually convenient drop-off time.

The Charlotte Food Shelf is located on the lower level of the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry. We are open from 7:30-9 a.m. on the following Thursdays for food distribution: May 13 and 27, June 10 and 24, July 8 and 22, August 12 and 26.

For emergency food call: Lisa 425-2952
For more information call: Karen 425-3252