The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf- it’s existence influences everyone in the greater Burlington area directly or indirectly. The Food Shelf reports that over one thousand households in Chittenden County receive assistance from their programs. Hundreds of people from the community volunteer time every year. Landlords are able to collect rent that might otherwise be needed for groceries, and Burlington, because of the Food Shelf, is able to keep more people off the streets. The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf is not only an obvious display of compassion and hope in Burlington, Vermont, but more importantly a hub for a wide array of opportunity.
The soup kitchen, grocery distribution and summer lunch program reach families in need right here in our neighborhoods and fight the hunger beneath our noses we tend to ignore. With the economy as it is, the numbers of struggling citizens are constantly rising and more and more people are finding refuge at the Food Shelf. Some may argue that the Food Shelf offers a crutch and allows people to settle instead of working harder for their necessities. Some may argue that the system is abused, that those without immediate needs take advantage, and that is absolutely an issue. However, one cannot argue that the presence of the Food Shelf is not an asset to the community. Even if the services only helped ease the financial distress of one family in need, the effort would be worthy.
Just as significant as feeding families, the Food Shelf provides countless service opportunities. All types of people, from retirees to housewives to students on summer break, seek outlets for their service and the Food Shelf accommodates. One can help distribute groceries, either at the center itself or by delivery. One can help weigh and stock donations. One can cook in the soup kitchen. One can just talk to the clients. Extending service and staying busy is often an essential element of a person’s wellbeing and many of us without families to care for are not only open for opportunities but pursue them for our own happiness.
Many people also find in the Food Shelf an opportunity to get back on their feet, to become active and respected members of society. For those with a criminal background, those just out of correctional facilities, and those recovering from substance abuse, reintegrating into citizenry- finding a job and earning trust- can be virtually impossible. So few people with this kind of history are able to work their way back into a lawful livelihood and most are practically forced back to their old ways of dealing and stealing and such. The Food Shelf allows those with more unfortunate histories to complete their mandated community service, to build resumes, and to work and communicate with people from all sectors of the community for a undisputed positive cause. A significant hope lies in this benefit alone.
The most heartening benefit I have witnessed through my time at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf is the community that exists and is constantly growing. Everyone seems to know or get to know everyone. People in need of the services find friends in others who also need the services- they find commonalities even when separated by the boundaries of age, race, religion and language. Employees and volunteers get to know the clients by name and create lasting relationships. A senior citizen filling time in her schedule by working the bread line might meet and mentor a troubled teen who has dropped out of school and been kicked out of the house. People might start talking over their breakfast and find that they live on the same street and can carpool or walk together or watch each other‘s kids. Such connections are made at the Food Shelf every day and the center is undoubtedly responsible for strengthening specifically the Old North End and Burlington as a community.
Surveys and numbers speak for themselves but the untold stories in which the Food Shelf has a part are where the strength lies. Needs are met, stress is eased, people come together. That cannot be argued. The Food Shelf displays its motto on every sign, on every sticker on every donation jar in town- “feeding people, cultivating opportunities.” What could be better than that?
