BRATTLEBORO — While Vermont's Universal Recycling Law (Act 148) has encouraged large commercial groceries to “[d]irect extra food of high quality to feed people by donating to food shelves” - a good thing - it should not be forgotten that many retailers have been doing this for years, even before there was a law, simply because it was the right thing to do.
As a volunteer at Loaves and Fishes, one of the community kitchens “serving a hot meal to any one in need,” I can tell you that the Brattleboro Food Co-op, for the eight years I have been around, has consistently provided high-quality produce culled from the store's shelves every week.
As a part-time employee at Dottie's Discount Foods, an offshoot of the Co-op, I also know that the Harvest Healthy Network is in touch with the store just before our biweekly delivery day to see what can be donated. But Dottie's has been donating directly to kitchens and pantries way before that.
Over the years, before there was a law, even the bigger stores such as Price Chopper have donated baked goods. Hannaford has a similar relationship with St. Brigid's Kitchen and Pantry. Amy's Bakery Arts Café used to save bread for us as well and now directly donates to the Groundworks Collaborative. The Works Bakery Café also contributes bagels.
One winter, we ran out of vegetables and the Wild Carrot CSA, which we had joined during the growing season, found enough root vegetables stored away to make our meals nourishing. Another farm donated hanger steaks.
For several seasons, we paid some of the feed cost to a Massachusetts sheep farmer, Bill Ames; he picked up the cost of slaughter, and we learned to do the butchering in house. I learned enough so that not all was stew.
This is one of those comments that can be very dangerous, as so many people and businesses contribute, both formally and informally, to helping out those who are less fortunate. I fear I have forgetten to name someone, or that I have named someone who would wish to remain anonymous.
Food insecurity is a big problem, but many people are attempting to address it. Thanks go to everyone who has and continues to pitch in.
More importantly, perhaps, it is the way we work on this problem that can also contribute to making our community ties that much stronger.