BRATTLEBORO — According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2009 Food Security in the United States report, 57 percent of those reporting food insecurity - the lack of access to food - had participated in federal food and nutrition assistance programs.
Food secure households spent 33 percent more on food than the food insecure households. A little less than a half million families with children experienced “very low food security” - defined by the government as disrupted meals and reduced food intake - in 2009.
While 85.3 percent of families were food secure, the remaining 14.7 “had difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources,” according to the report.
In Vermont's population of about 620,000 people, 13.6 percent report food insecurity, and 6.2 report very low food security, as compared with current rate of 5.7 percent unemployment in the state.
The main government program dealing with hunger is the Vermont Department of Children and Families' 3SquaresVT, formerly known as food stamps. The program provides food assistance for families and children.
The federal poverty level is currently set at $22,050 for a family of four. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), in 2009, 10 percent of Vermont children live in homes where earnings are at or below this level.
The NCCP estimates that in 2009, 27 percent of children living in poor families in Vermont do not have an employed parent, and 60 percent of those families are living with a single parent. Education is a factor, according to their findings, as 45 percent of those poor parents living on or below the poverty level did not complete high school.
Currently, about 1 in 8 Vermonters rely upon 3SquaresVT each month. That number sounds high, but it could be higher: state officials say about 25 percent of people who are eligible for the program haven't signed up for it.
One of the nonprofit agencies working on the problem of persistent hunger is the Vermont Foodbank, which helps supply food for 280 food shelves, meals sites, senior centers, shelters and after-school programs around the state.
Among these programs are several geared toward feeding kids, such as the Kids Café through the Boys and Girls Clubs in Brattleboro and other chapters across the state, and teen centers. The backpack program provides nutritious food in brown bags that are put in children's backpacks while they are not present to avoid stigma.
The summer food service program provides breakfast and lunch as well as recreational activities to families in need through the Vermont Foodbank. Hunger 101 provides education and teaching tools about how to talk about hunger, and increasing awareness of hunger issues for elementary, middle and high school students.
The Vermont Foodbank has numerous other programs, such as the community kitchen. In its agricultural programs, excess food grown is gleaned, farm collectives sell produce to the food bank, and participating “U-pick” orchards that encourage Vermonters to “pick for your neighbor.”
For more information, visit www.vtfoodbank.com.