BRATTLEBORO-St. Brigid's Kitchen and Pantry on Walnut Street marked 43 years of offering free hot meals to the food insecure when it kicked off its anniversary fundraising appeal on St. Patrick's Day. The theme of the appeal is "Everyone Deserves to Eat."
In a news release, St. Brigid's Kitchen said its mission "is to provide food, hospitality, and a sense of community to our hungry Brattleboro neighbors by welcoming all persons who come to the door as guests at the family table."
From its inception, St. Brigid's has relied solely on the goodness and generosity of others. It benefits locally from Vermont Foodbank, Project Feed the Thousands, and Hannaford, among others; however, the kitchen does not receive town, state, or federal funding.
"The lifeblood of St. Brigid's mission has been the individual donors who have sustained it throughout the past 43 years," they said.
A crew of more than 60 volunteers working on five different teams provide hot meals on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays to people of low-income who are elderly (who make up more than 70 percent of the people served), families of low income with children, working people who live below the poverty level, people who are unhoused, and persons who are disenfranchised.
St. Brigid's offered its first meals in 1982 in response to what was perceived as a temporary solution to a short-term situation. In the years since, they say the number of meals they have served "has risen from the early days of 20 a day to today's numbers of 150 to 200, four days a week." St. Brigid's provided more than 47,000 meals last year, "indicating the increasingly growing number of food insecure in the community."
In addition to its hot meal program, St. Brigid's also operates a pantry for those who need to supplement their groceries.
A single mother struggling to keep her children fed said she appreciated the free groceries she gets at the pantry. "After paying for shelter and transportation, we do not have anything left over to buy other necessities, like food," she said.
Delivered meals are provided to the elderly and families with children without transportation. "If you didn't deliver these meals, I would have nothing to eat," an elderly woman recently told a St. Brigid's volunteer who delivers to her.
To make donations or for more information about St. Brigid's Kitchen and Pantry, visit stbrigidskitchenandpantry.org or contact them at 802-254-6800 or stbrigidskitchenvt@gmail.com.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.