FREE HEALTHY AND NUTRITIOUS FOOD IN WINDHAM COUNTY

As of March 2021. Please check with the source or your town website for updated information.

Brigid’s Kitchen, St. Michael’s Church, 47 Walnut Street, Brattleboro 802-254-6800 or 802-558-6072 
Grab-and-go lunches and fruit/nuts on Mon, Weds, Thus, and Sat, 11:30am-12:20pm.

Loaves and Fishes, Centre Congregational Church 193 Main Street, Brattleboro (802) 254-4730
Grab-and-go lunches on Tuesdays and Fridays at 12pm.

VT Foodbank and Veggie Van Go will be at Brattleboro Union High School (Fairground Ave, Brattleboro, VT, 05301), in the parking lot, on the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month, from 10am-11:30am. Drive up, touchless pickup. Walkers welcome, too. Call VT 211 for more information. 

Foodworks, the food shelf program of the Groundworks Collaborative https://groundworksvt.org (802) 490-2412, [email protected] 
Households in need of food are asked to call or email to coordinate delivery. There is an urgent need for volunteers, and Foodworks has set up protocols to keep staff, volunteers, and clients as safe as possible. Please email us at [email protected] if you are able to help.

Guilford Food Pantry 
Every Thursday at the BBCC (3940 Guilford Center Road, Guilford, VT, 05301). 5pm-6pm.
We know that supplemental food can make such a big difference in one's budget. That is why we are stocking our shelves for our neighbors. All are welcome to come and take home fresh produce, staples, meat, dairy. Guilford Cares welcomes anyone in need of supplemental food for themselves or their families.

To Register for a VT National Guard Food Drop, please use this link: https://humanresources.vermont.gov/food-help

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Vermont WIC is Responding to Covid 19
We are moving to phone appointments to align with social distancing efforts. If you have opted in to email and text notifications, you will receive important program updates, including information about local office hours and changes in operations. Our website will be kept up-to-date as well. Contact your local office with any questions about breastfeeding, nutrition or shopping. Call 1-800-649-4357 or email [email protected] with any questions about WIC nutrition services and enrollment.

P-EBT (Pandemic EBT) is Available in VT
Many families in Vermont were notified that they would be receiving a food benefit called Pandemic EBT (or P-EBT). P-EBT is loaded on a card and can be used to purchase the groceries at many grocers and farmers markets. If you have school-aged kids, contact your school district to apply for free school meals. If approved, you'll automatically receive P-EBT. 
If you’ve already received P-EBT and also participate in WIC, use your WIC benefits first, as WIC benefits do not rollover month-to-month. dcf.vermont.gov/press-releases/P-EBT

 

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Food Resources at Brattleboro Food Coop
Our Shareholder Assistance Grant supports community members who could not otherwise afford to be a Shareholder at the Co-op. It covers $60 of the $80 cost of a Brattleboro Co-op Share. By joining the Co-op and paying the remaining $20 over the course of a year, a community member can enjoy all the benefits of being a Co-op Shareholder and qualify for our 10% Food for All discount. https://www.brattleborofoodcoop.coop/join/become-a-shareholder/shareholder-assistance-grant/

Food for All is our needs-based discount program. It gives eligible Shareholders a 10% discount on all food at the Co-op, with a few exceptions (such as alcohol). Food for All can apply to anyone that fits the criteria - WIC, 3 Squares Vermont, SSI, EBT, referral letter from a local organization. https://www.brattleborofoodcoop.coop/shop/food-for-all-program/ 

Contact the Shareholder Services department at the Brattleboro Food Co-op for assistance at 802-246-2821 or [email protected]

 

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HOUSING

WINDHAM COUNTY HOUSING INFORMATION FOR UNHOMED PERSONS

From Rhianna Kendrick at Groundworks Collaborative ([email protected], C: (802) 275-7179)
‣ Economic Services [ESD] has extended the Adverse Weather Condition motel rooms for 7 days starting today, and will assess this next week again
‣ There are no longer any periods of ineligibility.
‣ They are no longer referring clients to emergency shelter first before placing them in a motel through General Assistance [GA]. ESD staff are working on issues around GA motel capacity.
‣ The state is actively working on strategies to consider where current GA clients are housed.
‣ Shelters and transitional housing programs that do not have separate bedrooms and bathrooms for clients are recommended to stop accepting new clients into shelter, and instead to refer them to GA for a motel voucher -  Groundworks is following this recommendation.  If you run into any issues, please let me know and I can troubleshoot solutions.
‣ It has been recommended that DV agencies with their own motel funds also follow the above recommendation 
‣ The process to access a motel room is to call the benefits center at 800-479-6151, and then the local office will call people back.  If you run into issues with access please let me know and I can help solve them, either with ESD or  2-1-1.  After 4:30pm, it is no longer the local office supporting GA motel rooms, and folks will instead need to call 2-1-1.
Please share this widely, and don't hesitate to reach out to me with any problems that I can help solve!