Today marks one year since we adopted our Covid-19 program changes at Feeding Chittenden, and we’re happy to say that we have not had to close down once over the course of the pandemic. It’s been far from easy, and we’ve been forced to make some tough decisions along the way. But we’re proud of the work we’ve done to keep food available in a time when more families than ever have wondered where their next meal might be coming from.

–We quickly transitioned from a congregate meal site and marketplace to a curbside grocery and meal pick-up service.

–We’ve continued training future chefs in our Community Kitchen Academy, with smaller class sizes and other programmatic changes.

–We’ve delivered food to our homebound and at-risk neighbors throughout Chittenden County.

–In the early months of the pandemic, we ran a large-scale meal delivery program for our neighbors in temporary emergency housing with meals made in the Community Kitchen Academy.

–We’ve continued rescuing and distributing all kinds of high-quality food that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

–We’ve worked on new delivery and order-ahead systems, which are currently being piloted in collaboration with Champlain Valley Head Start.

Ultimately, we’re emerging from this year stronger and with more resources available for our community than ever. Now we’re looking optimistically ahead to days when we will be able to spend time with our neighbors in person, whether we’re kneeling side by side over garden plots or sharing a delicious meal. Our Chittenden County community is resilient and we know we’ll make it through this together.