You all may remember that I “bared my soul” at Senior Leadership and at an FMG meeting back in December to share my passion for the work that Community Harvest of Central Vermont (CHCV) does to bring fresh, local food to Vermonters in need. CHCV is also a recipient of grants from the National Life Charitable Foundation.
The majority of this work is fueled by volunteers – CHCV delivered 65,000 pounds of food in 2019 with total expenses of $42,000 – that’s just 64 cents per pound! We all know that fresh food from our local farmers’ markets and farm stands is much more expensive than that, and out of reach for many of our neighbors. But we could do much more – there is about 14 million pounds of produce grown in Vermont, and 1 million in Washington County alone, that is not sold or eaten – the opportunity for this work to both reduce food waste and address hunger in Vermont is huge.
I want to shout out National Life volunteers who contributed to this work – all of the photos on CHCV’s page listing most dedicated 2019 volunteers are of National Life employees or retirees ! Our own Jeff Rice from Finance is pictured and listed as a top volunteer. I’ve attached a team pic of FMG volunteers who gleaned pears this fall, including Jeff! Thanks for all the good you do in our communities.
I’d urge anyone who is passionate about hunger or food waste to learn more about CHCV and how you can help. It offers great opportunities for individuals, families, groups and and teams to volunteer particularly in summer and fall, including non-field work like sorting and delivering produce. Great way to use volunteer hours, have a fun outdoor team activity, and make an immediate difference in childhood hunger in Vermont. https://www.communityharvestvt.org/2019thanks