Woodstock Food Shelf Fills a Need

116 families, 340 people, and 14% of Vermonters.

Those are the number of families and people served by the Woodstock Food Shelf, and 14% are the percentage of Vermonters experiencing food insecurity.

Vermont is the ninth hungriest state in the entirety of the United States, Woodstock and Windsor county being no exception. In our town, Woodstock, there are 140 families registered with our local Food Shelf, and 116 are served regularly.

The Woodstock Food Shelf (located at 217 Maxham Meadow Way, Woodstock) was founded in 1984 by Martha Lussier, after urging by Reverend Donald Boyer. The Food Shelf was born in the basement of the St. James Episcopal Church- no one knew then the decades long impact it would have on our community.

The small operation grew over the years and was moved to Maxham Meadow Way officially in April 2009. The operation is now a network partner with the Vermont Foodbank and is open three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

The Food Shelf is entirely run by volunteers, “No one has ever gotten a paycheck, and our volunteers are mostly seniors,” says Food Shelf Director Judi Greene, who also manages and runs the volunteers- along with their training.

The Food Shelf takes financial and food donations, “We don't have a preference, both are helpful,” according to Greene.

People who get food and other necessities from the food shelf can come Monday 4-6 pm, Wednesday 1-3 pm, or Saturday 10-Noon. Shoppers can come once every seven days, averaging one-ten times a year, or once a month. The shoppers come from all over the state and even New Hampshire, mostly Queechee, Bradford, and Plymouth.

COVID-19 also had an effect on the food shelf, but not what many people would have thought. With the increase of government assistance during this time, the food shelf has actually had fewer visitors and members over the months.

“Due to COVID-19, we've had to lay off 50 volunteers; we've transferred our services to be curbside for safety reasons,” Greene says about the unexpected changes. “We didn't even really have a plan before COVID hit, we held an emergency meeting on how we would proceed, and we made the decision to continue the hard work, with just a few changes. We didn't know at the time that the demographic of shoppers would change so drastically.”

Local programs like Veggie Van Go and the Farms to Families have been a large help to the people in this community, giving more options to those in need. Though the community is incredibly helpful, the Food Shelf proudly hosts its own events. The Food Shelf holds a Thanksgiving and other holiday project where 150 baskets filled with holiday food are given away so everyone can enjoy the festivities of the season.

The Food Shelf also gets help from the Ottauquechee Health Center, “They find the people who have nowhere else to turn, and we can help them,” Greene says.

Something that is unique to Woodstock, is that the townspeople and local businesses work nonstop to help the Food Shelf. The Windsor Supervisory has an incredibly helpful school outreach program. According to Greene, “Woodstock Elementary School, Barnard Elementary School, The Prosper Valley School, and the Union High School Middle School have a program where students in need get a bag of fresh and yummy food from the Food Shelf every Friday and holiday break.

“The Woodstock Farmer Market has a program where all the round up money at the end of the month goes directly to the Food Shelf,” Greene says. The Change the World Kids group also has a garden behind Artistree in Pomfret, and a root cellar for colder seasons behind the Woodstock Elementary School. “The vegetables grown there help keep the Food shelf stocked all winter long with pounds of fresh vegetables,” Greene says adding, “It's mind boggling how generous this town is, it honestly makes me tear up.”

For those who want to help the Food Shelf, you can bring food directly to the building, or grocery store boxes. “Think of the things you use everyday,” Greene suggests. “Canned vegetables and fruits, canned chicken and tuna, cereal, even toothpaste.”

The Woodstock Food Shelf is poised to serve our community for years to come.