Spread the Word
- Free Summer Meals for Kids Available Across Vermont
- Wanted: Stories Illustrating the Need for Better Access to Affordable Dental Care
- Spread the Word about the Commodity Supplemental Food Program
Vermont News & Opportunities
- VT’s Economic Services Division Announces New Online and Paper Applications Coming Soon
- Summer Food Kickoff Celebration in Winooski, VT
- Vermont a Shining Light amid Nationwide Decline in Summer Meal Programs
- More Vermont Schools Taking Advantage of Fruit and Veggie Snack Program
- Farmers’ Markets Taking Advantage of 3SquaresVT
- More Vermont Students Able to Automatically Receive Free School Meals through New Federal Policy
National News, Research & Advocacy
- Food Insecurity Extends to Children in Food Secure Households
- Hunger is a Children’s Health Problem
- Hunger May Rise as Food Prices Remain High
Spread the Word
1. Free Summer Meals for Kids Available Across Vermont
With the arrival of summer vacation, meal programs across the state have begun serving nutritious meals to children. Families looking for a nearby meal program should dial 2-1-1 or click here for the complete list of drop-in sites available on www.vermontfoodhelp.com. VTCECH would also like to thank all sponsors and sites for expanding the availability of healthy food during the summer months. Thousands of children and families across the state will benefit from their efforts
Do you want to learn more about childhood hunger in the summertime? Would you like to hear from sites and sponsors that have made the summer meal program work in their communities?
Click here to watch a recent episode of “Live at 5:25” focused on Summer Nutrition Programs, or contact Emily Glover at eglover@vtnohunger.org or (802) 865-0255.
2. Wanted: Stories Illustrating the Need for Better Access to Affordable Dental Care
Although oral health is central to overall health, tens of thousands of Vermonters do not have access to preventive or routine dental care. The Vermont Oral Health Care for All Coalition is working to build a statewide consumer voice and raise public awareness of the need for better access to affordable dental care.
One important way to bring attention to the unmet oral health care needs of Vermonters is to hear from Vermonters themselves. If you have gone without dental care or faced challenges in receiving care, we need to hear from you!
Call Ellen Gershun, Outreach Director at the VT Campaign for Health Care Security Fund with your personal story/situation at (802) 498-8039 or email her at ellenvchcs@live.com or leave her a confidential message at 1-866-482-4723. Your information will be kept confidential until you give permission to use it.
The Vermont Oral Health Care for All Coalition is comprised of organizations including consumer groups, children’s advocates, organized labor, senior advocates, health care providers and health clinics.
3. Spread the Word about the Commodity Supplemental Food Program
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) is a federal nutrition program administered by the Vermont Foodbank. Every month, approximately 4,000 boxes of food, each worth about $50, are distributed to income eligible senior citizens and families with young children. More boxes are now available to eligible Vermonters. Call the Foodbank toll free at 1-800-214-4648 for more details, outreach materials, or a free pre-screening. Please spread the word in your community about this important nutrition resource!
Vermont News and Opportunities
4. VT’s Economic Services Division Announces New Online and Paper Applications Coming Soon
Starting in July, Vermonters will be able to access the ESD application for benefits online at www.mybenefits.vt.gov.
Also in July, there will be a new paper application for all ESD benefits. This new application is designed to be scanned at the Application & Document Processing Center to decrease application processing time and increase efficiency. When the new paper application is released and distributed, Department for Children and Families/ESD will ask you to discard the old paper applications and use this new one.
For more information on modernization, go to http://dcf.vermont.gov/modernization. Send any questions or feedback to dcf.modernization@ahs.state.vt.us.
For 3SquaresVT outreach materials to share in your community, contact Angela Smith-Dieng at angela@vtnohunger.org.
5. Summer Food Kickoff Celebration in Winooski, VT
Healthy food and fun was on the agenda June 28th when state and local officials, the Winooski Department of Recreation and Community Wellness, and the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger teamed up to kick off 2010 summer food programs which are hosted at sites across the state. The Winooski Fire Department and City Market’s fruit mascots were on hand at the celebration to greet children and help promote the importance of the federally-funded summer food program for the health and well-being of Vermont’s children.
To see recent press coverage of this event, click links below.
WCAX Fox 44 Fox 44 (Video) CCTV Channel 17 Video
6. Vermont a Shining Light amid Nationwide Decline in Summer Meal Programs
A national report released by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) ranked Vermont 12th in the nation for participation in the Summer Food Service Program. While Vermont experienced a 7% increase in the number of children receiving summer meals, the national average reflected a 2.5% decline in participation. According to representatives from FRAC, school districts across the country were forced to eliminate summer programs due to recession woes, consequently limiting the availability of meals.
Although the report gives reason to celebrate Vermont’s efforts to feed vulnerable children, there is still a lot of room for growth. Of the 29,000 children who rely on school meals during the school year, only about 5,000 have access to nutritious food during summer vacation. VTCECH expects the participation in summer meal programs to grow in future years, thanks to the determination of individuals and communities across the state.
Click here to read the full report.
To find out more about summer meals, contact Emily Glover at eglover@vtnohunger.org or (802) 865-0255.
7. More Vermont Schools Taking Advantage of Fruit and Veggie Snack Program
(VPR, May 31, 2010)
A recent story on VPR reported that over 55 Vermont schools took part in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program – a program that promotes good nutrition by making fresh fruit and vegetables available to children as snacks during the school day. The program is targeted to at-risk schools and includes a nutrition education component to reinforce the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables. The story highlights how the program worked in Mettawee Community School in West Pawlet and discusses plans for program expansion in the upcoming school year.
Click here to read the full story.
Visit this page to learn more about the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program or contact the Vermont Department of Education for more information about how to apply in Vermont.
8. Farmer’s Markets Taking Advantage of 3SquaresVT
This summer more farmers’ markets in Vermont are welcoming 3SquaresVT benefits on EBT cards. Markets in 27 locations across all regions of Vermont now have EBT/Debit machines where people can swipe their cards in exchange for tokens to use at the markets to buy fresh, nutritious foods directly from their local farmers. 3SquaresVT now brings more than $10 million in federal funds into the state each month, benefiting 1 in 7 Vermonters with increased access to more nutritious food and Vermont’s grocers and markets with increased revenues.
For more information about EBT access at farmers’ markets in Vermont, including dates, times and locations, click here or call 2-1-1.
For outreach brochures and posters to share in your community, contact Angela Smith-Dieng at angela@vtnohunger.org.
Click here for low-cost recipes that use vegetables and fruits!
9. More Vermont Students Able to Automatically Receive Free School Meals through New Federal Policy
A new USDA policy states that all children in a household are now eligible for free school meals if anyone in the household receives 3SquaresVT. Previously, each child would need to have eligibility determined separately.
Children in households that receive 3SquaresVT are automatically eligible for free school meals. Each month, Vermont’s Department for Children and Families and Department of Education perform a data matching process so that eligible children may be automatically enrolled for schools meals without the families having to fill out additional paperwork. This process, known as direct certification, will benefit from this new USDA policy. The change has the potential to improve the direct certification process, making it easier for schools to enroll more eligible students and lessening the burden on families.
For more information about the direct certification process and this new USDA policy, read the recent report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities here.
For more information on School Meal Participation in Vermont, contact Sarah Robinson at srobinson@vtnohunger.org.
National News, Research and Advocacy
10. Food Insecurity Extends to Children in Food Secure Households
(HealthCanal.com, May 25, 2010)
A recent University of Missouri (MU) study found that children can still experience food insecurity even in food secure households and despite food assistance programs. The researchers examined, among other factors, racial comparisons among vulnerable households, SNAP/Food Stamp participation, and informal food assistance. They found that SNAP/Food Stamp participation increased children's food security in Caucasian households but not African-American households. The study categorized children as food insecure if, in the last year, they did not eat enough, did not eat for a day, skipped a meal or were hungry because their family lacked sufficient money to afford enough food. "We found that household food security does not equate to food security for children within those households," said study author ManSoo Yu, assistant professor in the MU School of Social Work and Master of Public Health Program. "Therefore, children who experience food insecurity may live in households that are defined as food secure." Yu recommends that policymakers improve the response of SNAP/Food Stamps and other programs to the needs of families in different communities, and advocates that informal and community-based programs focus more on the nutritional needs of children.
11. Hunger is a Children’s Health Problem
(Baltimore Sun, June 1, 2010)
"In the United States, hunger is a health problem," write Maureen Black, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and David Paige, M.D., professor in the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "It cuts the chances that children can succeed when they get to school. And it affects more people than you think." Hungry children (those without access to regular meals) are sicker, show developmental delay signs, and are more likely to be hospitalized, according to data on 36,000 U.S. children (5,000 in Baltimore, Md.) by Children's HealthWatch. And one out of four households with children today is "food insecure." Adequate nutrition during pregnancy and infancy improves health along the whole lifespan, reduces disparities, and prevents health problems (which is much easier than curing them). A recently-launched initiative in Baltimore titled "B-more for Healthy Babies" aims to ensure the city's babies are born healthy.
12. Hunger May Rise as Food Prices Remain High
According to the recent Agriculural Outlook report released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO),”higher average farm prices are expected” and “food security concerns persist” for 2010 to 2019.
For more information, go to www.agri-outlook.org.
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