LOCAL INITIATIVES INSPIRED BY VEE
- Chester Helping Hands, Springfield Family Center, and Senior Solutions are collaborating to provide restaurant meals as a supplemental option for existing Meals on Wheels recipients in areas of Windsor County.
- The Giving Fridge, a Middlebury-based initiative launched in December 2020, will continue to distribute donation-funded meals via automated refrigerators and heated food lockers.
- Vermont Farmers Food Center has launched Rutland County Eats, a VEE-inspired program that will distribute 200 meals per week after VEE ends, funded by an online market where additional prepared meals are sold to the wider community.
- Localvore continues to work with VEE-hub sponsoring organizations to support community-specific plans to raise funds to be spent locally on restaurant meals to be provided to people in need within the same local community.
- New Moon Catering in Burlington continues to raise funds through their business and recently received grant funding that will allow them to continue offering free meals in partnership with a local cafe.
- Putney Cares has been awarded a grant from the United Way of Windham County to work in partnership with Senior Meals (Windham County AAA) to engage local restaurants to prepare their Meals on Wheels meals.
- Springfield Family Center is exploring a potential collaboration with NorthStar Health Center in Springfield to provide their clientele with healthy food options prepared by local chefs as an introduction to changing eating habits per physician orders.
- Downtown Brattleboro Alliance (DBA) has collaborated with Brattleboro Museum and Art Center (BMAC) to fund 226 donor-funded meals post-VEE to clients of the Groundworks Collaborative Drop-In Center.
- Brattleboro-area VEE restaurant, Eddie Cogliano of Fast Eddie’s, is continuing to providing Thursday night congregate meal dinners to local shelter clients as a donation.
- Skinny Pancake is in conversation with the Genny in Craftsbury/Albany, Pingala Cafe in Burlington, and others to create a community of practice focused on developing ways to continue making free meals available to the community.
- Greater Hardwick Center for the Agricultural Economy will be conducting a listening campaign with participants and restaurants about what the ending of VEE means to the community and the need that continues, particularly among older community residents.