MORRISVILLE, Vt. (WCAX) – Local food pantries are stretched thin as they make sure everyone eats this holiday.
According to the Vermont Food Bank, so far this year they have distributed more than 14.5 Million pounds of food.
Linda North of Morrisville spent her Saturday utilizing the Lamoille Community Food Share during the holiday season.
“I come down when I necessarily need it. Like really bad, bad,” North said.
She says, if she didn’t have the food pantry, she wasn’t sure if she was going to have a Thanksgiving.
“I almost backed out of it. I said, no this is going to be for the people that need it. You know, I almost did. But I didn’t, I said to myself it’s just myself. You know, times are hard,” North said.
Lamoille Community Food Share is one of the many food pantries in Vermont that have spent the week giving out 400 bags of food to people in need.
The pantry extended their hours on Saturday as more than 170 people took home a turkey and groceries.
In such a rural area, and low on donations, the food shelf has had to buy more this year.
“I did start purchasing in July. We are able to meet the need but we are struggling greatly. We have an increased amout of families that we are serving. Some weeks we have maybe, 25 new families,” Renee Brochu of Lamoille Community Food Share said.
And according to the Vermont Food Bank, they are seeing a need across the state, making more trips during the busy season.
“Partners in small towns and villages don’t necessarily have a lot of storage space for food. Or refrigeration, or freezer space. So they have to order more smaller quantities more frequently. That can be a challenge,” John Sayles, Vermont Food Bank CEO said.
The food share expects to be giving out more food, just before Thanksgiving on Thursday.