As the weather turns colder and Vermonters begin looking towards holiday cooking and cozy nights in, NorthWest Family Foods in St. Albans is busy stocking the shelves and feeding the locals.
Leaders and community members are celebrating the reopening of the Community Resource Center after it was closed for about two weeks, as renovations to improve capacity and efficiency are now complete. The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity runs the resource center, as well as Feeding Chittenden in the same building. Leaders commemorated the new renovations on Thursday. Burlington community members now have a bigger space to get services in the Old North End. Phase one renovations on the Community Resource Center have ended, allowing for a higher capacity.
Nominations are open for the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity’s New Hope Award, which honors individuals in Vermont’s New American community.
Kelly Hamshaw and Daniel Baker, senior lecturer and associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences department of Community Development and Applied Economics — with the Mobile Home Program, Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity — were awarded a grant to study the urgent needs in Vermont manufactured housing communities impacted by July 2023 flooding.
The low-barrier homeless shelter at Burlington's former Champlain Inn will have new management this fall. On October 2, the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity will take the reins from ANEW Place, the nonprofit that has owned and operated the Shelburne Road shelter for the past four years. The Champlain Housing Trust will assume ownership of the building and manage the property.
According to one of Vermont’s largest anti-poverty organizations, about one-third of Vermonters fall below the poverty level. To help spread awareness, an art project depicting personal stories is being shared with communities across the state.
Every day, it’s getting harder to help people experiencing homelessness in St. Albans. To better help, Ben Kaufmann needs more affordable housing. With few residential vacancies in the state, the people he serves – Vermont’s homeless population – can’t always find an affordable place to stay even if they have the funds.
Vermont has programs that shelter people during the coldest of winter days, but to keep people safe during the hottest days of summer the state’s plan is still a patchwork.
Social service organizations across the Champlain Valley are feeling the crunch as the housing crisis continues. That includes the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity’s Feeding Chittenden and Community Resource Center where they are breaking records with the number of people walking in the door.
The organization collects more than 2 million pounds of food and feeds more than 12,000 people a year. But its vast array of offerings is what separates it from other food relief operations in the area.