Farewell from Faye Mack
In early November I am wrapping up my time at Hunger Free Vermont and moving into a new job. I have had the honor and privilege of working at Hunger Free Vermont for 11 years, and it is with a very full heart that I am making this transition. A lot has happened since I first joined the organization in 2011. I am so proud of the vision that Hunger Free Vermont is working toward and all that we have accomplished. I have been reflecting on some of the projects, initiatives, and advocacy efforts that have had a lasting impact on Vermont. There are so many, but I’m glad for the opportunity to share a few highlights with you here:
1. 3SquaresVT is a program of constant change. In the last 11 years the program has seen major cuts, historic expansions, new rules, harmful rhetoric increasing stigma about the program, and more. Throughout it all, we have been steadily training and supporting over 200 service providers every year so they can help more people enroll in 3SquaresVT. Hunger Free Vermont makes sure that caseworkers, librarians, school nurses, senior center directors, food shelf volunteers, and more have the information, training, and outreach materials they need to encourage people in need to sign up and to help them apply.
2. I am, of course, very proud of our campaign to ensure no child learns what hunger feels like at school through permanent Universal School Meals. This work has been front and center since 2020. But, did you know that we publicly shared our vision of Universal School Meals back in 2014 and have been working toward it ever since? We’ve led the nation in getting schools enrolled in Universal School Meals and helped Vermont become the first to invest state funding in universal school meals way back in 2015!
3. Around 2017, state agencies across the country began dramatically restricting access to 3SquaresVT (called SNAP nationally) and the federal government was proposing their own dramatic cuts. To ensure that these kinds of negative changes could not happen in the dark of the night without advocates and service providers having time to react, Hunger Free Vermont and Vermont's Department for Children and Families worked closely together in partnership to enhance access to 3SquaresVT. To protect that partnership into the future, in 2018 we worked together to support legislation that codified into law the high level of transparency and partnership that we take for granted. Thanks to this legislation, DCF must communicate in advance with the legislature and community partners before major changes to the program can be made. As far as we know, this kind of legislation does not exist in any other state.
4. In 2006, Hunger Free Vermont launched its first two Hunger Councils in Chittenden County and Washington County. From 2013-2016 we expanded the Hunger Councils of Vermont network to include 10 Hunger Councils that cover the entire state and the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire. Led by local Chairs and supported by Hunger Free Vermont staff, over 1,000 people across the state come together regularly to connect, collaborate, learn, and take action together to address hunger in their communities. These Hunger Councils and the relationships established over many years of partnership proved vital in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic when they moved online and became hubs for coordinating emergency response to the rapid rise in hunger.
5. Hunger and health are inextricably linked, and we have been working with health care professionals for years to support them in identifying and addressing food insecurity as a critical part of how they care for patients. Some of the most impactful and lasting work has been to help build screening for food insecurity into the structure of everyday care, and to train the next generation of medical professionals to recognize food security as a foundation of health. Thanks to the work of my colleague Katy Davis and our partners, the University of Vermont Health Network, Bi-State Primary Care and other healthcare providers across the state screen for food insecurity and help connect patients to programs like 3SquaresVT.
6. Older adults participate in 3SquaresVT at lower rates than other age groups. One of the major barriers is a long and complicated application. In 2020, after many years of advocating for a simpler application, and partnering with the Department for Children and Families to make it happen - including a pilot program in 2012 - DCF launched a simpler application that many older adults and people with disabilities can use to apply for 3SquaresVT and Fuel Assistance. The “3SquaresVT in a Snap!” application makes it easier to apply for the program and easier to stay on.
7. We believe that local food should be for everyone - and that farmers and producers should earn a good living for their work. With partners like NOFA-VT, the VT Farm to School and Early Childhood Network, and the Farm to Plate Network, we have helped make sure that food security for all is a foundational component of the food system work here in Vermont. This work started with Farm to School and grew to also include Early Childhood Education providers. It began by getting EBT machines to farmers markets so people could use their 3SquaresVT benefits to buy local food and grew to incorporate Crop Cash coupons at farmers markets and Healthy Food Access programs at food co-ops to increase people’s purchasing power. Together, we can build an equitable food system that includes everyone and supports farmers and our environment.
Even more so than what we have accomplished, I am proud of how we have approached our work. Hunger Free Vermont is full of reflective, brave, and innovative people who understand the power of collaboration and partnership. It is an organization that leads with a vision of an equitable Vermont where everyone has steady and reliable access to the food they want to eat, where people get their food in dignified ways free from stigma. We are constantly learning and adjusting our work. And, while the work is hard, it is also joyful and fun. The joy we find in working and growing together builds resilience, fulfillment, and helps us be ready to uncover new ideas, new partnerships, and new ways of building a more equitable food system that includes everyone.
And, there is much work to do. Hunger Free Vermont is forging ahead with our work in new and innovative ways that do a better and better job of engaging communities and centering equity and those most impacted by hunger and nutrition programs.
What am I doing next? I’m taking my deep passion for building more equitable food systems and belief in community-driven change to a small national organization that supports communities starting grocery co-ops called Food Co-op Initiative, where I will serve as their next Executive Director. I can’t wait to support and cheer on Hunger Free Vermont as they continue to powerfully work to end the deep injustice of hunger in our state and our country.
Thank you for your support and partnership in this work. I invite you to join me, if you have the means, to make a donation to support the future of Hunger Free Vermont’s work.
With gratitude,
Faye