November 15, 2011, CCTV
Hunger Free Vermont: 3SquaresVT Challenge - Accessing Wage Supports
Angela Smith-Dieng, 3SquaresVT Advocacy Manager, and Laura Fillback, Nutrition Education Manager, discuss the 3SquaresVT Challenge which challenges participants to eat on a limited food budget for a week (11/14-11/20) as well as how families can get help accessing wage supports like EITC, 3SquaresVT, School Meals, etc. 

June 25, 2011, Times Argus
Meeting to Focus on Senior Issues  
A programs like Social Security and Medicare become pawns in an ideological budget battle in Washington, D.C., older Vermonters already enduring the recession now face even more finanical uncertainty. Proposed cuts to federal programs, advocates say, could undermine the food and fuel programs...continue reading 

June 21, 2011, CCTV
Hunger Free Vermont: Summer Food for Child Nutrition and Development
Anore Horton, the Child Nutrition Advocacy Manager at Hunger Free Vermont is joined by Kathy Alexander, the Director of the Addison Northeast Supervisory Union Food Service Co-op and the President of the Vermont chapter of the School Nutrition Association, and Marcia Bristow, Registered Dietician, to discuss the importance of summer food for child nutrition and development,Vermont's recent successes in this area, and current challenges. Click to watch video.

June 13, 2011, VPR
With School Year, Lunch Programs End For Children In Need
Schools are letting out for summer, and that can mean leisurely, care-free days for a lot of kids.
But for a striking number of Vermont children, the end of school also means they won't be able to rely on free lunch programs...continue reading

June 9, 2011, WCAX.com
Efforts to keep Vt kids from going hungry
According to state statistics, about a third of Vermont's children depend on free and reduced-price meals during the school year. But when the school year ends, for many of those children, so do the meals because there isn't enough food at home. There are summer camp programs in Vermont that provide meals as part of the summer food service which is a Federal program. But more is needed...continue reading

June 9, 2011, Burlington Free Press
When school's out, hunger often begins
How can it be that hunger pangs routinely eclipse summer’s balm among hundreds of youngsters in Chittenden County? That was the question posed Thursday by the all-volunteer Hunger Council of Chittenden County at its quarterly meeting...continue reading

May 11, 2011, Brattleboro Reformer
Groups work to keep kids fed in summer
The Hunger Council of Windham County held its second meeting Monday to address special challenges families and children face in accessing nutritious meals during the summer. The council is made up of almost 40 social service providers, legislators and other area activists who are engaged in trying to reduce hunger in Southeastern Vermont... continue reading

May 2, 2011, Vtdigger.org
Hunger Free Vermont launches video project
According to the US Census, Vermont has some of the most severe hunger in the country. 1 in 5 Vermonters regularly experience skipped meals or insufficient quality or quantity of meals. This recurring and involuntary lack of access to food can lead to malnutrition over time—which can be detrimental to health and development. However, Vermont is also home to many innovative models that end hunger... continue reading

April 28, 2011, Johnson State College's Basement Medicine
Hunger in Lamoille County: a growing concern
Vermont is ranked as the ninth hungriest state in America, with one in seven Vermonters describing themselves as living in food insecure homes, according to U.S. Census figures for 2006-2008, in Lamoille County, one in five children is food insecure and 12,290 kids state-wide rely on food shelves... continue reading

April 25, 2011, Vermont Cynic
Hunger gets a face and a voice with art
On the fourth floor of the Davis Center, surrounding students lounging and doing their homework, hang a series of somber black and white photographs. These are the portraits of artist Michael Nye's traveling exhibit "About Hunger and Resilience." Each portrait is accompanied by the first name of the subject and a pair of headphones... continue reading

April 3, 2011, Burlington Free Press
My Turn: 3SquaresVT program proven to improve health
A recently introduced resolution in the Vermont House has many of us in the anti-hunger community concerned about peoples’ understanding of the effec tiveness and importance the 3SquaresVT program (nationally called Supple mental Nutrition Assist ance Program and formerly Food Stamps)... continue reading

March 31, 2011, Fox 44 News
Vermont Group Says Childhood Hunger Costs Everyone
A church room served as a simple setting for meeting in Morrisville, Vermont Thursday created to tackle a complex problem. "The ultimate goal is to make sure no one goes hungry," said Scott Johnson who heads the Lamoille Family Center. The Hunger Council of Lamoille Valley was formed about 6 months ago to address the growing problem of childhood hunger... continue reading

March 25, 2011, Vtdigger.org
Nutritious foods still out of reach for many Vermont families
A recently introduced resolution in the Vermont House has many of us in the anti-hunger community concerned about people’s understanding of the effectiveness and importance the 3SquaresVT program (nationally called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and formerly Food Stamps)... continue reading

March 23, 2011, Commonsnews.org
Fighting hunger in Windham County
A new group has formed to address the growing problem of hunger, especially among children, in the region. Organizers describe the Hunger Council of Windham County as a collaboration of front-line service providers, legislators, business leaders, nonprofits, leaders of the faith community, and advocates... continue reading

March 20, 2011, Times Argus
How to provide three square meals
A recently introduced resolution in the Vermont House has many of us in the anti-hunger community concerned about people’s understanding of the effectiveness and importance of the 3SquaresVT program (nationally called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and, formerly, food stamps)... continue reading

March 19, 2011, Brattleboro Reformer
3SquaresVT proven to improve health
A recently introduced resolution in the Vermont House has many of us in the anti-hunger community concerned about peoples’ understanding of the effectiveness and importance the 3SquaresVT program (nationally called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and formerly Food Stamps)... continue reading

March 17, 2011, Fox 44 News
Rising Food Prices Force Some To Make Tough Decisions
The next time you walk by the shelves at your local supermarket take a look the prices. You may not have noticed but they're rising, and you are paying for it. The federal government says the price of some veggies has jumped almost 50% from a year ago, some dairy items cost 20% more, and beef is 10% more expensive than last March... continue reading

March 15, 2011, CCTV
Hunger Free Vermont: Anti-Hunger Advocacy
Dorigen Keeney, Program Director of Hunger Free Vermont, Erik Filkorn and Eileen Eliot, Co-Chairs of Chittenden County Hunger Council talk about anti-hunger advocacy and the role that the Hunger Councils play in advocating for policy that helps end hunger... play video

March 10, 2011, Vtdigger.org
How one meeting transformed the school meals menu in Vermont
Running a school meal program involves navigating a complex web of federal reimbursement systems. In addition to cash reimbursement, schools receive foods from the USDA Food Program (aka commodities) that make up about 20% of each meal served... continue reading

February 17, 2011, The Middlebury Campus
3SquaresVT stretches hunger relief efforts across state
One in seven families in the state of Vermont cannot provide three nutritious meals for their loved ones each day. Statistics like these are what motivated Hunger Free Vermont, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1993 that works to combat hunger, to adopt the 3SquaresVT program, Vermont’s federal nutrition program... continue reading

February 10, 2011, Business People Vermont
Faces & Places
Marissa Parisi, executive director of the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, announced the change of the organization’s name to Hunger Free Vermont, to more accurately reflect its work and commitment to the nutrition needs of adults and seniors as well as children... continue reading

February 9, 2011, Vtdigger.org
Vermont 11th in nation in reaching those eligible for 3SquaresVT
The US Department of Agriculture released its annual report on state participation rates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known nationally as SNAP and in Vermont as 3SquaresVT.  Vermont ranked 11th in the nation for its participation rate in 2008, reaching approximately 79% of the 66,000 Vermonters estimated eligible... continue reading

February 4, 2011, Brattleboro Reformer
Vt. food stamp use rises
Vermont continues to show improvement in its participation rate for the federal food stamp program, but advocates say it might be hard to sustain that growth in the face of cutbacks and an increasing need. Vermont had the 11th highest participation rate in 2008 for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program... continue reading

January 16, 2011, Vtdigger.org
Vermont school breakfast programs see record participation
Vermont schools continue to see record participation in the school breakfast program, compared to other states in the nation. More than 15,000 low-income children eat a free school breakfast on an average school day across the state, according to the School Breakfast Scorecard 2009-2010, an annual report... continue reading

January 8, 2011, Burlington Free Press
Hunger organization changes name
The Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger has changed its name to Hunger Free Vermont. The name change reflects the organization's evolving mission, officials from Hunger Free Vermont said... continue reading

January 6, 2011, Bennington Banner
Group changes its name to Hunger Free Vermont
The Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger has changed its name in order to reflect the broader scope of its mission. Now Hunger Free Vermont, the group will continue to do outreach for federal entitlement programs that assist low-income people with their food needs, said Hunger
Free Vermont Executive Director Marissa Parisi... continue reading

January 4, 2011, Vtdigger.org
The Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger becomes Hunger Free VermontVermont ’s leading anti-hunger advocacy organization, the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, launched its new name today as Hunger Free Vermont. Since 1993 the organization’s outreach and advocacy have significantly enhanced Vermont ’s nutrition safety net and broadened access to healthy food for Vermont ’s children and families... continue reading

December 21, 2010, CCTV
Live at 5:25: Seniors and 3SquaresVT
Angela Smith Dieng, Senior Nutrition & Policy Specialist with Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, speaks with Karen Gissendanner, Case Manage with Champlain Valley Area Agency on Aging on the 3SquaresVT Program and the senior population... play video

December 16, 2010, Vermont Public Television
VPT Public Square | Hunger in Vermont
In a live call- in program, Kristin Carlson and a guest panel look at hunger and other issues facing a growing number of low- income Vermonters... play video

November 28, 2010, Associated Press
More Vermont families seeking food assistance
When the Enosburg Food Shelf opened three years ago in this farm country town, organizers expected to serve 60 families a month, at most. Now, an average of 160 take advantage of it. Food shelf treasurer Suzanne Hull-Parent says the resources of lower middle-class familes are drying up as the economy continues to wobble... continue reading

November 23, 2010, Burlington Free Press
Hunger in Vermont -- a $38 per week food budget
The Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger put out a challenge to Vermonters to spend a week on a total food budget of $38 per person. The amount is the average benefit amount for someone on the 3SquaresVT program, a federal assistance better known by its old name of Food Stamps... continue reading

November 19, 2010, Brattleboro Reformer
Lawmakers assess child nutrition bill
Though he has not yet decided how he is going to vote on a pending child nutrition bill, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said he will try to find the money to pay for program improvements without the cuts to food assistance that were in the Senate version... continue reading

November 17, 2010, WPTZ News
Vermonters Face Interesting Challenge
Campaign staff members discuss their experience participating in the 3SquaresVT Challenge...play video

November 17, 2010, NECN
What is life like when you're living on Food Stamps?
It doesn't sound like a lot, particularly if you had to turn that $1.80 into a meal, but some Vermonters are taking on the challenge. Rebecca O'Reilly and her family are on a very tight budget this week. $38 per person for seven days. That divides up into $1.80 per meal... continue reading

November 16, 2010, Brattleboro Reformer
Report finds more hunger in Vt.
The number of Vermont households with food security issues increased in 2009, according to an annual study published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA on Monday issued its report, Household Food Security in the United States in 2009... continue reading

November 16, 2010, Vermont Public Radio
Vermont Edition: Hunger Rate Grows in Vermont
New information from the USDA shows that nearly 82,000 Vermonters are "food insecure" - they have had to skip meals, rely on assistance programs or rely on poor quality food. The number of Vermonters who go hungry has been growing throughout the recession... continue reading orplay audio

November 13, 2010, Burlington Free Press
Vermonters challenged to spend $38 this week on food
The Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger is challenging Vermonters to spend
$38 per person on food for one week. This is the average benefit an eligible person receives from the 3SquaresVT program, a federal entitlement program that is commonly (and formerly) known as food stamps. The campaign... continue reading

November 11, 2010, Fox 44 News
3SquaresVT Issues $38 Challenge
3SquaresVT wants you to know what it's like to live on food stamps for National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. It's called the 3SquaresVT challenge, where people who do not receive food assistance will try to make ends meet with just $38... continue reading or play video

October 11, 2010, WCAX News
'Cows Come Home' sculptures looking for new homes
A herd of cows are for sale in downtown Burlington and the great thing is you'll never have to feed them. That's because the 35 cows are made entirely of fiberglass. The decorated sculptures have lined Burlington's Church Street Marketplace since May as part of the "Cows Come Home" project... continue reading

October 7, 2010, News & Citizen
Hunger in Lamoille County
Through the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, a new group has been formed in Vermont designed to help with hunger related issues around Lamoille County. The group will be patterned after similar organizations formed in Washington and Chittenden County... continue reading

October 7, 2010, WCAX News
Meal benefit cuts delayed for 16,000 Vermonters
About 16,000 Vermont households who rely on the state's meal assistance program will get to keep their full benefits for a bit longer. The federal government has lowered the standard deduction households can claim for fuel and utilities... continue reading

October 4, 2010, Vtdigger.org
Congressional delegation wins food stamp extension for 16,000 Vermont households
The Vermont congressional delegation today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will postpone a pending reduction in food stamp benefits for 16,000 Vermonters for at least three months... continue reading

September 24, 2010, Fox 44 News
Vermonters Face Food Money Cuts
Thousands of Vermonters are not looking forward to October. That's when 16,000 Vermont families will have less money to buy food. Major cuts are in store for many people using Vermont's food stamp program. For people in the program, 3SquaresVT... continue reading or play video

September 23, 2010, Vermont Public Televsion
Public Square: Childhood Obesity
A panel of experts weigh in on the troubling trend of childhood obesity in Vermont. Featuring Campaign staff member Dorigen Keeney... play video

September 21, 2010, CCTV
Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger: School Nutrition
Featuring Abbie Nelson, Vice President of VT School Nutrition Association; Teresa Felix, President; and Doug Davis, Board Member as they speak about the imoportance of School Nutrition and the various resources available for communities to tap into... play video

September 17, 2010, Fox 44 News
Poverty on the Rise Nationally and in Vermont
There is bad news on the economic front when it comes to poverty. The Federal Government says the number of people living below the poverty line continues to increase, and Vermont is not immune to this national trend. Marissa Parisi is the executive director of The Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, a mission she says gets harder every day... continue reading or play video

August 16, 2010, Vermont Public Radio
Summer Food Programs On Rise
In Vermont, 29 thousand children meet the income guidelines for subsidized breakfast and lunch during the school year. For some, the meals are the only reliable source of daily nutrition. But the state's summer meal programs reach only about 5,000 kids - a small fraction of those who qualify. Advocates would like to improve on those numbers... continue reading or play audio

August 14, 2010, Times Argus
Vt. food stamps program struggles to keep pace
A combination of a dramatically expanded number of people using the state’s 3SquaresVt program — what used to be called food stamps — and hitches in a new case management system have resulted in longer waits for Vermonters who need their applications evaluated and who call with questions. “It is an issue,” said Steve Dale... continue reading

August 11, 2010, Vtdigger.org
$62 million "jobs bill" will soften Vermont's budget woes slightly
The U.S. House approved a $26 billion state aid package on Tuesday that will bring a total of $62 million to Vermont in education and extra Medicaid funding. The “jobs bill,” which Congress passed in a highly unusual emergency congressional session during the August recess, is designed to funnel $19 million into Vermont schools... continue reading

August 10, 2010, Vermont Public Radio
Anti-Hunger Advocates Worry About Planned Food Stamp Cuts
The U.S. House has approved a new federal stimulus bill that will help states pay for their education and Medicaid health-care programs. Vermont is set to receive almost 60 million dollars. But anti-hunger advocates in Vermont are upset. They say the bill is paid for, in part, by scheduling cuts to the federal Food Stamp program... continue reading or play audio

August 4, 2010, Champlain Business Journal
A perfect pairing: Second annual Star Chef Food and Wine Show at Topnotch Resort
Culinary talent and great wine and produce will be in the spotlight when Mark Timms, executive chef of Norma’s Restaurant at Topnotch, presents the second annual Star Chef Food and Wine Show at Topnotch Resort and Spa in Stowe August 21. Profits will go to the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, a favorite charity of Timms, who created the event... continue reading

August 3, 2010, Burlington Free Press
New Essex Junction farmers market now accepts 3SquaresVT
The Five Corners Farmers Market in Essex Junction is now accepting 3SquaresVT, formerly known as food stamps, at all of its vendor stands. Making 3SquaresVT available wasn't an easy process, said the market's co-manager and board treasurer Lori Houghton, but making the market accessible to everyone is the focus of its mission... continue reading

June 28, 2010, Fox 44 News
Meals for Kids During Summer
Thousands of Vermont kids will eat healthy lunches this summer that they might not be able to get otherwise. But the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger worries what tens of thousands of other kids are eating. Marissa Parisi is the group's executive director. She wants to make sure kids don't got hungry in the summer... continue reading

June 28, 2010, WCAX News
Winooski camp uses federal lunch program
Winooski today kicked off the summer camp season with a free lunch. The camp program is called Thrive. It is hosted by the Department of Recreation and Community Wellness and they have teamed up with the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger so kids can have access to programs and meals in the summer... continue reading

June 20, 2010, Burlington Free Press
Hunger in the season of plenty
"In the state of Vermont, there are 29,000 kids who eat free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch during the school year," says Marissa Parisi, executive director of the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger (VTCECH). "But in the summer only 5,000 have access to any sort of meal program... continue reading

June 10, 2010, Bennington Banner
Farmers’ markets taking advantage of 3SquaresVT
While more farmers’ markets statewide are being outfitted to handle 3SquaresVT benefits and debit card transfers, at least one market thinks they could be used more. "I believe that it is very much underutilized," said Steven Trubitt, president of the Walloomsac Farmer’s Market in Bennington... continue reading

June 9, 2010, Burlington Free Press
Hunger is rising in Vermont while we celebrate local food
There is a lot happening with food these days -- nationally and in Vermont. You can't open a newspaper without reading about localvorism, farmers markets, community gardens, cooking classes, wine tastings, and what's in season and how to prepare it. Our state is at the forefront of the nation's food movement... continue reading

May 25, 2010, Burlington Free Press
Letters: Nutrition programs cartoon is misleading
As the executive director of the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, I would like to address the mischaracterization of the federal nutrition programs in the May 17 editorial cartoon. This cartoon portrayed the federal nutrition programs as expensive, ineffective and poor quality...continue reading