Quoted: Student Entrepreneurs Meeting Food Insecurity Needs

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Vermont Public Radio today featured a story about the Middlebury student-founded Middlebury Foods, which delivers more than 5,000 pounds of food to nearly 200 Vermont families monthly. The organization, which started three years ago, recently began accepting credits from SNAP – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – formerly known as food stamps. It was a big step forward in allowing the group to meet the needs of lower-income customers.

“We really couldn’t market to people who were truly food insecure before we took SNAP benefits. And that was a long battle, and that was only in January,” said Middlebury sophomore Charlie Mitchell in the interview.

Once a month, the student-run nonprofit takes orders from area families and delivers food boxes to four locations in Addison County. The aim is to get fresh, high quality produce, meat, and eggs to those who would otherwise struggle to afford it. Students say their prices are 30 to 40 percent lower than the grocery stores.

Listen to “In Middlebury, College Students Keep A Food Accessibility Program Going,” which aired on Vermont Public Radio on March 29, 2016.