The Vermont Foodbank has laid off about 10 percent of its staff. The organization calls it a “strategic realignment” to make sure they can continue distributing food throughout the state as federal cuts loom.
In 2019 the Vermont Foodbank had 60 staff members. The organization grew throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, reaching 88 in 2022. But since then, it’s been a slow decline as a result of attrition. And in recent days, CEO John Sayles reported that the organization has laid off 10 percent of the current staff.
“When I started in 2009 I think we had 35 and right now we still have 15 more staff than we had in 2019. So we’re not shrinking down to something that’s smaller than pre-COVID. We’re actually larger and we’re raising more money than we did pre-COVID,” Sayles said. “We just needed to figure out how we’re going to be a sustainable organization into the future. And we really wanted to refocus on our core mission: delivering the food that people want and need when they want it and need it.”
Sayles says potential federal cuts were an influence, but not a direct factor, in the decision to terminate positions.
“As we went through the process, we’ve been working on this for months obviously, you know seeing the developments just really made it all the more clear that we need to really be focused. And the calvary’s not going to come from Washington,” Sayles said. “We’re not likely to see a big increase in resources, certainly in the next couple of years and we really need to focus on being an organization of a size that’s really sustainable.”
The Vermont Foodbank distributes food to partner agencies across the state, including Community Action agencies, homeless shelters, senior centers and food shelves. Rutland’s BROC Community Action CEO Tom Donahue says people are struggling with bills, which often means cutting back on food.
“It’s standing room only daily in our waiting room and the Vermont Foodbank is a critical piece of that puzzle,” noted Donahue. “A majority of our food we’ll order through the Vermont Foodbank. We haven’t seen less yet. But at the same time we’re always trying to keep that from happening so that that doesn’t end up trickling down to our front door because they are such a critical partner.”
Donahue says less federal funding would have an impact on their staffing and how they provide services.
“My concern is that a number of the programs that we currently use to support feeding vulnerable Vermonters, those currently are zeroed out in the current bill. And if they’re not able to be restored it’ll be devastating,” Donahue said. “And secondly there are a number of programs that we were able to access last year that have already been eliminated and because of that we’re looking to backfill tens of thousands of dollars in funding that helped pay for the food that we’ve been distributing in the last year.”
Last year the Vermont Foodbank distributed about 14.5 million pounds of food, and with its partners serves 72,000 Vermonters monthly.
