Dave’s Notes: Mar. & Apr. 2025

Happy Spring, everyone! It won't be too long now for the snow to be all gone and for the warmer weather to really set in for good. I don't believe I am alone in saying, with unequivocal certainty, that I am happy this winter is nearly over.

It's been a couple months since my last note to you all. I've been waiting to see how things would develop with a new Trump administration in Washington, DC. Whether you agree or disagree with the recent cuts made by the Trump administration, I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I have been getting many phone calls and have had several folks stop me in town to ask me how Our Place has or may be impacted by these new policies. As of right now, the impact to our operations has thankfully been minimal, but unfortunately, I don't believe the impact will continue to be minimal.

The Trump administration has decided to cut $1 billion from USDA programs and to end outright other programs that were all designed to help alleviate hunger in the United States. The administration is making these cuts despite recent upward trends in food insecurity in our country. National incidence of food insecurity has been on the rise in the past couple of years as a result of the global inflationary crisis, reversing a previous trend of abatement in the years prior. The current hunger rate in the United States stands at an estimated 13.5 percent, meaning that approximately 46,000,000 Americans are currently experiencing food insecurity. That percentage is estimated to be even higher in rural communities like ours, with Hunger Free Vermont reporting that 2 in 5 Vermonters have experienced some form of food insecurity at one time or more during the last year. Anecdotally, Our Place has seen steady increases in demand for our programs over the last several years. Proudly, Our Place has been able to meet the increased demand and continues to serve our community with compassion and dignity. We have only been able to do this thanks to you, people like you, and the community as a whole. It remains to be seen what the real and lasting effects of these policies will be for our mission, but it will most assuredly be detrimental if we fail to get out in front of these changes.

Over the past year, I have been working with the Board of Directors to come up with an action plan to make Our Place more financially resilient and more self-sufficient. We started to think about this before the current cuts became a threat to the food supplies we use, because we believe strongly in the need for this mission to continue and to function for our community despite periodic changes in political climates or changing trends in nonprofit circles. We know this is hard work and a lofty goal, but we believe we can be successful. We understand, however, that success can only come if we have continued help from our community. The next step in our action plan is to ask some of you from our community if you'd like to work more hands-on with us and volunteer to form a fundraising committee here at Our Place. Some of the work of this committee will be on events that we have traditionally done in the past and that we will continue doing and hope to improve upon. Classic events like the Empty Bowl Dinner and Overflow the Opera House are on the agenda, as well as planning new and different events in the hopes they may someday become annual and beloved events like those two.

Operationally, Our Place is run by only two part-time employees and two full-time employees. Without volunteers, Our Place could not continue fulfilling its mission year over year, as we have done for over 30 years now. This is not only an opportunity to help our organization and your community directly, but it is also a chance to channel some of the helpless and desperate feelings some of us are experiencing lately into something positive and to affect real change. If you're interested in joining us for this endeavor, if you want to learn more, or if you just want to chat about hunger in our region, please email me directly at dbillings@ourplacevermont.org or call me at 802-463-2217. I would love to have a talk with you. I don't expect the time commitment to be onerous in any way, and we welcome all levels of participation.

Thank you as always for your support and for taking the time to read these messages. We really could not do this without YOU!

Dave