What the Stowe team is doing about the virus

The General Relief Fund is only one component of the Stowe C19 Response Team, our town’s umbrella grassroots organization. Together, we have coordinated a variety of efforts to address the multifaceted needs of our community: 1) elderly and vulnerable population outreach; 2) groceries and other necessities; 3) masks and other personal protective equipment; and 4) regional partnerships for other needs.

The Stowe C19 General Relief Fund looks to address the issues of food insecurity in a three-pronged approach that helps our community in the broadest manner possible. Statewide, a recent UVM survey found a 33-percent increase in food insecurity — 35 percent of those individuals who are food-insecure are newly food-insecure, and 70 percent had a job loss or disruption due to COVID-19.

These findings reflect the stories we are hearing throughout our town, and the General Relief Fund is being used to ensure that all in our community are food secure and well nourished.

• Residents of Stowe: We have committed to providing weekly grocery assistance from Shaw’s grocery to more than 50 residents of Stowe until their unemployment benefits begin.

With the difficulty filing for unemployment that many of our residents have been facing, knowing that they can still go shopping weekly to provide food for their families has been a huge relief. Our community has been able to provide a level of stability and continuity for many who have suddenly and for the first time found themselves to be in a precarious financial situation.

• Workers of Stowe: We have so many dedicated workers in our town who contribute so much to the vibrancy of our town. We want to make sure to provide for these workers as much as possible, too. For the past and current week, we are offering all workers of Stowe who have been unemployed or furloughed as a result of COVID-19’s impact the ability to go to Mansfield Dairy and receive up to $20 in products for free.

This has been very popular, with many finding it going a long way in helping with their needs, and in the first week 100 people redeemed this offer. Allene Small of Mansfield Dairy has been overwhelmed by the gratitude expressed from those who came in and told us, “These people really needed this help.”

We will be providing these same workers, as well as anyone else who needs it, free meals through a partnership with Skinny Pancake’s ShiftMeals program. Through the beginning of June, anyone who needs a meal for themselves and their families can go to Edelweiss Mountain Deli and pick up a nutritious meal to bring home.

• Businesses of Stowe: When at all possible, we will look to foster opportunities that provide food for those who need it while also supporting our local businesses.

Our Mansfield Dairy program is an example of a partnership that provides a benefit to both community members and business.

The many furloughed or unemployed workers of Stowe were able to receive grocery essentials through the General Relief Fund, while Mansfield Dairy received a new source of income to help offset its lost restaurant revenues.

Over the upcoming month, our ShiftMeals offering at Edelweiss is a direct result of a partnership developed with The Skinny Pancake (two locations in Stowe), Intervale Center, Vermont Community Foundation, and High Meadows Fund. We are grateful to be part of this statewide initiative, and this collaboration is another offering that has a two-fold benefit: providing food to those in need while also providing some income to local farmers, food producers, cooks and servers who are part of the program.

Our businesses are critical to the vitality of our town, and we hope to find other ways that we can work in a collaborative manner with our local businesses. Please reach out to any of us if you have a proposal you would like us to consider.

Thank you!

We have been so inspired by our strong Stowe community. Thank you for your caring and generosity. We are so proud to be part of this community that has come together in this time of crisis. We are thankful to be sharing in this journey with you.

The Stowe C19 General Relief Fund Committee

Leigh Pelletier, Billy Adams, Leslie Anderson, Jeff Clarke, Aimee Green, Elise McKenna