Dear Editor,
We are living through a time that is difficult to comprehend. The rising costs of food, housing, utilities, and healthcare are stretching household budgets beyond their limits, while government programs designed to support people in times of need are being weakened, reduced, or made harder to access. Neighbors are working, raising children, caring for aging parents, and caring for themselves and others, only to be met with challenge after challenge, with no relief in sight.
Here in Vermont, more than 83,000 people are experiencing food insecurity. In Windsor County, approximately one in eight of our neighbors experiences food insecurity, meaning they lack reliable access to enough food. At the Chester-Andover Family Center, we provide more than 250 neighbors a month with supplemental food to meet this need, and our numbers are climbing weekly.
Our community is hungry, and I believe deeply that access to food is a basic human right. That our government has a responsibility to protect that right. But the reality is that our government has once again left communities to fend for themselves. Food insecurity is exacerbated by policy choices, economic inequality, and broken systems.
Most of us grew up learning, talking, and teaching about the moral and ethical principle of caring for and loving our neighbors. That the golden rule is doctrine. That service to one another and our communities is a sign of a good and decent society. But these ideals and values cannot live only in our conversations. They have to live in our actions.
This is where community care and mutual aid come in. These practices of investing in community health and wellbeing are among the most immediate and meaningful tools we have. These practices and mindsets are the actions and the work behind the words.
Community care work and mutual aid are already being done through volunteers, donations, and organizations just like ours at the Chester-Andover Family Center…but we are running out of resources.
This is where an empty bowl, warm soup, and you come in.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, the Chester-Andover Family Center will hold our annual Empty Bowls Fundraiser at the Chester American Legion, from 4:30-7 p.m. There will be delicious soups, breads, and desserts donated by local restaurants and bakers, beautiful handmade bowls, exciting raffle baskets, and live and silent auction items generously donated by businesses and community members. Entry is at the door with a simple donation. No reservations or tickets needed. You give what you can.
As our one major annual fundraiser, every single dollar raised at our Empty Bowls this Saturday night will determine how much food we can purchase, how consistently we can keep our shelves stocked, and how effectively we can respond to the growing needs of our neighbors. Every dollar donated, every auction bid, and every raffle ticket goes directly to maintaining our ability to care for this community.
We need you.
Attending Empty Bowls is an immediate way to turn talk into action. It is a meaningful and tangible way to care for your neighbor. Attending CAFC Empty Bowls or making any donation to our organization is an action taken to say our neighbors have a right to safety, security, and access to basic necessities. It is an acknowledgment of and investment in the belief that community care protects community health. It is recognizing that another person’s wellbeing is connected to our own. We must care for each other at every opportunity.
So, I am asking you to join me this Saturday night. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Enjoy a wonderful meal. Bid on something special. Buy a raffle ticket. Take home a beautiful bowl. Show up for your community. Because when we gather and contribute what we can, those individual acts become the foundation of a stronger, healthier, more vibrant community.
This is the work. Let’s do it.
For those who cannot attend, please take a look at our donation page, www.chester-andoverfamilycenter.org/donate-money.
In gratitude,
Anne Henshaw
Chester-Andover Family Center Board Member
Chester, Vt.