The Vermont Foodbank is the state's largest hunger-relief organization, distributing 14.5 million pounds of food in 2025 through a network of more than 300 community partners, including food shelves, meal sites, schools, hospitals, and housing sites across Vermont. Based in Barre, it has weathered repeated disasters in recent years, including two consecutive Julys of catastrophic flooding, while serving record numbers. John Sayles serves as CEO. It is a Feeding America member.
The Vermont Foodbank sources food at scale and distributes it statewide through more than 300 community partners, plus its own programs and mobile food distributions called VeggieVanGo. It places heavy emphasis on fresh produce and on working with Vermont farms, fitting a small, rural state with a strong local-food culture. It has also become a key part of disaster response, surging food after the floods that have repeatedly hit the state.
John Sayles serves as CEO of the Vermont Foodbank, leading the statewide organization through a stretch of compounding crises, including the pandemic, two consecutive years of major summer flooding, and the federal food-program changes of 2025. He has been a prominent advocate for hunger relief and food access in Vermont.
The Vermont Foodbank serves the entire state, from the Burlington area to the rural Northeast Kingdom. Vermont is small and rural, with high housing and heating costs and an aging population, and its repeated flooding has displaced families and damaged the food system. The Foodbank reaches all of it through its statewide partner network.
Yes. The Vermont Foodbank is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member, the largest hunger-relief organization in the state. Donors can review its financials through Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Bulk buying and donated food mean a gift produces many meals.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through vtfoodbank.org. Volunteers sort and pack food and help at VeggieVanGo and other distributions, and cash gifts go furthest because of the food bank’s purchasing power.
The Vermont Foodbank is the only statewide food bank in Vermont, the source behind the state’s food shelves and meal programs. It works alongside the Salvation Army and other groups on the broader safety net. For anyone in Vermont, it is the lead food bank to support.
300+ community partners statewide receive food.
Mobile fresh-produce distributions across the state.
Sourcing fresh local food from state farms.
Surge food relief after the state’s repeated floods.
Sources: Vermont Foodbank website (vtfoodbank.org), GuideStar (EIN 22-3021942), and Vermont legislative testimony and reporting on flood response and demand. We are not affiliated with Vermont Foodbank and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
More Vermont and food-bank resources