By Cynthia Prairie
©2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC

On a recent afternoon in late October, the buzz in the grocery store grew louder as more shoppers arrived. The aisles soon were packed with people — an easy occurrence in the small store.

It was becoming a more typical day at the Food Shelf at the Chester-Andover Family Center, with the number of participants growing while the economy and federal actions take their toll on people’s pocketbooks.

Preparing for impact 

For a while now, the Chester-Andover Family Center has been preparing to face such impact on its services to our communities. While the impact isn’t direct since the Food Shelf does not receive any federal funding, it still means more Chester and Andover residents need assistance. 

Effective Saturday, Nov. 1, the federal government said the shutdown was forcing it to shut off funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides about $7 per day per person to those needing it. That’s 42 million Americans nationwide and 66,800 in Vermont alone.

In preparation, many states scrambled to fill the gap, including Vermont where, last Wednesday, the legislature and Gov. Phil Scott extended funding for the program for two weeks and will revisit the situation on Nov. 13. By then, state officials hope that Congress will bring the shutdown to a close and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will free up the $93 billion that helps feed Americans in need through SNAP, the majority of whom are elderly and families with children and use the program for an average of 12 months.

On Friday night, two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to begin paying out SNAP benefits immediately, an order that the administration has been slow to roll out even while it is helping some groups during the shutdown, according to the Sunday New York Times.

“We are relieved and grateful to Gov. Scott and the legislature for putting people ahead of partisanship,” says Anne Henshaw, a Food Shelf volunteer and CAFC board member who lives in Chester. “What we are doing here is so important, to show love to your neighbors and to strangers.”

While the Food Shelf, which does not charge for the services it provides to Chester and Andover’s 3,700 residents and doesn’t accept SNAP funding, it is impacted.

“When people lose their SNAP benefits, they will be more reliant on our services,” says Henshaw. “In the three years that I have been here, we are seeing more and more families come in. It used to be older people on a fixed income, but now it’s more families, more disabled people, the at-risk, single working mothers.”  Those at-risk includes those “who are borderline,” says Henshaw. “Maybe they live paycheck to paycheck or are losing a paycheck. We have a lot of participants who are employed but the economy has pushed them into needing our services.”

Henshaw emphasizes that “you don’t need SNAP benefits to come here. We are a low to no-barrier food shelf. We don’t require SNAP status or eligibility.” The only requirements, she said, “is that you live in Chester or Andover. That’s it.”

More than the huge hiccup over SNAP benefits, Henshaw says, “The recent changes in funding on the federal level (under what has been called the One Big Beautiful Bill) has made our job the hardest it has been since I started here.”

The Food Shelf provides two types of shopping experiences:

• Shelf-stable and dairy products such as soups, canned vegetables, pastas and rice, jellies, mixes, milk, eggs and butter and personal and home-care items and
• Perishables such as fresh vegetables and breads.

Participants can shop once a month within the shelf-stable and dairy group and once a week in the fresh produce and bread category.

By the numbers: Our neighbors need support

Rylie Groves, a Springfield resident who manages the Food Shelf, detailed the growth in its use since 2021, when the average number of people who walked through the door to get shelf-stable products was 54. Those 54 individuals were there on behalf of their families, which, according to Groves, represented 109  people.

By the end of this October — not even a full year — those numbers had more than doubled to 108 individuals coming through the door and representing 229 people. And that is just for the shelf-stable shopping.

In 2021, the weekly trips for fresh produce averaged 45, representing 81 people. Just through October of this year, the number has risen to an average of 115 visits representing 234 people.  The good news for them is that in late October, the state gave the Food Shelf a grant to bridge the gap between the Nov. 1 stop on SNAP and the state release of emergency funds. It can now provide even more fresh, locally grown produce and dairy.

The average SNAP participant uses the program for 12 months, while senior citizens tend use it longer.

Groves explains that there is some overlap between those people visiting the Food Shelf for both the monthly and weekly shopping trips, although at this time CAFC isn’t able to assess how much.

The need for financial assistance grows

However, other numbers only bolster this growing issue. The Family Center also provides financial assistance by paying vendors directly for such necessities as vehicle repair, rent, utilities and medical needs. In 2020, the Family Center provided $17,925 in financial aid; through September of this year – and with a quarter of the year left — the center has already provided $30,126.

The numbers remain clear: More of our neighbors are needing the Family Center.

The Food Shelf also helps those outside of the area in crisis. As a matter of fact, during a recent interview with The Telegraph, Henshaw received a phone call from someone in a nearby town seeking emergency food help for their children. After discussing the person’s situation, Henshaw outlined the services that the Family Center could provide — including a bag of groceries that would be ready for their arrival later that day. Prior to hanging up, Henshaw also made sure the caller knew of an array of other services available.

As the busy shopping day continued at the Food Shelf, volunteers Terry Hartman and Nancy Pennell were filling the shelves, taking inventory and helping customers find products.

As the interview was wrapping up, Henshaw addressed recent criticism from those who question why the Food Shelf doesn’t just provide boxes with predetermined “healthy” content that doesn’t include sweets.

Besides cutting down on the waste of giving participants food they will not eat, she says, “People want to have the dignity of choice in their food shopping.” She also recounts the story of a family that was thrilled to find a cake that they could take home for their child’s birthday.

“What we are doing here is so important, to show love to your neighbors and to strangers,” she says, dismissing the stereotypical notion of “the lazy poor.”  “Everyone who walks through the door is a story of perseverance.”

How you can help

• Attend the Annual Empty Bowls Fundraising Event from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Chester American Legion, 51 Legion Way off Route 103 South. Donations are accepted at the door and you’ll enjoy an evening of delicious chef-made soups, breads, salads and desserts. You can also partake in several auctions taking place.

• You can also donate financially through the CAFC website by clicking here. Or through Venmo at @Chester-AndoverFC

• Donate food. The Food Shelf accepts any unopened, labeled products from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays. The Chester Andover Family Center Food Shelf and Thrift Shop are located at 908 VT-103 in Chester.

• Donate clothing and household goods in good condition. Sales from the Thrift Shop support the Food Shelf and its programs.  Click here to learn more.   You can drop off donations during open hours. See below.

• Shop at the Thrift Shop! Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

• Volunteer!  You can volunteer at the Family Center Thrift Store, where sales support the Food Shelf or at the Food Shelf itself. Learn more about volunteering by clicking here. You can click on the application link in the last line text. Email cafc302@gmail.com or call 802-875-3236.