Everyone Eats

Local people need to eat, and local restaurants and farmers need to feed people.

Upper Valley Everyone Eats is the local hub of Vermont Everyone Eats, the statewide coronavirus relief program that pays Vermont restaurants $10/meal to prepare free, nutritious meals to Vermonters experiencing food insecurity. The program accomplishes three goals: providing a revenue stream to hard-hit local restaurants, providing food to Vermonters in need, and supporting the state’s local agricultural economy, by stipulating that at least 10% of meal ingredients must be sourced locally. Vital Communities extended the model into New Hampshire in early 2021 a pilot program, Claremont Everyone Eats.

LISTEN staff with Global Village Foods meal

Vital Communities is the Upper Valley Community Hub for Vermont Everyone Eats. We are collaborating with the Upper Valley Haven, LISTEN Community Services, Willing Hands, participating restaurants, volunteers, and community food assistance efforts. Questions? Contact us at uvee@vitalcommunities.org.

Our Track Record: UVEE’s Impact

Upper Valley Everyone Eats (UVEE) in 2020: Between September 8 and December 30 of 2020, UVEE served 34,127 individuals, 22,959 households, and 9,358 seniors, just about all of whom were experiencing food insecurity. UVEE’s seven restaurant partners prepared and distributed 47,029 nutritious meals to 37 Upper Valley food shelves, community dinners, schools, and senior centers. At $10 a meal, those 47,029 meals translated into $470,290 for our local food service economy. Collectively, the restaurants sourced 34% of their ingredient costs from local farmers and food producers—amplifying the value of their revenue within the region and state. By May 2021, UVEE had served 100,000 meals, putting $1 million into local restaurants and food producers.

How It Works

Step 1: Participating restaurants prepare nutritious meals with at least 10% local ingredients. They package them individually and refrigerate or freeze them.

Step 2: The meals are delivered to Upper Valley food shelves, community meal sites, schools, and senior centers. All meal sites are in Vermont and most are open to the public.

Step 3: Community members seeking food assistance head to their local meal site (find the full list in the FAQ section below) to receive free UVEE meals.

Step 4: Restaurants are paid $10 per meal by UVEE.

These steps happen almost every day of the week!

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find Upper Valley Everyone Eats meals?

Open to the general public:
Bethel Food Shelf, Bethel
Bradford Public Library, Bradford
Help@FairleeVT, Fairlee (free food distribution on Fridays 10-11AM at 75 Town Common Road, Fairlee)
Groton Food Shelf, Groton
Hartland Food Shelf, Hartland
The Haven Food Shelf, White River Junction
LISTEN Community Services’ Community Lunches and Dinners, White River Junction
Sharon Congregational Church’s Food Shelf, Sharon
Thetford Food Shelf, Thetford
Trinity Evangelical Free Church Food Shelf, Windsor
Vershire Food Shelf, Vershire (Fridays 10AM-Noon at Vershire Town Center Building, 27 Vershire Center Rd)
Weathersfield Food Shelf, Weathersfield
Wells River Share the Harvest, Newbury/Wells River
West Fairlee Food Shelf, West Fairlee
White River Junction United Methodist Church’s Sharing & Caring Food Pantry, White River Junction
Windsor Veggie Van Go, Windsor
Woodstock Food Shelf, Woodstock

Closed to the general public:
Barnard Academy, Barnard
Bradford Elementary School, Bradford
Bugbee Senior Center, White River Junction
Dothan Brook School, Hartford
The Family Place, Norwich
Hartford High School, Hartford
Hartland Elementary School, Hartland
Newbury Elementary School, Newbury
Ottauquechee School, Quechee
Sharon Elementary School, Sharon
Thetford Elementary School, Thetford
Thompson Senior Center, Woodstock
Tunbridge Central School, Tunbridge
White River School, Hartford
Westshire Elementary School, West Fairlee
Windsor Meals on Wheels, Windsor
Woodstock Union Central School, Woodstock
Woodstock Elementary School, Woodstock

If someone in your household attends one of the schools listed above and you’d like to receive free weekly UVEE meals for everyone in your household, contact your school to sign-up.

If you are within the range of one of the senior centers or meals on wheels programs listed above, and would like to receive delivery of Meals on Wheels meals (suggested donation), plus some additional free UVEE meals, contact that senior center or meals on wheels program to sign-up.

We encourage additional Vermont community food sites to contact us to join the project and share locally produced meals with their patrons. Contact us at uvee@vitalcommunities.org to learn more and get your site on the roster.

Who's eligible? How do I sign-up?

Eligibility: Free UVEE meals are for any Vermonter who is experiencing food insecurity, or whose food security has been impacted by the pandemic. There are multiple ways the pandemic may have impacted a household’s ability to obtain food. If the pandemic has impacted a Vermont household’s ability to obtain sufficient affordable, nutritious food in any way, that household is eligible for UVEE meals. No proof of Vermont residency is required to receive UVEE meals.

Sign-up: In most open to the public UVEE meal sites, there is no sign-up process, but check with your preferred meal site(s) to be sure. At most food shelves and community dinners, the process is simple: show up and take a meal. No paperwork, no sign-ups.

Can I pick up a meal for a friend?

At most meal sites, meal recipients are welcome to take more than one meal, either for themselves or for others.

Can more restaurants join the project?

As of January 2021, we are no longer accepting new restaurants to Upper Valley Everyone Eats. That said, another program of Vermont Everyone Eats, the Localvore voucher program, is something we’re encouraging all Vermont restaurants to consider. In the voucher program, meal recipients purchase to-go meals directly from participating restaurants with Localvore App-based vouchers. Meals are reimbursed at $10/meal. To learn more, submit this form.

How is Upper Valley Everyone Eats funded?

Upper Valley Everyone Eats is a project of Vermont Everyone Eats. Vermont Everyone Eats is made possible through a grant provided by the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development to Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA).

Why is the program only for Vermont restaurants, farms, and community food sites?

Upper Valley Everyone Eats is the local hub of the Vermont coronavirus relief program, Vermont Everyone Eats. Vermont Everyone Eats is made possible through a grant provided by the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development to Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA). The funding was allocated by the Vermont legislature. The program is designed to support Vermont restaurants, Vermont food producers, and Vermont food security.

Meals are distributed at Vermont locations, but there is no eligibility requirement and any person can receive a meal, no matter where they reside.

If you are interested in advocating for a New Hampshire Everyone Eats, please contact us at uvee@vitalcommunities.org.

How can I help this great program?

Thank you for asking! We are excited about it, too. Meal sites may need volunteers to distribute food, and we welcome volunteer drivers to help deliver meals from restaurants to meal sites. We may raise additional funds to continue or expand the program. If you are interested in helping in any way, email us uvee@vitalcommunities.org and we will keep in touch!

What are other ways I can get food assistance?

There are many places and ways to get food assistance, whether you live in New Hampshire or Vermont.

Check Upper Valley Strong’s list of Upper Valley food access programs and sites.

Call 211. This hotline is staffed by knowledgeable people who will help you find the food resources that fit your circumstances. The number will work in both New Hampshire and Vermont.

Consider long standing federal food assistance resources like SNAP (known as 3SquaresVT in Vermont), WIC, and free and reduced school meals, which, due to the pandemic, are currently free for all children up to 18 years of age, whether they’re enrolled in school or not. Contact your school to learn more.

I don't live in Vermont, but I get meals at LISTEN (or other site), will I be able to get these meals?

Yes! If you were already eligible for meals at the community meal site, you will be able to receive these UVEE meals as well. Most of our meal sites are open to the public, as you can see under the “Where can I get UVEE meals?” question.