Vermont's Independent Voice
Browse News
Browse Arts + Life
Browse Food + Drink
Browse Cannabis
Browse Music
Browse On Screen
Browse Events
Browse Classifieds
Browse Personals
Thursday, April 23, 2020
News In Swanton, Demand for FEMA-Supplied MREs Exceeded Supply
Posted
By Sally Pollak
on Thu, Apr 23, 2020 at 2:42 PM
Update, April 24, 5:15 p.m.: This post was updated with new dates for upcoming MRE distributions.
The Vermont National Guard on Wednesday, April 22, distributed 42,240 MREs — or Meals, Ready to Eat — to Vermonters at a distribution site in Swanton, according to the Vermont Foodbank.
The demand for food was so great that the 15 or so Guard members handing out packaged meals ran out of the initial inventory of 24,000 MREs in three hours. The site was shut down for most of the day until reinforcements arrived, according to the Foodbank, which is working with the Guard to distribute the food.
Organizers “scrambled to get more” MREs, said Nicole Whalen, the Foodbank’s director of communications and public affairs. A supplemental shipment arrived at 5 p.m. By the end of the day, the Guard had distributed 42,240 MREs, according to Whalen. “This is crisis mode, 100 percent,” she said.
Vermonters' need for food assistance has increased by 30 to 100 percent due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Foodbank.
The distribution of FEMA-supplied MREs at the Franklin County State Airport was the first of five such distributions taking place in the next week across Vermont. The second one will be Friday, April 24, in North Clarendon at the Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport.
MREs earmarked for Rutland County were diverted to Swanton on Thursday, so the Foodbank placed an order with FEMA for additional shipments. Four trucks carrying about 27,000 MREs apiece are expected Friday in North Clarendon, according to Whalen.
“We need to be planning for far more than we initially expected,” she said. “This is definitely bringing to light for the state and the emergency operations center that this needs to be a much higher priority.”
Roughly 600 cars showed up at the airport in Swanton on Thursday. Each person received a case of 16 MREs, which is meant to provide food for one person for one week, according to Whalen.
The upcoming distribution sites, open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., are:
The Vermont National Guard on Wednesday, April 22, distributed 42,240 MREs — or Meals, Ready to Eat — to Vermonters at a distribution site in Swanton, according to the Vermont Foodbank.
The demand for food was so great that the 15 or so Guard members handing out packaged meals ran out of the initial inventory of 24,000 MREs in three hours. The site was shut down for most of the day until reinforcements arrived, according to the Foodbank, which is working with the Guard to distribute the food.
Organizers “scrambled to get more” MREs, said Nicole Whalen, the Foodbank’s director of communications and public affairs. A supplemental shipment arrived at 5 p.m. By the end of the day, the Guard had distributed 42,240 MREs, according to Whalen. “This is crisis mode, 100 percent,” she said.
Vermonters' need for food assistance has increased by 30 to 100 percent due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Foodbank.
The distribution of FEMA-supplied MREs at the Franklin County State Airport was the first of five such distributions taking place in the next week across Vermont. The second one will be Friday, April 24, in North Clarendon at the Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport.
MREs earmarked for Rutland County were diverted to Swanton on Thursday, so the Foodbank placed an order with FEMA for additional shipments. Four trucks carrying about 27,000 MREs apiece are expected Friday in North Clarendon, according to Whalen.
“We need to be planning for far more than we initially expected,” she said. “This is definitely bringing to light for the state and the emergency operations center that this needs to be a much higher priority.”
Roughly 600 cars showed up at the airport in Swanton on Thursday. Each person received a case of 16 MREs, which is meant to provide food for one person for one week, according to Whalen.
The upcoming distribution sites, open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., are:
- Friday, April 24, Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport in North Clarendon
- Wednesday, April 29, Hartness State Airport in North Springfield
- Thursday, April 30, William H. Morse State Airport in Bennington
- Friday, May 1, Northeast Kingdom International Airport in Newport
- Friday, May 1, Folsom Education Center, South Hero
Comments
Comments are closed.
Since 2014, Seven Days has allowed readers to comment on all stories posted on our website. While we’ve appreciated the suggestions and insights, the time has come to shut them down — at least temporarily.
While we champion free speech, facts are a matter of life and death during the coronavirus pandemic, and right now Seven Days is prioritizing the production of responsible journalism over moderating online debates between readers.
To criticize, correct or praise our reporting, please send us a letter to the editor. Or send us a tip. We’ll check it out and report the results.
Online comments may return when we have better tech tools for managing them. Thanks for reading.
Related Locations
-
Feeding Chittenden
- 228 N. Winooski Ave, Burlington Burlington VT 05401
-
802-658-7939
- www.feedingchittenden.org
- Be the first to review this location!
-
Vermont Foodbank (Barre)
- 33 Parker Rd., Barre Barre/Montpelier VT
-
802-585-2265
- www.vtfoodbank.org
- Be the first to review this location!
Related Stories
About The Author
Sally Pollak
Bio:
Sally Pollak is a staff writer at Seven Days. Her first newspaper job was compiling horse racing results at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Sally Pollak is a staff writer at Seven Days. Her first newspaper job was compiling horse racing results at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
