FEMA Lends A Hand To Vermonters During National Food Drive

WILLISTON, Vt. – As the Federal Emergency Management Agency marks more than two years in Vermont assisting disaster survivors, its staff are working to help fight hunger in the state as well.

The fifth annual Feds Feed Families campaign is a national project of federal employees who help collect food and non-perishable items for those in need, and this year FEMA employees in Vermont are helping to replenish the shelves of the Vermont Foodbank.

“FEMA has had a presence in Vermont since the spring 2011 floods,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Mark Landry, the head of FEMA’s Vermont operations. “Through Irene, and now through this summer’s flooding we have been working to assist Vermonters. Donating food through the Feds Feed Families effort is a natural extension of that work.”

So far, employees at FEMA’s Joint Field Office in Williston have contributed 530 pounds of food and non-perishable items to the Vermont Foodbank as part of Feds Feed Families.

The United State Department of Agriculture is leading this year’s Feds Feed Families campaign, which officially began on June 1 and will run through August 28, 2013.

All federal agencies, including field components, are asked to participate in the campaign. The field agencies typically share their collections with local food banks.

Since 2009, federal workers have donated and collected 15.2 million pounds of food and other non-perishable items to support families across America.

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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders and to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.