LOOKING FOR FOOD SUPPORT? YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

The Hardwick Area Food Pantry is a multi-site food share pantry with locations in Hardwick, Craftsbury, and Albany. Our mission is to expand food access and choice in our region. We believe nourishing food for all is central to community vitality. We are committed to partnerships, dignity and care.

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FAQs

  • No! We have no requirements when it comes to income. We are here if you need us, no matter what!

  • We do ask about income at our Hardwick site, to determine if you’re eligible for the additional USDA food options, which do have an income requirement.

    No documentation of income is required, under any circumstances.

  • USDA Foods available in Vermont include a variety of canned and frozen fruits, frozen vegetables, meats and cheeses, whole grain pasta, tortillas and pancakes, and even yogurt. USDA Foods are 100% American grown, and some of our USDA Foods come from our region – including frozen wild blueberries from Maine, frozen vegetables from New York State and Greek-style yogurt from Vermont.

    These foods are only available at the Hardwick site and you must income qualify to receive them.

  • We offer fresh produce at our sites in Hardwick, Albany, and Craftsbury! We also offer dairy options and meat, as well as pantry items. You can also often find menstrual products, cleaning supplies, pet food, and diapers.

  • We do our best to purchase and receive donations from our local farmers and food producers!

    We receive donations from Jasper Hill Farm, Sweet Rowan Farm, Pete’s Greens, Black Dirt Farm, High Mowing Seeds, and Cabot Cheese.

    We have a few grants that are dedicated to purchasing local food, including the Produce to Pantries program, in collaboration with the Center for an Agricultural Economy, where we purchase foods from very small farms, prioritizing women and minority-owned farms!

  • You may have a friend or community member pick up food for you!

    Or, check out the times, days, and locations of our other sites, listed at the top of this page.

    Or, contact us for delivery options!

  • Thanks for thinking of us!

    For Albany, Saturdays between 10am - 12:30 pm are best

    For Craftsbury, the best day is Thursday, any time between 10 am - 3 pm

    For Hardwick, you can bring food during our open hours (see above) or for larger donations, you can come on Mondays between 9 am-2 pm, and Wednesdays between 9:30 am - 2 pm.

  • We’d love to have you join our team!

    Please contact the site supervisor at the location you’re interested in volunteering.

    Hardwick: hardwick@hardwickareafoodpantry.org

    Craftsbury: craftsbury@hardwickareafoodpantry.org

    Albany: albany@hardwickareafoodpantry.org

Local food networks are nimble, flexible, and adaptive, this allows them to meet the needs of the community in ways larger, centralized systems cannot. The pandemic has illuminated many ways that the industrial food system doesn’t work to feed and nourish everyone. After participating in the national USDA Farmers to Families Food Box programs in 2020, the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE) team asked, “How can we localize this effort? Can we use our existing relationships and infrastructure to involve local small-scale farmers and our local pantries to meet the needs of our communities?”

The answer is Produce to Pantries, a partnership between the CAE and the Hardwick Area Food Pantry (HAFP). We buy produce from local farms, which is distributed at HAFP’s three sites in Hardwick, Albany, and Craftsbury. Not only does this get quality, locally-grown produce to more households - we intentionally seek small-scale and emerging farm partners to build equity among small farmers in our area. It is truly an example of neighbors feeding neighbors, and communities looking out for each other.

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS IN CRAFTSBURY

“I was trying to find some support for my mother in law … her income was being cut drastically. I took her to the Food Shelf in Hardwick. It was a fabulous experience. No questions asked about why you need help, just help given, and given in a very kind and respectful manner. She can go there once a month for pantry and refrigerated/frozen items, and once a week for produce. She had the biggest smile while shopping there. I haven’t seen her this happy since the day we moved her up here. After all the trouble we have had advocating for her the past few months, this was a very refreshing turn of events.”

— Hardwick Area Food Pantry Client

HAFP is a partner of the Vermont Food Bank.