Hundreds gather for pre-Thanksgiving meal in Burlington - WCAX

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BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Hundreds gathered in Burlington Wednesday for a free pre-Thanksgiving lunch hosted by Feeding Chittenden and prepared with the help of local culinary students

Living on the streets for much of his life, Orlando Pacheco knows the power of a good meal. And now he’s learning to make them at the Community Kitchen Academy, a culinary training program for unemployed and underemployed Vermonters.

On Wednesday, Pacheco and his classmates served a Thanksgiving spread to people in need. “This is something big for me. People who didn’t have a meal today, they got a meal now,” Pacheco said.

The meal is helping to fill the gap following the end of the free Thanksgiving dinner provided by Sweetwaters Restaurant when it closed last year. Staff and culinary students at Feeding Chittenden worked efficiently to doll out servings to the line of people forming outside, serving upwards of 140 people by 12:30 p.m. of the expected 200.

Casey Sears of Middlebury took a bus to Burlington for the lunch. Currently experiencing homelessness, he says his meal couldn’t come fast enough. “I need to eat. I’ve been starving to death for the past few weeks,” Sears said.

Feeding Chittenden set a goal of feeding 10,000 families in 2023 but lacks donations to meet its goal. They’ve fed about 3,000 so far, about 2,000 short of where they’s hoped to be this time of year. The group’s Anna McMahon blames food prices that have increased by about 5.8% this year, according to the USDA. “People are struggling to provide food for their own families, let alone purchasing extra food or making an extra monetary donation,” she said.

While donations are down, McMahon says demand is up. There were about 450 people who visited the program’s food pantry Monday compared to their 200 daily average.

Free meals are also taking place on Thursday across the region:

Fletcher Free Library, Burlington

Moose Lodge, Burlington

Vermont Law School, South Royalton

Fraternal Order of Eagles, Vergennes

CV Family Center, Plattsburgh

Open Door mission, Rutland

Martha’s Kitchen, St. Albans

American Legion, Windsor

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