Samuel Morey Elementary School is participating in Upper Valley Everyone Eats (UVEE), the local hub of the statewide coronavirus relief program Vermont Everyone Eats, which pays Vermont restaurants $10/meal to prepare free, nutritious meals for Vermonters who are experiencing food insecurity, or whose food security has been impacted by the pandemic. This program is designed to support the state's recovery in an interdependent way: when Vermont restaurants are distributing UVEE meals, they're supporting their neighbors, and when Vermonters are receiving UVEE meals, they're supporting local hard-hit restaurants.

We will soon begin distributing nutritious UVEE meals from Bradford's The Little Grille every week to families in our community. Weekly distribution will continue through at least the end of December. Meal examples include shepherd's pie, pork loin with roast veggies and rice, and spaghetti and meatballs. Meals come refrigerated and are individually packaged. If your household is food insecure, or your household's food security has been impacted by the pandemic, and would like to receive free weekly meals from The Little Grille, please complete the below form.

In determining how many weekly meals your household would like to request, know that we encourage families to request meals for everyone in the household (not just students), and that we also welcome you to request >1 meal per person if it would be helpful!

To learn more about UVEE, head to: vitalcommunities.org/uvee.

Food security is defined as: "having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food."

"Having reliable access" to food means being able to financially AND physically obtain food. For example: the food security of the elderly and immunocompromised has been impacted by the pandemic in that they can no longer grocery shop as easily as they once could. So 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 either a financial or a physical way, that household is eligible for UVEE meals.

Lastly, for reference, a recent UVM study shows that roughly 30% of Vermonters are currently experiencing food insecurity. This number is nearly triple the 2018 rate, highlighting the increased hardship the pandemic has brought upon Vermonters.