Retired Vermont Principal Fights Child Hunger with Weekend Meals
A small but determined group in southern Vermont is tackling child hunger one weekend meal at a time. Barb Hyde, a retired principal in her 80s, launched the local Food4Kids programme to ensure children in need don't go without food when school cafeterias close for the weekend. The initiative now packs thousands of free meals every year for students in the region. Hyde first set up Food4Kids in 2017 after noticing how many children in the area struggled with food insecurity. Despite the region's scenic mountain homes and ski resorts, pockets of poverty persist, particularly among families relying on seasonal work. Many locals face financial instability, leaving some children without enough to eat outside school hours.
The programme operates out of Dover School, where volunteers gather to pack bags of food for students in Dover, Wardsboro, and Wilmington. Each bag costs over $5 to assemble—up from $3 when the programme began. To keep it running, volunteers often dip into their own pockets, while Hyde has secured donations, including a $12,000 contribution from Mount Snow ski resort several years ago. Hyde's goal remains simple: to ease hunger for children who might otherwise spend weekends without proper meals. The programme continues to grow, though exact numbers of participating schools remain unclear.
Food4Kids now provides a steady supply of weekend meals to children in three southern Vermont towns. Rising costs and reliance on volunteer funding highlight the challenges of keeping the programme afloat. Yet, with Hyde's leadership and community support, the initiative remains a lifeline for families facing food insecurity.
