***SURVEY*** Food Pantry Survey
Thank you! Missisquoi Valley Union Highschool Field Studies!!
What a wonderful job these kids did on the clean up of invasive Knotweed, building the new beds and filling them with soil!!
We were able to distribute to 36 families, 2 for the yard at the Tribal Office and 2 for the Swanton Ball Field Community Gardens. The cedar garden beds, soil and gift certificates were made possible by the Harris and Francis Block Foundation Grant!
ATTENTION
Are you a member of the Missisquoi (St. Francis/Sokoki Tribe)? If so, we would like to hear from you! We are in the process of updating our mailing list and want to make sure we have your correct contact information. Please call (802) 868-2559 and leave a message and Donna will return your call.
If you card is 2016 and older your card needs to be updated. Please see our application page on this website to print out a Tribal Card application.
COVID TEST
We have free COVID test available at the Headquarters for home use. We are offering 1 kit per household at this time.
Please call 802-868-6255 for a kit!
Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi Food Pantry Program
This past year and 2020 we saw a number of challenges for the Maquam Bay of Missisquoi Food Pantry Program. The food shelf grew from a small space to now the former community room. Shelving was donated, additional freezers were purchased through a grant, and some were donated. Volunteers have worked tirelessly to make this all a success!
In typical operations community members would come and select items, in the time of COVID we had to be creative to continue to have the food shelf open as all Non-Profits were closed by the Governor. Volunteers maned phone lines 3 days a week and brought food outside to place in vehicles for contactless delivery. When a family battling COVID called our volunteers prepared food boxes and masked up to deliver boxes to their doorsteps.
We were able to feed 1,302 families and 4,207 individual people in 2021 not only from Franklin County but Lamoille, Chittenden and even from upstate New York.
A big shout out to Anne and Lester Lampman, Brian Barratt and April Lapan for volunteering 3 days a week. Other family members for going to pick up food every weekend from Hannaford. Without all of them our food shelf would not look as good as it does today!
Thank you to Heathy Roots giving us our winter bags as well as our summer bags. Thank you to Vermonters Feeding Vermonters for our grant to buy locally raised beef or chicken, eggs or locally grown vegetables and fruits.
Community Space
Our current community room, a shared space within the tribal building, has been converted into an extended food pantry to accommodate the 300% increase in community need for emergency hunger relief. Also, even without the space dedicated to the food pantry, the community room is a large open space for tribal gatherings, and not really appropriate for some of the advocacy services we provide. We need funding to convert a small adjacent building on the property to provide a safe, secure space to hold programs for and with women and girls. This has been a long-term plan, but it has been made more urgent by the challenges that have arisen with Covid-19. When it is safe to gather in small groups again, we want to have the space ready for women to come together to recover and to work on the revitalization of our community.
This dedicated space will be comfortable and supportive and will also enable us to organize and host a variety of programs, services and activities. The space will house advocacy and direct support programs including violence prevention, intervention and healing; cultural revitalization activities; educational enhancement such as GED classes; and meeting space for our Tribal Women’s Council. Funding received will allow us to fix this building and complete our goal.
We have a GO FUND ME account set up as well as the Donate page located within the menu of our website. If you donate via the website please comment “for community room”.
Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Check out our SHOP Page
All proceeds go to The Abenaki Survival Center. 
Food Shelf is OPEN
During these difficult times the food shelf has remained open. We are open to all families. We are funded by donations and ran by volunteers. When arriving in the parking lot, please call 868-6255. Someone will meet you outside. Curb side service! We have served over 300 families this year.