Food shelf seeks summer donations

Count the Williston Community Food Shelf among local institutions feeling the effects of Williston’s population growth.

According to food shelf board member Betsy Johnson, the number of people seeking sustenance at the food shelf on Cornerstone Drive has roughly doubled in the past two years. That has left the organization in need of food donations as it enters the summer months, when children lose access to school breakfasts and lunches.

The food shelf is open at 400 Cornerstone Drive for shoppers on Tuesdays from 5-6:30 p.m. and Thursdays and Saturdays from 9-11 a.m.

The theme of this year’s July Fourth Parade — growing community — hit home with the food shelf board of directors, and they hoped to create a way for people to donate food items as they walked with their float down the parade route. In the end, however, they were not able to find the people-power to pull it off.

The food shelf will have a presence in the parade, with a float, walkers and candy give- aways to parade-watchers.

Meanwhile, the food shelf will continue to accept donations during its regular hours. It’s currently looking for: fruit snacks, microwave popcorn, granola bars, cereals, juice boxes, peanut butter, jelly, raviolis, cake mix and noodles.

Demand at the food shelf did soften slightly during the last three summers as the Williston Schools were able to offer free meal pickup through Covid relief waivers. Those waivers are no longer available, and the food shelf expects more demand this summer as a result.

“It was great when the schools were able to provide that and we did see a small drop in our numbers,” Johnson said. “With that not happening, we expect our numbers to go up.”

Williston’s population stands at just over 10,000, roughly 16 percent more than it was a decade ago, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. By 2030, the population is projected to be about 11,700, according to a 2022 school district demographic study.

Jason Starr

BY JASON STARR Observer staff

Every walk around the town’s Catamount Community Forest is a learning opportunity thanks to new interpretive signs installed by the Catamount Community Forest Committee that teach passers-by about the forest’s geology, wetlands and wildlife.

Committee members wrote and designed the signs for printing on a weather-resistant aluminum composite. Four new signs were finished this week and are set for installation this summer. They will add to an existing series of about 10 signs that were installed last summer.

“They will be sited along the trails as people are walking, biking or skiing by,” committee member Reed Parker said. “Education is a big part of the committee’s work — getting people to understand more about the forest — and this is a part of that.”

Many of last year’s installations discuss the reasons for the logging operation that Chittenden County Forester Ethan Tapper is overseeing this summer at the forest. Two of the new signs to be installed this year cover bird habitat, biology and nesting sites. Information from the Green Mountain Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology were used to create the signs; the information is specific to the bird ecosystem at Catamount.

Information from UVM and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy informed the two new signs that cover Catamount’s geology and wetlands.

“We expanded into different topics this year,” Parker said. “We want to increase awareness about what’s going on at Catamount for people who are visiting.”

Committee members are planning a walk around the forest to decide on the permanent locations for the four new signs.