Category: Wellness

The Kitchen Cupboard provides free food to individuals and families in need and teaches them how to eat better on a budget. Because we offer a variety of produce, distributions often include food to sample and recipes featuring new ingredients. Open to anyone in need of food, the Kitchen Cupboard regularly provides food to over one thousand Bennington families every year.

We welcome guests at the Kitchen Cupboard in Bennington the way we welcome guests to our home, because we understand how food impacts our physical, social, and emotional wellbeing. Guests come to food distributions because they care about the health of their families and themselves. If you or someone you know needs help paying for enough healthy food, you may qualify for 3SquaresVT. Visit https://vermontfoodhelp.com/apply-now to learn more.

Visit the Kitchen Cupboard

The Kitchen Cupboard is located at GBCS at 121 Depot Street in Bennington, VT, one block west of the intersection of US Route 7 and Vermont Route 9 (Main Street).

We do not have a large waiting area, so we encourage shoppers not to come early for distribution hours. Limited off-street parking is available. We ask able-bodied guests arriving in cars to leave nearby parking spaces for people with disabilities. Please do not idle your car in the parking lot.

Smoking, alcohol and firearms are prohibited inside the Kitchen Cupboard and on our property.

Eligibility

The Kitchen Cupboard is open to anyone who needs food. We don’t require financial information from our guests or proof of need. Shoppers are not required to take a predetermined allotment of food; instead they make their own choices, within the limits of availability.

Shoppers may visit the Kitchen Cupboard once each calendar week. Some shoppers may only need to visit once or twice a year, while others will visit weekly. Our shoppers include both individuals and families with children.

Our Partners

Food for the Kitchen Cupboard comes from a variety of sources including the Vermont Food Bank, local supermarkets and corner stores, local farms, family gardens, and local food drives. Raising funds to purchase food for the Kitchen Cupboard is a big job and ongoing commitment for GBCS.

Our primary source of food is the Vermont Food Bank, of which we are a community partner agency. Varieties of food include canned and boxed goods, frozen meat, dairy products, and produce. Occasionally, we obtain other non-food products like energy efficient light bulbs, toiletries, dish and laundry detergent, but most of our dollars are invested in food items.

The next largest source of food for the Kitchen Cupboard is local farms. We have a special relationship with Mighty Food Farm in Shaftsbury. During the growing season, they donate a truckload of organic produce each week. Thank you, Lisa and crew!

Support the Kitchen Cupboard

More than a thousand Bennington-area households rely on the Kitchen Cupboard for food each year. In turn, we rely on the support of our partners and generous donations from the community. Our donors are people like you who understand that the only way we can reduce poverty in our neighborhoods is by supporting each other. Access to fresh, nutritious food for everyone is one of the first steps in lifting our community up. There are lots of ways to support the work of the Kitchen Cupboard. Find out how you can support your community and Get Involved.