Hands serving trays of food

 Neighbors in Need, a program coordinated by Millstone Kitchen at the Old Prices Fork Elementary School, was created in response to the increased need for food access in response to the pandemic. Local caterers prepared hot individual meals and supplied them to multiple area partners for distribution to individuals in need. From April through June the program was funded entirely by donations and then received grant funding from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) from July through December. During that time, more than 14,000 individually prepared meals were served to families in need of food. Distribution partners included the VT YMCA, NRV Agency on Aging, Newport Community Center, Warm Hearth Village, Christiansburg Parks and Rec, New River Valley Diaper Pantry, and Future Economy Collective. Due to the overwhelming success of the program and the steady demand for continued meals, DHCD has approved a second round of funding for $135,000, extending the program through June 2021. This program not only benefits the families who would have otherwise gone without food but provides work for two caterers whose businesses have been greatly affected by the pandemic. Millstone Kitchen is a program of Live, Work, Eat, Gather, Inc.