Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for The Other Paper
The South Burlington Food Shelf is looking for a new home. Its current location at 356 Dorset St. is set to be demolished by the end of this year.
“They’ve been extending us and extending us,” Director Peter Carmolli said of the current landlords. “Now it’s a pretty hard out.
The search for a new location is a balancing act of affordability and accessibility, he said.
“We’re looking at places, and it’s gotta be convenient,” Carmolli said.
Since 2019, the food shelf has provided for South Burlington residents who would struggle to travel to more distant food banks.
Before serving as director, Carmolli ran Burlington’s Meals on Wheels program for 20 years. Carmolli oversees the day-to-day operations of the food shelf as the sole paid member of its team.
The food shelf is governed by a volunteer nonprofit board, Faith Influenced Leaders. Board president Patrick Leduc said the move does not come as a surprise.
“When we first reached out to the ownership of the building in 2018, we knew it was not going to be our long-term home,” Leduc said. “This area and the building were eventually going to be in a redevelopment phase.”
Leduc sees transportation as a major factor in the search.
“An ideal location will be about the size we are now, maybe a bit larger, with parking available and accessible from the bus line,” Leduc said.
“Obviously a location relatively central in South Burlington, in contrast to the edge of town, would be ideal as well,” he said.
The food shelf’s reach has more than doubled since its inaugural year, serving over 3,700 customers in 2024. The growth has been matched by that of volunteers, with almost 2,000 people lending a hand last year.
“A slightly larger space would be great, as the number of people and households we serve continues to grow,” Leduc said. “That said, a building the same size as we have now is very workable.”
Compared to Burlington, which has three food shelves, South Burlington only has one, making the organization’s work even more essential to the city.
Carmolli and his volunteers aim to create a welcoming environment, where everyone is greeted by name.
One such helper is state Rep. Emilie Krasnow, D-South Burlington. She began volunteering during the pandemic.
A ranking member of the Vermont House’s housing committee, Krasnow views volunteering at the food shelf as a way to connect with the community.
“I’m able to volunteer there when we’re not in session, really meeting with folks in our community who are vulnerable and a lot of folks who are unhoused and helping them navigate challenges. Those are my constituents, too,” Krasnow said.
The move could create an opportunity to expand the shelf’s services, Leduc said, such as with a youth or drop-in center.
“While we need to address the food shelf’s need for a permanent home first, if there were a space where we might be able to co-locate both, we’d explore that possibility as well,” he said.
“Another thing we always keep in mind is the possibility of having enough space in our building to allow other social services organizations to co-locate their services to the community members who use the food shelf,” Leduc said.
It’s an exciting possibility, he said, but the most urgent need is finding a new space that works for the shelf’s current mission. He’s asking that anyone who wants to help reach out directly.
