USDA food box program to run through Dec. 31
BRATTLEBORO - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended the Farmers to Families food box program through the end of the year, with food boxes available at multiple daily food distributions throughout Vermont starting Monday, Nov. 16.
Regionally, the first distribution dates are Tuesday, Nov. 17 in Bennington; Friday, Nov. 20 in Springfield; and Monday, Nov. 23 in Brattleboro.
To keep wait times to a minimum, registration will be required at humanresources.vermont.gov/food-help or by calling 802-476-0316 for assistance.
Each reservation will receive one box with about 30 pounds of food, including fresh produce, dairy products, and meat. You are welcome to pick up food for other families who are not able to make it to the pickup site; just be sure to make a separate reservation for each household you would like to pick up for. Each reservation is for one set of food.
This program will likely end at the end of December, so people utilizing it are advised to look into other resources for the new year. For more ways to access the food you need, visit www.vtfoodbank.org/gethelp.
Firewood moisture meters available at Brooks, Rockingham libraries
BRATTLEBORO - Do you burn wood to heat your home? You can borrow a moisture meter from Brooks Memorial Library and the Rockingham Free Public Library today.
A moisture meter is the most reliable way to determine which wood in a wood pile is ready to burn. Wood burns most efficiently when the moisture content is between 15-20 percent. Green wood can have a moisture content of more than 50 percent. Dry wood burns hotter, more efficiently, and produces less smoke than wet wood.
The Vermont Department of Environmental Science's Air Quality & Climate Division, in partnership with the Department of Libraries, launched this moisture meter loan project at 50 public libraries around the state.
Anyone with a Brooks or Rockingham library card can borrow this meter. For more information about borrowing the moisture meter, contact the Rockingham library at 802-463-4270 or programming@rockinghamlibrary.org or Brooks library at 802-254-5290 or info@brookslibraryvt.org.
Brattleboro Historical Society hosts virtual annual meeting
BRATTLEBORO - The Brattleboro Historical Society is inviting everyone to its annual meeting, via Zoom, on Sunday, Nov 15, at 2 p.m.
Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device at us02web.zoom.us/j/82713376059?pwd=RCtBRVBieXZRTzdCTXM2MVQ5bFFjUT09. The Passcode is 690001 and the Webinar ID is 827 1337 6059. You can also join by phone at 301-715-8592, 312-626-6799, 646-558-8656, 253-215-8782, or 346-248-7799.
The guest speaker will be Jenna Carroll, director of education at the Historical Society of Cheshire County in Keene, N.H. She will present the life of Brattleboro-born Jennie Powers.
Powers was a Progressive Era woman who battled against animal and child abuse in Vermont and New Hampshire. In the early 1900s, she served as a humane society agent and deputy sheriff in both states. She served for more than 30 years and had a large impact on the region.