FAQs: Food Shelf

The Food Shelf is open to everyone. It does not matter where you live, your job status, or your income. It is available as a one-time resource or for longer periods of time.

We’ve had conversations with Upper Valley residents looking out for their neighbors who are concerned that they don’t “qualify” for the Food Shelf or they should leave the food for someone else who needs it more. We want to assure you that there is enough to go around. And we don’t want anyone to have to choose between food and their health or paying bills.

Did you know?:

• Many of the people you see at registration are picking up groceries for their neighbors and family members.
• The registration process collects information needed to track how well we are meeting community need, and personal information is not shared.

*We no longer require mask wearing for vaccinated individuals outside on the Haven’s campus. People who are unvaccinated should still continue to wear masks outside on our campus. We have masks available for visitors. 

Yes. Groceries are available to people living in Vermont, New Hampshire, or any other state.

You can visit the Food Shelf for a full cart of groceries once per calendar month. You can visit us for produce, bread, desserts, prepared foods, and other items (as available) as often as needed during business hours. See below for more details.

The Food Shelf is open Monday-Thursday 9:00am-4:30pm, Friday 9:00am-3:00pm..

If you cannot make it to the Haven during those hours and don’t have a family member or friend who can pick up for you, please call 802-295-6500 to talk with a service coordinator.

In 2022, the Haven offices and Food Shelf will be closed on these days:

Memorial Day          Monday, May 30
Independence Day Monday, July 4
Labor Day                   Monday, September 5
Thanksgiving             Thursday, November 24
Christmas                   Monday, December 26        observed
New Years’s Day      Monday, January 2, 2023    observed

The Food Shelf is located on the Haven’s campus at 713 Hartford Avenue in White River Junction, Vermont.

You can park in our main parking lot, located in front of the Byrne Community Building. Handicap accessible parking is labeled with signs. If the parking area is full, please park in the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church lot next door in front of the “customer parking” signs.

There is an Advance Transit Green Line stop located in front of the Haven on Hartford Avenue.

You may assign a friend or family member to pick up your groceries for you. Local service providers are also welcome to pick up groceries for their clients. If another person is shopping, they will need to provide your registration information upon arrival. Please call in advance or send your friend or family member with a note giving them permission to pick up your Food Shelf groceries for you. These are our registration and order forms for someone picking up groceries.

Upon arrival, please look for the “Food Shelf Check-in” sign in the parking lot under the tent near entrance of the Byrne Community Building. A staff member or volunteer will be outside to greet you; if they have stepped inside, please ring the doorbell to the right of the front door or connect with someone using the intercom at the registration window.

A staff member will help direct you to one or more of our three food options: Monthly Food Shelf, Daily Food Shelf, or Grab & Go. Grab & Go does not require any registration and you may help yourself; a Monthly or Daily Food Shelf will require a quick registration.

If you are a new customer for a Monthly or Daily Food Shelf, you will be given a key tag that will be scanned for easy and quick registration during any future visits. We will provide one key tag per household.

If you are getting a Monthly Food Shelf, you’ll customize your order at the registration window or using your cell phone. Your order will be prepared inside and a volunteer will bring it outside on a cart to the pick-up area near the gray shed when it is ready and call out your name and/or order number. You can wait outside, in your vehicle, or in our weather shelter. The estimated wait time is 15-20 minutes.

Please take your groceries or use the cart to bring them to your vehicle, then kindly return the cart to a tent, which will be sanitized for the next customer. We request that no vehicles are driven to the tent area due to safety and operations concerns.

A Monthly Food Shelf includes dairy, meat, eggs, and non-perishable items. It requires a quick registration and you can receive it once a month.

You will be able to customize your Monthly Food Shelf by preference, allergies, or dietary needs. We provide an order guide so you can select your preferred items and/or tell us whether you are gluten free or dairy free.

A Daily Food Shelf includes produce, bread, desserts, and specialty items. It requires a quick registration and you can visit as often as needed. You will be able to choose the items you’d like and a volunteer will gather them for you.

Grab & Go offers prepared foods and non-food options like personal care items, books, and sometimes other specialty foods. It does not require registration and you may help yourself as often as needed.

Please feel free to contact us in advance of your visit (call 802-295-6500 or email us) to discuss your concerns. You can also ring our front doorbell or visit the registration window to connect with one of our staff members or volunteers when you arrive on campus.

We have accessible parking and ramps on our campus.

All questions are voluntary. If any member of your household is not comfortable answering, please let us know and we will make sure to respect their privacy.

For statistical tracking purposes, we ask many questions, but we do not need proof of address, identity, income, or any other personally identifying information. They are simple questions that do not require any paperwork on your part.

Please come prepared to verbally let us know the name, date of birth, gender identity, relationship to head of household, military status, and town and state of residence for each member of the household, as well as the number of people in the household and whether the household receives any disability income, food stamp benefits, or employment income.

Here are copies of our Food Shelf registration and order forms.

We have produce, bread, desserts, prepared foods, and other items as available Monday-Friday and on Sundays. You are welcome to visit whenever needed to pick up these items. Please start at Food Shelf Check-in. Some items are available through Grab & Go, while others are included in a Daily Food Shelf. A staff member or volunteer can help you find what you need.

Daily prepared foods are available for pick-up Monday-Friday at the Haven. They are individually packaged in our coolers so you can select what you’d like.

A bread rack is located in the front foyer outside of business hours and on weekends; please help yourself to bread as needed.

The Haven is following guidelines from the CDC as well as normal food handling and safety procedures. All staff and volunteers are practicing physical distancing of six feet or more and Food Shelf visitors should do the same. Masks are worn inside our buildings by all; those who are vaccinated are not required to wear masks outside on our campus. All staff and volunteers are participating in mandatory health checks upon entering the building each day; anyone who presents with symptoms of COVID-19 or who has been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 is asked to self-quarantine before returning to the Haven. Food Shelf volunteers are wearing gloves when handling food. We have set up hand sanitation stations inside our regular Food Shelf and practice proper hand washing. The Haven’s facilities are cleaned thoroughly multiple times each day.

Per the CDC: “Currently there is no evidence of food or food packaging being associated with transmission of COVID-19.”

Our community service coordinators would be happy to talk to you about other resources that may be available. Please call 802-295-6500 between 9am-4:30pm Monday-Wednesday or 9am-3pm Thursday-Friday to be connected with a service coordinator.

The Upper Valley Haven is part of Upper Valley Strong, a coalition of organizations that come together in times of emergency to help our communities. For additional services and resources, please visit uvstrong.org.