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What’s On My Plate: My Morning at the South Burlington, VT Food Shelf

It was a crystal-clear morning when I arrived at the South Burlington Food Shelf to meet with Peter Carmolli. He’s better known as Pedro by the 1581 households that count on him for a warm welcome and an abundance of food.  

Pedro’s been the sole paid employee at the food shelf since it opened in 2019. He counts on his team of volunteers to do everything it takes to operate this awesome place that has a mission to help people who live in the South Burlington community put food on the table. And with food insecurity growing, this is an important, well-loved part of the community.

All About The People

While working for 20 years with Meals on Wheels, he joined a group of concerned South Burlington residents who saw a need for a food shelf in the area. 7 years later, he’s running the place and serving about 3,700 people, and, amazingly, he knows pretty much everyone’s name! Why?  Because, as I quickly realized, this man is all about PEOPLE.  

Pedro describes himself as a “noted glutton, always hungry.” I’d describe him as a guy who has devoted his life to helping, serving, and inspiring others to do the same. And with community need growing, what he and his group of volunteers are up to is all of that and more!  

The Food Shelf is neat as a pin and stocked with a great variety of food, most of which is donated, some purchased, and all of it free of charge to Pedro’s customers. I explained that at Healthy Living, we call customers “guests” because we feel like we’re inviting them into our home. He liked that, and  now refers to the people who come to the food shelf as “guests!”  

Brimming With All Sorts of Food

The South Burlington Food Shelf is a brightly lit, impeccably organized place absolutely brimming with all sorts of food. Everything from fresh to frozen to boxed and canned. After running my own grocery store for almost 40 years, I’m impressed! These folks really know how to run the place!   

“The way I get people to use the Food Shelf is to offer tours,” Pedro says. And after being shown around this lively facility, abundantly stocked and served by a group of incredibly friendly volunteers, it quickly became clear that this Food Shelf is such an important resource for so many people in our community.

Ready to Round Up

At Healthy Living, we’ve been involved with this Food Shelf since we heard it was going to happen. Staff volunteered to paint, set up shelving, and stock the shelves, and our Round Up project got off the ground. We’ve also been involved with the Wilton Food Pantry for our Saratoga store, and the Williston Community Food Shelf. Round Up collects funds at our registers, and over the years, we’ve donated over $25,000 to local food shelves!

With the holidays coming up, next time you’re at the register, I hope you’ll Round Up for a great, important, timely cause.  

Lots of gratitude will come your way! 

Katy