Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State University (VTSU) Office of Culture and Institutional Excellence (OCIE) has received a $50,000 grant from Hannaford Supermarkets. These funds will support one of the primary goals of the OCIE, which is to improve campus culture by creating more welcoming, vibrant, and equitable spaces for the VTSU community.
“Receiving these grant funds is a major milestone for our office and for our community,” said Jenn Hayden, Assistant Director, who started working on the grant proposal in September 2025. “One day while I was driving to work, I overheard a commercial on the radio about Hannaford’s Fresh Rescue program, and it kicked off this whole idea about how we could better meet community members’ basic needs by offering them improved access to food across the university.”
While researching the Fresh Rescue program, Hayden learned about other grant opportunities offered through Hannaford, like the “Fuel Kids at School” initiative, which has provided funding to establish or improve food pantries at over 200 schools from pre-K to college throughout New England and New York but notably not in Vermont.
“I reached out to Hannaford and asked if anyone in Vermont had ever tried to apply for this program, and they said not yet,” Hayden laughed. “I guess sometimes, you just need to be curious enough to ask!”
In the grant application, Hayden noted that four of VTSU’s five campuses are in parts of the state with limited levels of access to retail outlets selling healthy and affordable foods, otherwise known as food deserts. Additionally, in 2022, two in five people in Vermont were food insecure, and in the past year, some food shelves have been forced to close across the state due to lack of funding, including one in the Northeast Kingdom, close to VTSU’s Lyndon and Johnson campuses. “It just seemed like such a logical next step,” Hayden said of her hope to create welcoming, vibrant, and inclusive spaces on campus without hurdles like transportation or the stigma of judgement to deal with that often surround spaces like this. “If people can’t reliably access healthy, affordable food, how can we expect them to learn and thrive?”
The funds from this grant will provide the OCIE the ability to establish or make substantial and sustainable changes to its existing food pantries and begin to consolidate some of their other services, like their Winter Clothing Closets – a free winter wear resource for students – into these communal spaces. Items like refrigerators, freezers, and long-term storage options will all be a part of this project and will enable students' and employees’ access to healthy, fresh foods like meat, produce, and dairy, which can completely change the appeal of these support programs.
“Our office’s theory of change explicitly addresses meeting our community members’ basic needs before we address more complex cultural issues, and this project is a critically important part of this process” said Paul Suk-Hyun Yoon, Chief Culture and Compliance Officer. “We believe these spaces will help transform our campuses for our students and employees and provide the strong foundation our community needs to focus on teaching, learning, and belonging.”
About the VTSU Office of Culture and Institutional Excellence
Established in 2023, the VTSU Office of Culture and Institutional Excellence (OCIE) is committed to ensuring students and employees thrive at the university. It is committed to nurturing a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive learning and working environment where all members of the community are valued and respected. Guided by our Community Values, OCIE works tirelessly to be active change agents and proactively looks for ways to create a more equitable university culture where all can realize the full benefits of education.
About Vermont State University
Vermont State University, Vermont’s statewide public university, provides transformative, future‑ready education that empowers learners to forge their own path – professionally, personally, and within their communities. Rooted in Vermont values, Vermont State delivers hands‑on, career‑connected learning through in‑person, fully online, and blended programs built for real lives and real goals. Built in Vermont. Made for Everywhere. Learn more at VermontState.edu.
4.27.2026. Randolph, VT – VermontState.edu
Vermont State University is built upon the best of Castleton University, Northern Vermont University, and Vermont Technical College. Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, July 1, 2023.
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