Our Mission

Just Basics, Inc. confronts cycles of injustice by providing programs that increase awareness and access to basic resources needed for a resilient and vibrant community.

Emergency support

Just Basics addresses emergency food assistance by operating the Montpelier Food Pantry and a grocery delivery service. We also provide mutual aid to help people with emergency funds to cover basic human needs.

What we are doing

Collaborative support

Our Community Resource Center provides a platform for local collaborations with other socially-conscious organizations to increase everyone’s capacity by joining forces.

Business support

We strive to be dynamic and flexible to respond to the changing needs of our community. One way we achieve this is through Fiscal sponsorship. Currently, we are the fiscal sponsor of Pancakes for the People.

Our vision

Just Basics, Inc. envisions a community where the root causes of poverty and vulnerability are confronted through unprejudiced and sustainable solutions with a person-focused approach.

Where we are going

We are seeking to create resiliency through developing evidence-based programs and collaborations that enable people to overcome the need for continued emergency assistance by obtaining the skills necessary to sustainably thrive.

As the number of our patrons increase so too does the costs associated with operating our nonprofit. So, we’re asking the hard questions and implementing pilot programs to understand how we can best meet the needs of our community through creativity and collaboration.

Our Community Resource Center (CRC) is becoming a hub of information and activity where we seek to dissolve barriers between the diversity of our residents through listening to their needs and having them get involved and contribute in their own unique way.

Average patrons per month by fiscal year

Meet the Team

Board of Directors

  • Steve is a retired educator who lives in Montpelier and volunteers at the Montpelier Food Pantry.

  • Eva is a self-employed homecare provider, artist, Food Pantry patron, and a Montpelier renter. Eva currently chairs the racial justice committee of the board.

  • Tim is retired after 40 years employment with the State of Vermont Labor Relations Board, most of these years as Board Executive Director. He has been active in the community including many years as a coach, church leader, and running race director. He has been on the Just Basics Board of Directors for 12 years, including serving as Board President, Secretary and Treasurer, and is a Montpelier Food Pantry volunteer. He lives in Montpelier.

  • Maryann is a registered dietitian/nutritionist who has lived in Vermont and worked at the University of Vermont Medical Center for 25 years.  She has also been an avid veggie gardener for about 45 years, and has co-led hands-on gardening classes at UVMMC. 

    In recent years, she co-founded, with clinic social workers, a food pharmacy (a food pantry with a “food as medicine” focus) for food insecure kids and their families who are patients at the Children’s Specialty Center at UVMMC. The food pharmacy continues to grow and thrive through grants from various supporters, including the Vermont Food Bank. 

    Maryann lives in East Montpelier with her wife Donia. In addition to gardening, she loves other outdoor activities, such as kayaking and cross-country skiing, and of course making simple and delicious meals from all those garden veggies!