Oral history interview with Sara Whitehair

Oral history interview with Sara Whitehair

Sara Whitehair discusses her work with food assistance programs in Vermont during the COVID-19 pandemic, including her roles at the Vermont Foodbank, 3SquaresVT, and the Waterbury Area Food Shelf in Waterbury, Vermont. She describes the rapidly changing conditions when people lost their jobs in March 2020 and the numbers of families needing food assistance greatly increased. Additionally, she reflects on the emotional toll of running a food shelf and shares her experience of contracting a mild case of COVID on the first day she worked at the Waterbury Area Food Shelf in 2022. She also touches on the pandemic's impact on her family, including her husband and two teenage daughters.

Sara Whitehair of Duxbury, Vermont, began as director of the Waterbury Area Food Shelf in Waterbury, Vermont, in January 2022. She previously worked as a coordinator at VT Fresh, a statewide program at the Vermont Food Bank. She also worked with 3SquaresVT.

Sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-251676-OMS-22.

2023-06-19

Collecting COVID-19: A Vermont Story Project

AudioFileCOVID-071

MP3

WAV

Audio file

Permission to publish material from the Collecting COVID-19: A Vermont Story Project may be obtained from the Vermont Historical Society.

Johnson, Mark

Whitehair, Sara

43 min., 34 sec.

Vermont Historical Society Library, 60 Washington Street, Barre, VT 05641-4215