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By Karen Pellicano, Community Health Case Coordinator

“Hunger is not a problem. It is an obscenity. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” –Anne Frank

We’ve all heard the stories. Seniors choosing between medications and food. Kids who only eat at school because there isn’t any food at home.  Parents who go without so their kids can have a meal before bed. In November 2025, when the SNAP Food Assistance Program was on hold because of the government shutdown, these stories grew to a fevered pitch and brought attention to health equity and the right to healthy food.  5.4% (about 75,900 people) of NH residents receive SNAP benefits. That includes families with children, seniors, and disabled individuals – and all of them are struggling to make ends meet. 

The federal government has recently intensified the work requirement for people receiving SNAP benefits. State advocacy groups like NH Hunger Solutions and New Futures are tracking bills that will limit eligibility and impose food restrictions for people using SNAP benefits.  (SB615 – read more here). One of the food restrictions that is being discussed would limit the kinds of food SNAP can purchase. SNAP benefits would no longer be able to be used to purchase sugary treats, like candy and soda.  (Just like you already can’t use SNAP to purchase alcohol or tobacco).  And it would seem to make sense – sugar is not essential to health.  Except when you learn that Twix is covered by SNAP (because, flour?) and Snickers is not. Think about all the little “mom and pop” shops that would now have to figure out exactly what they could and could not charge to SNAP.. Some may make the decision not to accept SNAP at all. It’s too complicated and the risk of penalties is too great. 

Transportation can be another barrier for people to access healthy foods. Many of our towns only have small, local stores. For instance, in Antrim the closest large grocery store is about 10 miles away.  Not everyone has reliable access to a vehicle, and those that do need to be mindful of how they use their gas. The recent hike in gas prices has made a trip to Keene or Concord more expensive and less likely. If there isn’t a local grocery store, that makes food far less accessible.  

I witness the impact of the changes in food access programs on a daily basis. I regularly see an older adult who lives in subsidized housing and has a very limited income. Just as her rent was being increased, her SNAP benefits were reduced from $147 to $24 per month.  A neighbor she had relied upon for rides to get groceries and medicine recently passed away, and now she is paying $10 to a different neighbor to get to and from the store. At the same time, her prescription medications, which used to be at no cost to her, are now at a cost of $600 per month.  For someone who is barely getting by, these new costs are unmanageable. The increase in rent, decrease in SNAP benefits, change in prescription coverage and added transportation expense has been overwhelming. She is so stretched that she now faces the possibility of eviction from her home.  

Between the new work requirements, changes in eligibility, reduction of benefits and rising costs, SNAP isn’t the safety net it used to be.  But there are a lot of people and organizations committed to food access in our region! Food pantries, like the Antrim Bennington Food Pantry and Peterborough Food Pantry are lifesavers. They receive funding and support from the community and they get low cost foods in bulk from the NH Food Bank. Recently, food pantries have been more vigilant in requiring ID information for people coming in for help. So, it’s important to bring in the necessary information to  receive food. This information is shared with NH Food Bank for a number of reasons, including applying for grants and tracking needs around the state. Here at the Grapevine, we have a small shelf unit of food and hygiene items available and we aren’t required to collect personal information. Both food pantries and the Grapevine benefit from individual donations of non-expired, non-perishable foods.  

 You can find more information about Food Resources in our region here. And, we ask you to use your voice about the SNAP regulations moving through our state legislature!  Please visit New Futures  or NH Hunger Solutions to learn about these current bills and how to contact your local representatives. 

By Karen Pellicano, Community Health Case Coordinator

Watching the local news, chances are you’ll hear about the housing crisis in New Hampshire. You’ll see pictures of tent cities in Concord and long lines at the Friendly Kitchen. You might hear a story about how the town of Manchester is working to clear the streets downtown. If you happen to be in our larger cities, you may see people sitting on cardboard boxes, dozing on the sidewalk. It’s common to see the reality of unhoused people playing out on our screens and city streets.

Walking down Main Street in Antrim, you probably won’t find anyone sleeping in a tent. You don’t see Bennington or Hillsborough or Hancock on the news addressing the homelessness problem. Some people assume that because we don’t see it in smaller towns, it isn’t happening.

But homelessness looks different in small towns. Instead of tent cities, we have cars parked in the woods, sometimes in groups for safety, but just as often they are isolated. They are afraid that they will be found and told to move.

During the winter, many kids are sleeping on couches while parents park the car nearby. I’ve heard from a lot of families who will do whatever it takes to make sure their kids have shelter, even if it means leaving them for a while with a friend because there isn’t space for everyone.

People have said to me “I’m so lucky I have a car! I can’t imagine being homeless without a car to sleep in.” Even though the car isn’t running, and the back window has been replaced by a black trash bag, they feel lucky to have shelter.

In the warmer months, town welfare departments can help the homeless by renting them a space in a campground, where there are showers and a bit of safety. But from October to April, those options aren’t available. Bathing in the lake is a summertime solution. I read an article from the Homeless Coalition that suggested getting a Planet Fitness membership to access the showers there. But if you’re in Antrim, without a car, Planet Fitness is out of reach. Even if you have a car, it’s a 45 minute drive, using gas you can’t afford.

According to the NH Housing Authority 2025 Annual Report, there are 4,251 Section 8 housing vouchers available in NH (Section 8 is the Housing Choice Voucher program funded by the U.S. Government). The waiting list in NH has about 8,900 people. The wait time to get a section 8 housing voucher is about 9 years. Even if you have a housing voucher, you will need to find housing that accepts that voucher. Statewide, we are about 69,000 units short of the necessary housing. So finding a place to live is harder than it’s ever been before.

So, what can be done? Various towns, including Antrim, are looking closely at ways to increase affordable housing through zoning laws and the addition of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). In Peterborough recently, the community met to discuss the housing problem and how it is impacting other areas of the economy. In 2025, 1,915 new multi-family housing units were opened in NH.

Communities are seeing the crisis first hand, and people are interested in learning more about what we can do to help. There has been an increase in advocacy and town hall attendance when the subject of housing is on the agenda.

If you would like to learn more about being unhoused in a rural community, like any of our small towns, or if you would like ideas for advocacy, please reach out and let the Grapevine know. We can bring in resources and speakers to start the discussion and answer questions.

I can also recommend going to the NH Housing Authority website for more information and ideas. They have a very good short video series called Fact or Fiction that addresses some common myths we have around homelessness.

I invite everyone to become more aware of the housing situation, and the creative ways towns are trying to address it. Please contact us by filling out our inquiry form HERE to continue the conversation or, give us a call.

Moms’ Campfire Nights meets on the third Wednesday of the month at The Grapevine from 6-7:30pm. 

Contact us for more information or give us a call.

Spring is finally here and in our Learning Vine nature based preschool we continue to observe the nature that is around us.  If you are looking for some free fun, take your child outside and go searching for bugs, worms and other creatures.  Children have a fascination about the natural world around them and love to explore.  You can foster this curiosity by making your very own BUG HOTEL!

All you need is a shoe box.  Cut some holes in the side of the box for air flow. If you have a scrap piece of mesh or screen you can tape that to the inside of the box to cover the holes while still allowing for air flow.  If you want to prevent the bottom of your bug hotel from getting wet and soggy, place a piece of foil or other type of plastic material down on the bottom of the box. Then head outside and as you find creatures you can place them in the Bug Hotel, and observe them for a while and then let them go. Children love to collect dirt, leaves and other items to keep their creature happy while visiting the Bug Hotel.

So far the preschool children have found worms, salamanders, centipedes and beetles! If bugs aren’t your thing, try searching for budding trees and flowers.

Encourage your child to draw a picture of the creatures and plants they find.  This can be the start of their very own nature journal.  These simple activities strengthen your child’s fine motor skills as well as their creative thinking and observation skills.

You can also ask your child questions about the bugs and plants they find.  For some additional fun, have your child name the creatures they find. Being outdoors with your child and exploring can be great fun!

This winter, in our Learning Vine outdoor based preschool, we have been focusing on observing the nature that is around us in the cold season.  A lot can be done with a simple toilet paper roll! We take winter walks around our play yard and use our toilet paper roll as a single binocular to focus our eyes up toward the sky and look at what is up in the trees, as well as down on the ground.  

If you are looking for some free fun for your child this winter, take them on a winter walk.  When you return, older children can draw pictures or write about what they did outdoors on this walk.

It can also be fun to take your winter walk more than once and at different times of the day to notice the different animal activity you see.  Look for signs of animal behavior, footprints in the snow, scat (animal poop) that is left behind and birds.  We are very slow when we walk and as quiet as we can be so we can observe the animals and birds that may be around us without startling them away.  Being outside in this way provides children with fresh air and the opportunity to be in stillness.  They are strengthening their creative minds and their appreciation of nature by observing the winter animal behavior they see in their local environment.

Nature and its wonders can be enjoyed at any time of the year!