Barre Up

01/22/2026

It will be dangerously cold this weekend. Here's a day-by-day rundown of the warming shelter options.

Important information for the Barre area on places to stay warm and safe through this extreme cold. 💚

Please share for anyone in need. Questions? Call 211 for all details!

Friday 1/23
> 7am-10am Warming Center
@ Church of the Good Shepard
> 4:30pm Doors, 5:30pm Meal
@ Hedding Methodist Church
> 7pm-7am Overnight Shelter
@ Barre Congregational Church

Saturday 1/24
> 8am-10am Breakfast
@ Barre Congregational Church
> 2pm-7pm Warming Center
@ Church of the Good Shepherd
> 7pm-7am Overnight Shelter
@ Barre Congregational Church

Sunday 1/25
>Noon-7pm Warming Center
@ Church of the Good Sheperd
>7pm-7am Overnight Shelter
@ Barre Congregational Church

Monday 1/26
>7am-10am Warming/Breakfast
@ Church of the Good Sheperd
>7pm-7am Overnight Shelter
@ Barre Congregational Church

Location details:
Church of the Good Shepherd
✨ 39 Washington St.
Barre Congregational Church
✨ 35 Church St.
Hedding Methodist Church
✨ 40 Washington St.
Enough Ministries
✨ 24 Washington St.

01/22/2026

If you've been following Barre City's flood recovery and mitigation planning for the last several years, you've probably heard the strategies of dredging or riverbed maintenance mentioned. North Branch Nature Center is hosting a free talk on Tuesday evening (January 28th) at 6:30 at their Montpelier location to teach the basics of these interventions. Link to free tickets in comments.

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1306886291473053&set=a.550760763752280

Join us for our 2026 Naturalist Journeys Presentation Series! This year's series is all about understanding how our watersheds function, how our rivers flow, and which actions move us towards - or away from - becoming a more resilient riverside community. 💦
👷‍♀️Our next presentation is To Dredge or not to Dredge: River Management and Flood Disasters in Vermont with Shayne Jaquith. As European settlement spread across Vermont, rivers were dredged and straightened in an attempt to contain floodwaters and keep the channel out of the way of roads, fields and buildings. We now know that these practices have led to major channel instability and erosion that continues to exacerbate flood damages today. We’ll discuss the history of river management in Vermont, how rivers have responded, when dredging is and isn’t appropriate, and what solutions exist to achieve the results we’re looking for.

Free tickets required, registerhttps://northbranchnaturecenter.org/event/nj-2026-jaquith/. This presentation will also be livestreamed.

Generously sponsored by Hunger Mountain Co-op, Catamount Solar, Onion River Outdoors, Waite-Heindel Environmental Management, and Washington Electric Co-op. Grant funded by Lake Champlain Basin Program and New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC).

11/01/2025

Thanks to everyone who added nutritious snacks and pantry staples to their Halloween offerings. We distro'd some simple breakfast, lunch and snack offerings downtown yesterday, along with regular trick or treat candy. Let's continue to come up with creative solutions to keep our neighbors safe and fed.

For youth, free breakfast and lunch will resume on Monday at all our schools. In her role as Housing and Homelessness Liason for the city of Barre, board member Tess Taylor shared this list of the local food shelves and their contact info. The city of Barre has also made $25 grocery cards available at the Capstone and Enough Ministries food shelves for residents. These organizations are ready to meet increased local needs--be in touch them if you need food support!

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1277001757788898&set=pb.100064372585108.-2207520000

🚨🚨Emergency Food Assistance for SNAP/3Squares Program Recipients🚨🚨

Due to temporary suspension of the SNAP/3Squares program beginning tomorrow, Barre City and our partners are providing supermarket gift cards to fill the gap for Barre families.

Please see the flyer below for details on how to get food assistance if you are in need, or share it with families you know to be affected by suspension of the program.

10/31/2025

Because SNAP benefits will be delayed by about a week for November, join us in adding a little extra to your trick-or-treat offerings this year or putting out a secondary bowl of breakfasts and quick meals for families. Our food shelves and food banks are quickly ramping up to meet local needs, but this is one immediate way we can help families get through the next few lean days. We'll see you downtown for some rainy trick-or-treating!

Send a message to learn more

10/27/2025

We had an inquiry this morning about food/grocery options for folks whose SNAP may be impacted by the federal shutdown. Here's a list of local food resources, including food banks, food shelves and supplemental groceries for families. Some of these programs are available for everyone, some are housed within other programs. Call ahead to find out what you're eligible for and for each site's open hours!

https://www.vtfoodbank.org/access-food/find-a-food-shelf

Vermont Foodbank partners with over 200 food shelves, meal sites, and organizations providing food assistance throughout the state. These organizations work closely with us to provide food to nourishing neighbors facing hunger. Please use our Find a Food Shelf tool below to find local listings and l...

10/22/2025

VHIP--the Vermont Housing Improvement Program--is still accepting applications until Friday, October 24th.

The Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) 2.0 provides 0% interest loans up to $50,000.00 per unit to property owners to create affordable rental units.

Landlords with flood-damage looking to get up to code, homeowners with those too-large Barre victorian floorplans that could fit a rental unit, property owners looking to add an ADU (additional tiny houses, in-law apartments, etc,)--we're looking at you! Get those applications in to Downstreet Housing & Community Development You've got 2 more days to finish them!

Vermont Housing Improvement Program: VHIP 2.0 The Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) has relaunched as VHIP 2.0! The Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) 2.0 provides grants and 0% interest loans up to $50,000.00 per unit to property owners to create affordable rental units. Eligible p...

09/09/2025

🍌🥯☕♻️Please join us this Saturday for free coffee and breakfast followed by a river cleanup of the Stevens Branch! 🚣‍♀️We are looking for extra canoes to help haul trash! 📩 RSVP to [email protected] or use the QR code below.

07/17/2025

Barre Up was honored to receive the Vermont Community Foundation's Strength and Resilience Award last week, along with our eight sister LTRG's from across the state. As we've moved past the one and two year anniversaries of the flooding that devastated Barre City's housing landscape and downtown businesses, we're proud of the community care, home repair and volunteering infrastructure we've mobilized. We're proud of our partners who expanded their scopes and services to embrace flood survivors and their needs. We're proud of you, Barre City, for how you keep showing up in action, in care and in thoughtful debate about how our city faces the water together.

07/17/2025

Staff from The Bridge have joined us for the past two Facing the Waters sessions to report out on how we're supporting Barre City folks to respond with neighbor-to-neighbor mutual aid and get our buildings as flood-ready as possible for the next storms. Learning how to safely operate tools and equipment ahead of time and getting clear on the meaningful assistance you can provide is so much easier and more joyful than trying to learn these skills on the fly in the adrenaline-fueled days after a storm.

In the second of its “Facing the Water” workshop series, Barre Up, a long-term recovery organization in Barre City, taught residents how to use flood-related tools and machines at the Aldrich Library on June 30, less than two weeks from the anniversary of the two floods that hit the region in 20...

07/14/2025

We heard from our sister long term recovery groups in the Northeast Kingdom yesterday that a weekend of doorknocking and neighbor-to-neighbor canvassing revealed that household flooding not widespread. Damage did occur on roads, driveways and impacted infrastructure. Homes requesting help have been identified and they're working with impacted residents to connect them with recovery planning and clean-up help.

They are not organizing a major volunteer mobilization at this time, but if you'd like to be on-call for the Kingdom in the future, here's the link!

We are always looking for volunteers to assist with our work. If you would like to help your neighbors rebuild their homes, please submit form below.

07/12/2025

If the waters aren't rising here, they're rising for our friends in other towns. Consider being a volunteer on standby for the Kingdom in the coming weeks, as they assess and begin their clean-up. Resources and links in the comments.

Sending a truckload of flood buckets and other supplies up to Sutton, VT. Glad we still have flood relief stuff available. Wish it wasn’t needed 😢

07/11/2025

Developing strong town-to-town mutual aid networks means we show up for each other. At Barre Up, we're giving a sigh of relief when storms pass us by without damage, but we're aware those clouds could be dropping a few inches of water on our friends in the next valley over. Several towns were hit hard by localized flooding events today. As those neighbors assess damage and identify their needs, we'll keep you posted with ways to help.

If you're able to travel and volunteer tomorrow, Northeast Kingdom Organizing is dispatching volunteers to muck and gut in the Lyndonville area. Here's the details and sign-up:

READ THIS BEFORE SIGNING UP! By signing up for to volunteer with NEKO, I acknowledge that: I am 18 years of age or older and know of no reason, medical or otherwise, which would prevent me from performing the tasks that are required by the above scope of work;I have acquainted myself with what is re...