Vermont Fiber Artists Crochet to Fight Hunger in Nationwide Knit-a-thon

Almost two dozen crafters filled The Makery in Burlington for six hours on April 11, turning knitting, crochet, sewing and weaving into direct help for people facing hunger. Their Vermont Fiber Fans group raised $2,655 as part of the sixth annual Knit for Food knit-a-thon, a 12-hour nationwide push that drew more than 115 groups across the country.

The Burlington session was the second year that Vermont Fiber Fans joined the fundraiser, and crochet sat right alongside the knit stitches at the table. That mix is part of the appeal: the event welcomes makers across fiber crafts, so a crocheter with a hook can work beside a knitter, a sewist or a weaver and know the finished result feeds a larger total. In a hobby that often prizes individual projects, Knit for Food makes the payoff communal and immediate.

The fundraiser was started in 2021 by knitwear designer and teacher Laura Nelkin as a way to raise money and awareness for hunger and food insecurity. Every dollar donated goes to four groups, split evenly among Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry and Meals on Wheels. This year’s national total reached $559,776, bringing the six-year amount raised to more than $2.3 million.

That scale matters in Vermont, where the need is not abstract. Feeding America estimates that 12.2% of Vermonters, about 79,010 people, experienced food insecurity in 2023. The organization also estimates an annual food budget shortfall of $58,867,000 in the state, with the average cost of a meal at $3.93. The Vermont Department of Health says 40% of people in Vermont experience hunger every day, up from 1 in 10 before the pandemic.

That is the backdrop that gives a local make-a-thon its force. A room of fiber artists in Burlington cannot solve hunger on its own, but six hours of stitching added real dollars to national food aid and showed why these craft-a-thons keep drawing participants back: they turn a familiar handmade ritual into measurable relief for neighbors who need it now.