Shares Corporation

01/20/2026

Today was a bittersweet day as I closed Shares for the last time. Six years ago, upon graduation from college at the age of sixty two I started this non profit. I was fortunate enough to have Darlene go along with the idea and to have friends that were willing to become Board of Directors. During the early days Darlene and I spend hundreds of our own dollars to get operational and purchase food when needed. During that time we have assisted hundreds of wonderful soles. both the homeless and folks with food insecurity. We are going to miss everyone that we met along the way and the people and businesses that made donations to assist the operation. We can't thank the Vermont Food Bank enough for all they have done for us, from providing trainings, grants and all the food we distributed. In closing, we wish everyone well and who knows maybe someday we can dust Shares off and bring it back to life.

Bob and Darlene Theriault
The Shares Board of Directors

12/31/2025

Per the Shares Board of Directors, Shares will be closing it's office in St. Johnsbury effective January 23, 2026. We are sorry for this inconvenience but we are finding it harder to get the needed funds to operate at our current capacity of 150+ people a month. In just over one year we have gone from serving about 50 people per month to 3 times that amount. Yesterday alone I did 2 new intakes that would need to feed another 5 people per month. For the past six years we have assisted hundreds of folks, starting out assisting mainly the homeless population but then needing to focus on folks with food insecurity. It has been a pleasure to have helped as many folks as we have in that period but we can no longer operate on a chance we may get a sizable donation or receive a grant. We wish you all the best of luck moving forward and please seek out the assistance of other local food pantries in the area after 1/23/26.

Bob Theriault
Executive Director

12/30/2025

Shares will open this morning at 9 AM but depending on the weather we may close early so come in early. Right now the temperature is in single digits and it’s snowing. Roads and sidewalks are still very icy !

12/18/2025

The Shares Office will be closed Friday, December 26th so that we can enjoy the Christmas Holiday. We will reopen on Tuesday, December 30th our regular hours of 9AM till Noontime. Happy Holidays to each of you !

12/12/2025

Shares will be closed today 12-12-25 due to illness. Will reopen Tuesday 12-16-25 from 9-12. Sorry for the inconvenience! We will have fresh produce on Tuesday.

11/28/2025

Reminder that Shares Corporation will be hosting a Craft Fair at the Canadian Club at 414 E. Montpelier Rd in Barre Town tomorrow 11/29/25 from 10 AM to 2 PM. Please come out and support our local vendors and their homemade crafts. Mr. Barry Hayes will be playing acoustic guitar to set the holiday shopping mood. We will be having a 50/50 raffle ( you do not need to be in attendance to win) as well as a vendor raffle where each vendor will donate an item to win. The cost will be $5.00 for 6 tickets. All money collected will go to help support those in need and folks with food insecurity. Donations are always accepted on our website at www.sharescorporation.com Thank you all in advance and we hope to see you tomorrow at the Canadian Club from 10-2 PM.

Bob Theriault
Executive Director

Supporting the homeless population in North Eastern Vermont.

11/24/2025

We had the honor of being interviewed last week regarding the current needs and struggles within the Northeast Kingdom for food resources. Click below to watch the segment featuring us and our neighbors the Mustard Seed, which provides free meals for the community!

"ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (WCAX) - Community food organizations across the region are working to put a Thanksgiving meal on your table.

In rural Vermont, that can be easier said than done. Feeding America data shows Vermonters in the Northeast Kingdom are most reliant on SNAP benefits.

In St. Johnsbury, community food resources were a lifeline during the SNAP delay and now the holiday season, but it can be tricky to keep up.

Michael McCaffrey of The Mustard Seed is hard at work preparing a Thanksgiving feast for St. Johnsbury.

“We should roughly have about 60 pounds of turkey. I’m going to casserole that aspect of it. We’ll have mashed potatoes, squash, stuffing,” said McCaffrey.

He’ll serve it at The Mustard Seed, a soup kitchen in the heart of town.

One employee has his fingers crossed it’s enough turkey to go around.

“We’re thinking it’s probably going to be at most 50 people, but it could be like 100. Then we may not have enough to portion that,” said Joseph Daigle.

Since the SNAP pause, 10 new faces have come for a meal at The Mustard Seed. It’s the same story next door at the food pantry, Shares Corporation.

“We’re seeing anybody from a toddler age... I think our oldest person who utilizes us is 97 years old,” Executive Director Bob Theriault said.

Compared to bigger pantries around the state, Shares’ foot traffic is low at 150 people a month.

Theriault says in a rural community with limited resources, spots like Shares are vital.

“We get a delivery once a month from the food bank. But I’ve been going over every week because I can’t keep food in here. We’re so busy now. It’s constantly a turnover,” he said.

He’s got less protein to hand out this Thanksgiving.

For the first time ever, Shares’ food supplier, the Vermont Foodbank, isn’t doling out turkeys due to financial and logistical issues.

“If we can’t provide the turkey, we can provide the fixing. So, as long as we can help some way, that makes me feel a little bit better,” said Theriault.

A little goes a long way for locals who rely on the food.

SNAP recipient Gino Riddle, who cooks at The Mustard Seed, shops at Shares, and will get a Thanksgiving meal from a free community dinner.

Reporter Sophia Thomas: You’re basically just as much behind the scenes making the meals as you are the one benefiting from them, too.

Gino Riddle: Absolutely. And I’ve been through it since I’ve been up here.

While the community gears up for the holiday, McCaffrey already has eyes on the new year. That’s when donations, not demand, dwindle.

“There are great needs throughout the entire year,” he said.

The Mustard Seed serves its Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Community food organizations across the region work to put a Thanksgiving meal on your table.

11/01/2025

Good morning folks, I just wanted to let everyone know that we are in a decent place with food for Tuesday. Our partners, the Vermont Food Bank have been updating their grocery list for us to pick from almost hourly and Darlene and I have placed a couple large orders, one for this Thursday and one for Next Wednesday. With that said, we ask everyone to take only what they need since we are already seeing a large number of new intakes this past week. We want to help you all but we ask that you help us in return. We pick up bread on Tuesday morning but we never know how much we will receive. We will have potato's and cucumbers available on Friday.

Since we are all volunteer ( Darlene and I ) we will keep our regular hours for the time being, those are Tuesday from 9-12 and Friday from 1-4 PM. Please understand that our office is small so we will take folks as they come. We will do the best to get everyone in and out in a reasonable amount of time. Again, bring your own bags since we have very limited amounts of them.

Thank you for your understanding in these tough times.

Bob Theriault
Executive Director
Shares Corporation