Crafters Knit to Fight Hunger in Burlington

Vermont Fiber Fans organize a 'Knit for Food' event at The Makery secondhand craft store.

Apr. 12, 2026 at 4:52am

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An extremely abstracted, out-of-focus photograph of knitters' hands and colorful yarn, creating a soft, warm, and textured composition that captures the communal spirit of the 'Knit for Food' event.The 'Knit for Food' event in Burlington combines the community-oriented hobby of knitting with tangible efforts to address hunger and food insecurity.Burlington Today

Knitters, crocheters, and crafters gathered at The Makery, a secondhand craft store in Burlington, Vermont, for a 'Knit for Food' knit-a-thon organized by the Vermont Fiber Fans fundraising team. Participants spent the day knitting together to collect donations that will go toward hunger relief charities like Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.

Why it matters

The event combines the community-oriented hobby of knitting with making a tangible difference in addressing food insecurity, bringing people together from diverse backgrounds to support a common cause. It reflects the ethos of the knitting community to come together for a purpose.

The details

The Vermont Fiber Fans, an organized fundraising team, spent the day knitting side by side at The Makery. Participants committed to knitting for hours, with the store providing additional crafting supplies as needed. Donations collected will go toward national and local hunger relief charities. The Makery is also offering store credit to those who bring in donations.

  • The 'Knit for Food' knit-a-thon took place on April 11, 2026.

The players

The Makery

A secondhand craft store in Burlington, Vermont, that hosted the 'Knit for Food' event and is offering store credit to those who bring in donations.

Vermont Fiber Fans

An organized fundraising team that coordinated the 'Knit for Food' knit-a-thon at The Makery.

Tamara Jordan

A participant from Shelburne who believes knitting is a community-oriented hobby that brings people together for a purpose.

Brooke Hoyte

A participant from Middlesex who says the event helps bring people together for an important cause, especially during a time when community is so important.

Arianna Soloway

The co-owner of The Makery who is excited to provide a space where people can affordably access crafting supplies and try new things.

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What they’re saying

“I feel like knitting is a very community oriented hobby – multi-generational, all different backgrounds, etc. People coming together for a purpose is very central to the ethos of the knitting community.”

— Tamara Jordan, Participant

“Especially right now I think community is so important and to be able to even have a small effect to help some folks that need it is great.”

— Brooke Hoyte, Participant

“It's really fun and lovely. I think when you are like 'yea it's for helping people eat' people are more apt to donate which is great.”

— Brooke Hoyte, Participant

“I love that this is a place where people can come and A: get stuff affordably but B: they can know that if they try something and it's not for them they can bring it back here, or they can bring stuff back that they tried and they can try something new.”

— Arianna Soloway, Co-owner, The Makery

What’s next

Organizers said the 'Knit for Food' event is setting up to become an annual event, building on the success of this year's knit-a-thon.

The takeaway

The 'Knit for Food' event demonstrates how the knitting community can leverage its passion and skills to make a meaningful impact on addressing hunger and food insecurity, bringing people together across generations and backgrounds to support a common cause.