Students brief committee on Vermonters Feeding Vermonters program, citing benefits and funding shortfalls

University of Vermont students told the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry that the Vermonters Feeding Vermonters program supports local farmers and food security but faces ongoing funding and logistical challenges.

Amanda Hudson, presenting for the student team, said the program — established in 2018 by the Vermont Food Bank — operates through three components: large‑scale wholesale purchasing, mini‑grants to local network partners and culturally responsive farm‑share CSAs. "One of the most consistent challenges has been limited and unstable funding," Amanda Hudson said, summarizing the students’ research and interviews.

The students said H.167 seeks permanent, ongoing appropriations from the Agency of Agriculture to sustain the program. They reported that the program has worked with about 299 participating farms, purchased some 104 types of crops and contributed an estimated $3,800,000 to the Vermont economy (figures cited from program reports and the students’ brief). The students said the program gives farmers early‑season guaranteed contracts at fair market prices and helps keep produce in Vermont’s supply chain.

Students reviewed benefits and challenges. Benefits included steady market opportunities for producers, access to nutritious and culturally appropriate foods for partner organizations, and local economic multiplier effects. Challenges included unstable funding that limits purchasing and mini‑grant support, scale mismatches for small diversified farms that cannot meet wholesale minimums, transportation constraints (many small farms lack refrigerated trucks), limited staffing at community receiving sites and seasonal gaps in availability, especially April to June.

The students compared Vermont’s model with other states. They said Maine’s "Mainers Feeding Mainers" channels administration through a single, large food bank and has a permanent $1,000,000 allocation in the Maine Department of Agriculture budget; Rhode Island’s Hope’s Harvest has shifted toward an online platform called Market Mobile that lets producers list product and receive payment directly after USDA funding changes; and New Mexico’s regional program relies heavily on USDA local purchase funds. The students also noted Seattle’s sweetened beverage tax as an example of a local dedicated revenue stream; they cited a 2021 Seattle figure of about $20.3 million in revenue and a committee member referenced a Vermont estimate that a 2¢ per‑ounce tax could raise roughly $30 million annually.

Students and committee members discussed contract flexibility when crops are lost to weather: presenters said contracts are often flexible and the Vermont Food Bank works with producers to accept substitute crops where feasible. Representative John O'Brien asked how much of the Vermont Food Bank’s distribution comes from in‑state farms; presenters gave a partial figure for the Vermonters Feeding Vermonters stream (about 2.3 million pounds of food cited for a recent year) and said a full statewide distribution breakdown was not included in their briefing and could be provided on follow‑up.

Presenters recommended stable, dedicated funding to expand purchases and mini‑grant support, reduce administrative burden on individual partners and help cover transportation and storage costs. They suggested studying alternative funding mechanisms used elsewhere and exploring digital ordering or marketplace platforms to reduce administrative friction.

The committee did not vote on funding during the hearing; members continued to question students and staff and requested follow‑up information about program volumes, seasonality and contract language.