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Testimony seeks $2 million to continue Vermont Food Bank's 'Vermonters Feeding Vermonters' local purchasing program
Summary
Representative Michelle Boslin described H.167, which requests $2 million from the General Fund to continue a Vermont Food Bank program that buys local farm products for food‑insecure Vermonters; House appropriations funded $500,000 so far, and program data and impacts were presented to the Senate Agriculture committee.
For the record, Michelle Boslin outlined H.167, the Vermonters Feeding Vermonters program continuation request, and asked the Senate Agriculture Committee to support an appropriation of $2,000,000 from the General Fund to sustain contracts that buy Vermont‑produced food for food‑insecure Vermonters.
Boslin, who identified herself as representing the Windham‑3 area (Westminster, Rockingham and Brookline), told the committee the program — run by the Vermont Food Bank and supported in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and Markets — began in 2018 to connect local farmers to food distribution partners. She said the program purchased roughly $2,400,000 in farm products in 2023 and $2,380,000 in 2024 and supported 299 Vermont farms in 2024.
Boslin described program outcomes and need: the program directs produce, protein and other locally raised foods to more than 300 Food Bank network and community partners; in 2024 the Vermont Food Bank distributed over 1.4 million pounds of local food. Boslin cited national and local indicators of rising food insecurity, referencing a Feeding America figure that 11.7 percent of Vermont residents were food insecure (about 75,000 people) in 2022. She said program purchases have helped participating farms by providing reliable markets that allowed some growers to hire workers, invest in equipment and reduce on‑farm waste.
Boslin told the committee H.167 requests $2,000,000 from the General Fund; she said the House appropriations process included $500,000 in approved budget language, and the program will use any state funds granted. She read a series of farmer testimonials included in her submitted materials about how the contracts supported farm viability and local distribution partners.
Senator Keisha Brown and other committee members urged wider consideration of related topics such as agritourism and value‑added farm activities to help farms diversify income; Brown recommended additional witnesses and local examples for future hearings. No formal committee vote on H.167 was recorded in the transcript during this session.
Ending: Boslin left additional Food Bank staff available to answer questions and committee members said they would consider the funding request as the committee proceeds through a busy week of agriculture bills.
