Committee reviews bill to encourage state institutions to prefer Vermont-grown food with a 10% price threshold

H.408 would make it state policy to encourage state institutions and state universities and colleges to prefer locally produced Vermont foods and would require a procuring person to purchase local foods unless the local option costs more than 10% above an out‑of‑state alternative.

Representative Heather Supernaught, introducing H.408 to the House Agriculture Committee, said the bill is “a fairly straightforward bill that looks at the idea of institutional purchasing and local procurement,” and framed it as a way to “increase the viability of Vermont farms and food businesses.”

The bill’s nut graf: supporters say institutional purchasing creates defined markets for farmers, helps pay producers adequately and advances the state’s goal of increasing the share of food sourced from Vermont. Representative Supernaught told the committee the measure would “encourage the procurement of local foods by state institutions and state universities and colleges to increase the viability of Vermont farms and food businesses.”

Legal and technical details came from Legislative Counsel Mike O’Grady, who cautioned the committee about constitutional…