Advocates ask Vermont Senate committee to expand SNAP options, boost food‑bank and senior meal funding

Advocates for Vermont food‑security programs urged the Senate Committee on Government Operations on Thursday, Feb. 6, to approve four actions they said would increase access to food and strengthen the state’s emergency food response.

Anurag Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, told the committee the coalition’s requests are: opt Vermont into the SNAP restaurant meals program with start‑up funds and a state navigator position (S.42); provide $500,000 in base funding for NOFA Vermont’s Crop Cash and Farm Share programs; appropriate $5,000,000 (combination of base and one‑time) to the Vermont Food Bank for food purchase, farm procurement and disaster readiness; and add $2,000,000 in base general funds for home‑delivered meals for older and disabled Vermonters.

The measures, Horton said, would allow SNAP, known in Vermont as 3 Squares Vermont, to operate more flexibly for people who lack full kitchens or cannot regularly prepare meals. “This is one of the ways that 3 Squares Vermont is an economic development program for our state,” Horton said, noting SNAP brings federal dollars into Vermont’s retail and farm economy.

Nut graf: Committee members heard that the four requests aim both to expand how SNAP benefits can be used — including at participating restaurants and farmers markets — and to shore up capacity in the charitable food system. Proponents said the changes would help older adults, people with disabilities, households affected by disasters and low‑income residents not currently reached by SNAP.

Key details and context

- SNAP reach and eligibility: Witnesses said about 40,000 households — roughly 55,000 people — currently receive 3 Squares Vermont benefits, and that the program reaches approximately 40% of Vermonters who appear eligible by Census income estimates. Testimony noted Vermont’s income cutoff for SNAP eligibility is 185% of the federal poverty level, which some witnesses said is low relative to Vermont costs.

- Restaurant Meals (S.42): Advocates asked the legislature to authorize the state to opt into the federal SNAP restaurant meals option and to appropriate $75,000 for restaurant start‑up costs plus $100,000 for one Department for Children and Families staff navigator to administer the program. Proponents argued the option would help people without full kitchens — for example, people in motels or experiencing homelessness — use benefits in participating restaurants.

- Crop Cash and Farm Share ($500,000): Testimony described Crop Cash as a program that allows SNAP recipients to use benefits at farmers markets and doubles the value of purchases for fruits and vegetables, channeling federal SNAP dollars to Vermont farms. The $500,000 request is for base funding to sustain those programs and match existing federal grants.

- Vermont Food Bank ($5,000,000): The coalition asked for $5,000,000 in a mix of base and one‑time funds for the Vermont Food Bank to purchase food, buy from Vermont farms, support distribution across the charitable food network and improve disaster readiness. Witnesses explained $1,750,000 of the request would be base funding for readiness and planning and $3,250,000 would be one‑time for food purchases and partner support.

- Meals on Wheels ($2,000,000 base): Witnesses requested $2,000,000 in base general funds to expand home‑delivered meals for older and disabled Vermonters. Testimony also referenced a $2,300,000 figure as the total allocation that would result when federal Medicaid match and prior appropriations are counted; speakers said federal funding has not kept pace with inflation and that the state appropriation fills gaps.

Questions and concerns raised by senators

Senators asked about program details, federal matching and whether additional federal dollars could be drawn down. Carrie Staylor of the Vermont Food Bank said the state requests are intended to maximize preexisting federal programs and matches rather than create entirely new federal flows. “With these programs, that is actually not the case,” Staylor said; she said state funding would help leverage federal grants and increase federal dollars coming into Vermont.

Senators also asked about farm impacts and whether flooding or late frosts have constrained local supply. Staylor said the Vermont Food Bank’s Vermonters Feeding Vermonters program buys from farms and can be flexible when crops are affected: “Because of the flexibility of our system ... we were able to say, OK, you don’t have beets, what else do you have? They said, we have way too many tomatoes, and we were like, great. We’ll take tomatoes instead,” she said.

Proponents emphasized the charitable food system is seeing increased demand: witnesses said network partners reported empty shelves and higher client counts earlier in the month, and that the Food Bank distributed roughly 14.5 million pounds of food in 2024 (compared with about 6–9 million pounds pre‑pandemic and a pandemic peak of about 19.6 million pounds).

Ending

Advocates left committee members with written materials and asked the committee to consider the requests during budget and bill deliberations. Witnesses said they would follow up with data on farmer income impacts and other technical details at the senators’ request.