Vermont food‑security coalition presents Roadmap to 2035 and asks Legislature for new funding and programs

Becca Warren, a member of the Vermont Food Security Roadmap Coalition, told the Senate Agriculture Committee that the coalition’s Roadmap to 2035 frames statewide policy and spending choices to reduce hunger and strengthen farm resilience. “My name is Becca Warren. I live in Heartland. I’m a member of the aquatic center, and I represent the Vermont Food Security Roadmap Coalition,” she said.

The Roadmap, the presenters said, uses the United Nations framework for food security and sets three primary goals: give communities tools to support food security; ensure Vermont farms have resources to be resilient; and have government structures that ensure food security for all. “We will know we are food secure in Vermont when everybody in Vermont has the food they need all the time,” Warren said.

Why it matters: coalition members said food security is rising as a public‑policy priority because of persistent economic strain, higher local prices and wage stagnation, climate impacts on farms, and continuing demand for emergency food. Autumn Bowen, legislative policy lead at Hunger Free Vermont, summarized the economic drivers: “Food insecurity is a function of financial insecurity,” she said, citing state and national data showing an upward trend in households at risk of hunger.

Data and farm context presented - The Roadmap team reported more than 600 Vermonters and roughly 120 organizations were consulted during its public engagement process. - Autumn Bowen summarized trends: recent surveys show an increase in households at risk of hunger (the presenters cited 7.2% in 2021 and 9.6% in 2023), about 65,000 individuals receive SNAP (3Squares VT) monthly (approximately 40,000 households), and an average of 72,000 people use the Vermont Food Bank network each month. - Maddie Kepner of NOFA emphasized the farm side: the 2022 economic census was cited as showing the state’s food system generates billions in economic activity, while many smaller farms remain unprofitable and suffered from 2023 flooding that the presenters said caused about $44.7 million in damages and losses to farm businesses.

Policy and funding requests presented Coalition speakers asked the committee to consider a package of 2025 priorities that they said are drawn from the Roadmap and related plans (Farm to Plate strategic work, the Climate Action Plan, and the Governor’s Commission on the Future of Agriculture). The main items described were: - A state implementation of the SNAP restaurant‑meals option (3Squares VT): allow eligible SNAP recipients (age 60+, people with disabilities, and people experiencing homelessness) to use benefits for ready‑to‑eat meals at participating restaurants; funding requested to cover administration, equipment, and a DCF restaurant‑meals navigator to recruit and onboard restaurants. Autumn Bowen said, “There wouldn’t be any restrictions on what folks can buy there” and that participating restaurants would be asked to offer lower‑price menu options. - Vermont Food Bank funding: the coalition asked the Legislature to fund a package totaling $5,000,000 (presenters framed this as $1.75 million in base funding for operations and $3.25 million for food purchase and distribution). Presenters said the Food Bank has been operating as an informal state partner and that past appropriations had flowed through other agency budgets. - Crop‑Cash and Farm‑Share programs: increase base public investment to $500,000 to expand programs that connect local produce with low‑income households while supporting farmers. - Farm Security Fund: establish or fund a dedicated program to help farmers recover from climate and extreme‑weather events (presenters framed this as building on 2023 relief efforts). - Land Access and Opportunity Board: fully fund the board (presenters said it received $1,000,000 in the prior year and requested continued/expanded support to help marginalized farmers access land and capital). - Convert $323,000 in one‑time funding for Vermont 211 to ongoing base funding to maintain 24/7 referral services. - Expand outreach and access for the Vermont Earned Income Tax Credit and Vermont Child Tax Credit so eligible households claim refundable credits; presenters described the outreach as an administrative/outreach cost rather than a new ongoing benefit expenditure.

Committee questions and discussion Committee members thanked presenters and pressed for implementation details and fiscal context. One committee member asked how the SNAP restaurant‑meals program would determine which restaurants qualify and whether menu restrictions would apply; Autumn Bowen replied states can tailor the program and that Vermont’s proposal would require participating restaurants to offer lower‑priced menu options and include a navigator position within DCF to onboard restaurants statewide.

Several committee members raised concerns about whether people who use food‑access programs may sometimes make discretionary purchases (for example, owning or using a vehicle), and whether that affects eligibility or program design. Presenters and other committee members responded that surveys and provider experience show most people who use emergency food do so because of financial need and that financial counseling resources exist; the coalition noted financial stability programs and tax‑credit outreach are part of the Roadmap’s anti‑poverty approach.

Next steps and follow‑up Presenters said the Roadmap builds on existing, statutory Farm to Plate investments and on agency work; they encouraged the committee to review the Roadmap document and offered to provide additional fiscal breakdowns and follow‑up information on specific line items (for example, the exact current ask from the Land Access and Opportunity Board). No formal votes or committee actions were recorded during the presentation.

The coalition members who presented said they are available to meet with committee members and staff to operationalize the requests and to provide supporting data, including recent UVM research on Vermont food security.