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Senate advances H.167 to establish Vermonters Feeding Vermonters grant at Agency of Agriculture
Summary
H.167 would establish the Vermonters Feeding Vermonters grant program in statute with a $500,000 appropriation to the Agency of Agriculture; the Senate committees reported favorable recommendations and the Senate ordered third reading.
The Vermont Senate ordered third reading of H.167, a bill that would codify the Vermonters Feeding Vermonters grant program at the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and provide an annual appropriation to continue a food-security program currently administered by the Vermont Food Bank.
Senator Heffernan (Senator from Addison) reported that the program has been administered by the Vermont Food Bank since February 2018 and that in 2024 the program injected about $9.5 million into the local economy, delivered roughly 5.7 million pounds of local food and supported 299 farmers. He said the Legislature will assure continuation of the program by establishing it in statute (6 VSA chapter 207, subchapter 4) and providing contingent annual funds; the bill would take effect July 1, 2025 if the budget is enacted.
Senator Watson reported that the Appropriations Committee had reviewed the bill and noted that the money had already been placed in the budget; Appropriations supported the bill (vote recorded as 4–0–3 in committee). The conference and appropriations committee recommendations were accepted and the Senate ordered the bill read a third time.
