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Vermont advocates press House committee to fully fund SNAP administration and benefit assisters
Summary
Advocates and retailers told the House Commerce & Economic Development Committee that federal SNAP changes and a November 2025 funding lapse threaten access and local grocery revenue; they asked lawmakers to fund SFY2027 administration and appropriate $4.95 million for benefit assisters and $500,000 for farm-targeted programs.
The Vermont House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development on Feb. 5 heard unified testimony urging the Legislature to fully fund administration of 3 Squares Vermont (the state name for SNAP) and to appropriate targeted aid for benefit assisters and farm-market incentive programs.
“For the record, my name is Ivy Enoch … I’m the director of policy and advocacy at Hunger Free Vermont,” Enoch told the committee, summarizing how 3 Squares Vermont reaches roughly 10% of Vermonters and describing the program as both a food security lifeline and an economic development tool. Enoch said federal benefit payments amount to about $12,000,000 issued directly to participants each month and recalled that a historic lapse in federal funding in November 2025 left an estimated 64,000 Vermonters and local businesses facing a shortfall.
Enoch asked lawmakers to fund the Department for Children and…
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