Disability advocates urge lawmakers to write disability equity into food and parks bills

Sarah, testifying for the Vermont Center for Independent Living, told the House Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry committee that structural barriers in housing, food procurement and state parks create disproportionate hardship for Vermonters with disabilities and urged lawmakers to embed disability protections in H 4 23 and related proposals.

"Food access is a disability rights issue," Sarah said, noting that disabled Vermonters experience high rates of food insecurity and are often hurt first by supply-chain disruptions. She described VCIL's Meals-on-Wheels work for people under 60 and said Vermont should invest in local food procurement, shorter supply chains and stronger processor-marketer connections to increase reliability and equity.

Sarah pointed to existing state efforts to make parks more accessible — adaptive beach wheelchairs, accessible walkways and a park-access fund that provides free passes through partnerships with more than 60 organizations statewide — but warned that "only 1% of Vermont trails are considered accessible," which leaves most trails unsuitable for many people with mobility disabilities.

She singled out H 4 23 (implementing the state Agriculture and Food System strategic plan) and mentioned related bills (referenced in testimony as h 4 0 8 and 8 68) as opportunities to ensure procurement and school-food policies explicitly account for disability access, and to stabilize the broader food and farm economy for people who develop disabilities during farm careers.

The committee acknowledged the testimony and asked staff about logistical questions and availability of written testimony; Sarah offered to answer follow-up questions and to connect committee members with additional resources.

The committee will continue consideration of food-system bills and related budget implications in later sessions.