The SNAP-Ed program — which focuses on nutrition education and overall wellness for people on food stamps — will end Sept. 30, cutting off hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual grants that supported programming across all Vermont counties, including recipe demonstrations, meal kits and active-living guides.

The program’s elimination was part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget adjustments that passed on July 4 in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. As the state’s food assistance network finds its way through a new landscape of shortfalls, officials worry more residents will fall through the cracks.

SNAP-Ed is an extension of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which has experienced a number of cuts across the board. Instead of providing funds for individuals to purchase food, SNAP-Ed’s much smaller grants focus on community education and initiatives to improve eligible households’ engagement with 3SquaresVT — Vermont’s name for the larger body of resources under SNAP. 

“Just providing food for people is not the whole answer to food security,” said Suzanne Kelly, who was the SNAP-Ed coordinator at the Vermont Department of Health for a decade until last month. Her former position, and another related role, will soon be discontinued.

“SNAP-Ed is sort of that extra bit of information to really make sure that people can access the food, can use the food, and can enjoy it over time,” Kelly said.

The program is deeply focused on health outcomes, she said, including prevention of chronic conditions and disease, and promoting wellness through nutrition and exercise.

Kelly is concerned about the immediate impact on Vermonters. 

“These are decisions that trickle down to the most vulnerable people in our communities,” she said.

Kelly referenced a SNAP-Ed needs assessment earlier this year that identified certain populations in the state with a disproportionately high need for food assistance, including rural Vermonters and people with disabilities. Outreach programs that meet people where they are geographically will be an especially big loss, Kelly said.

The end of SNAP-Ed has already had tangible effects in recent weeks, causing the imminent shutdown of a food pantry in Holland and contributing to the Vermont Foodbank’s recent staff cuts. Of the seven employees the food bank let go, three were specifically operating SNAP-Ed programs, according to Chris Meehan, the company’s chief impact officer.

Vermont residents received over $147 million in SNAP aid last year. The projected allocation for Vermont’s SNAP-Ed budget in 2026, which the Department of Health received May 30, was less than half a million. Five weeks later, Kelly learned that the program was canceled.

‘We’ll have to be really creative’

Meehan said the SNAP-Ed cuts will effectively end the Vermont Foodbank’s VTFresh program, which has reached every county in the state with initiatives to increase access and understanding around nutrition. The program provided a space for people to exchange knowledge about cooking, recipes and budgeting, and was often particularly useful for families, she said.

While the food bank employees who ran the initiative are no longer with the organization, the program’s existing resources will remain on the Vermont Foodbank website. VTFresh’s continuing presence, Meehan said, will be “more passive than active.”

Meehan is grateful for the infrastructure that VTFresh has left behind — it has been “transformational” for the food assistance network in the state, she said. 

Denise Walton, a Concord resident who is a lead volunteer at Sid’s Pantry in town, said VTFresh recipe materials had been invaluable in allowing her community to make better use of fresh foods. It’s common, she said, for people to ask questions about how to prepare food as they’re taking it.

“I think people want to cook,” said Walton, who herself is on food stamps. “They may not have learned, or been taught, or had the time.”

Walton said she would keep trying to provide resources to help people fully use the food they’re receiving — but that it will be more challenging going forward. 

“We’ll have to be really creative,” Walton said.

Vermont Foodbank’s situation is par for the course statewide at smaller food assistance providers.

The Vermont Garden Network will lose its dedicated nutrition educator, according to executive director T Hanson, one of only five staff at the organization. Come Alive Outside, a nonprofit which used SNAP-Ed funds to reach thousands of school-age kids in Rutland County with tips on how to stay active, has told its staff it may not have sufficient funds to pay everyone in six months, according to Executive Director Arwen Turner. 

Meanwhile, in Burlington, the People’s Farmstand will continue as a purely volunteer effort, according to founding Director Nour El-Naboulsi. There hadn’t been salaried roles, he clarified, but they had previously been able to offer staff — primarily farmers — a stipend for their time. The organization offers free fresh produce (both self-grown and donated) at weekly open events but has also been conducting educational outreach through its Veggie of the Month program. 

El-Naboulsi said the initiative features a combination of staple Vermont crops and “culturally relevant produce — things from Nepal, Somalia, Iraq (and) other places in the Middle East and East Africa.” The organization serves a relatively large proportion of immigrant and refugee populations, he said, and the program is designed to combine familiar food with information about how to prepare local produce.

With the loss of SNAP-Ed funding to the People’s Farmstand and sister organization Village Hydroponics, El-Naboulsi said he has had to reprioritize.

“We kind of lose the capacity to do supplementary education, recipe preparation, outreach,” he said.

‘A great return on investment’

Keith Robinson, a pediatric pulmonologist at UVM Children’s Hospital, emphasized a connection between SNAP-Ed and health outcomes for families. He’s the hospital’s vice chair for Quality Improvement and Population Health and built the provider’s screening platform for food insecurity.

“We are trying to go deeper and further upstream to make sure that we’re solving the root causes of food insecurity in Vermont,” Robinson said.

For him, nutrition education has been a big part of that work — that’s why the end of SNAP-Ed is such a blow, despite the small scale of previous funding.

“It’s gonna make communities potentially less healthy, and it’s also gonna create gaps in the systems that we need to have around families,” he said. “While the dollar value may not be great, the impact of those dollars is extraordinary.”

Robinson referenced a state report on SNAP-Ed last year, calling survey data that indicated diet and exercise changes for participants “a big deal.” Roughly a third of people who received direct nutrition education reported they ate more fruits and vegetables each day, and 20% said they exercised more, according to the report.

“That’s a great return on investment,” Robinson said.

Modifications and cuts to the SNAP program at large have been made in the name of eliminating “waste, fraud, and abuse” — a narrative that Kelly disputed. 

“The strategies that are used (in SNAP-Ed) have shown outcomes — real outcomes,” she said.

A page addressing cost concerns on the USDA website references studies showing that for every dollar spent on SNAP-Ed and similar programs, 10 times that can be saved in future health care costs. The total nationwide cost of the program would have been $550 million in the 2026 fiscal year.

“It’s probably not the best idea to be cutting programs that are going to eventually help reduce costs way further down the line,” Kelly said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture did not respond to requests for comment.

A document briefly detailing SNAP overhaul from the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture called SNAP-Ed a program that has wrought “no meaningful change” for its target population. The committee cited a 2019 report from the Government Accountability Office that appears to primarily conclude that the effectiveness of the program is difficult to properly evaluate due to uneven standards of reporting from state agencies and a lack of coordination at the federal level. 

“When federal benefits get cut like this, we need to think about how to bolster connections in our community, and think differently about how to fill those gaps,” Robinson said. 

Jeanne Montross, executive director of Helping Overcome Poverty’s Effects, or HOPE, in Middlebury, said her organization has been seeing the effects of staff and program cuts elsewhere in the state’s assistance networks. Montross’ nonprofit is primarily funded by private contributions.

“It always ends up flowing down to HOPE,” she said of increased need in her local community.

Anore Horton, executive director at Hunger Free Vermont, said the state’s food assistance network “cannot in any way mitigate the loss of all of these different sources of funding.”

Any solution to a problem of this scale must be “collective,” Horton said, but must also involve significant new assistance from the state government. But in a situation this urgent, Horton said it wouldn’t necessarily make sense for the state to replace nutrition education funding.

Walton said Sid’s Pantry has also been increasingly relying on community support and donations.

“We’re very fortunate to have a little buffering like that,” she said, “especially for an aging community that needs healthy food and needs access to things out in the rural areas.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Loss of SNAP-Ed program leaves gaps in Vermont’s food assistance network.

Thousands of Vermonters could lose access to nutritional benefits funded by the federal government in the coming years as a result of cuts laid out in the sweeping Republican-led spending package that President Donald Trump signed into law last month. 

The reductions, along with many other measures in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, are designed to fund parts of Trump’s domestic policy agenda, including an extension of tax breaks that estimates show will benefit wealthy people the most, as well as major increases in funding for border security and immigration enforcement, among other changes. 

State officials and advocates emphasized in recent weeks that they haven’t yet tallied the full impacts the tax and spending package could have on Vermont. But a number of provisions, they said, will undoubtedly make it harder for people to access food using the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

About 65,000 people currently receive SNAP benefits — commonly known as food stamps — in Vermont, according to Ivy Enoch, policy director for Hunger Free Vermont, a nonprofit that advocates for ending systemic hunger in the state. Her organization estimates as many as 14,000 of them could see nutritional benefits they rely on reduced or eliminated entirely as a result of the legislation. 

“This will make it harder for people to meet their most basic needs,” Enoch told VTDigger. “Fundamentally, it will cause harm to every one of our communities — and it is also forcing our state to contend with really difficult decisions.”

Vermont’s SNAP program is called 3SquaresVT. People are generally eligible for the program if their household income is equal to or below certain thresholds established by the federal government, or if they receive the state’s earned income tax credit. The vast majority of SNAP benefit recipients in Vermont are children, older adults and people with disabilities, Enoch said.

Currently, many SNAP recipients between the ages of 18 and 59 are required to report to the federal government that they are working, or participating in a work training program, in order to receive their benefits. But the new law expands that work reporting requirement to certain people up to 65 years of age.

There are certain exceptions to those reporting requirements, including for parents with teenage kids. Currently, parents of children under age 18 can be exempt from requirements to work, but under the new law, many parents will only be able to claim an exemption if they have kids under 14. People experiencing homelessness, veterans and young people who have aged out of foster care could also be subject to new work reporting requirements, Enoch said.

Proponents of the changes have argued they would ensure more people are working and that SNAP benefits are reserved for people with the greatest needs. But research has shown that existing requirements do not increase employment and have only pushed more people off of the safety net program. 

Enoch said many SNAP recipients who can work, do work.

“This rule will be expanded to more people, who will need to take more time — that they don’t have — to fill out complex paperwork and submit it to the state,” she said. “And the state will then need to review more paperwork, creating more burden on both.” 

Hunger Free Vermont estimates many people in the state will start to face the prospect of losing their SNAP benefits in February 2026, though the timeline is not entirely clear, Enoch said.

A more immediate impact, she said, will be felt by immigrant communities in the state. Starting Oct. 1, under the new law, refugees and asylum seekers — who have lawful status to live in the U.S. — will no longer be able to access SNAP benefits. Hunger Free Vermont believes about 1,600 people in Vermont will no longer be eligible for federal nutritional benefits because of that change. 

The legislation also restricts future increases to the value of the nutrition plan the federal government uses to determine how much money many SNAP recipients should receive. Under the new law, the value of this “Thrifty Food Plan” will continue to reflect established cost-of-living increases. But barring future updates to the underlying value of the plan could mean SNAP payments lag over time, Enoch said.  

Beyond the cost of food for individuals, the legislation is also expected to put new pressure on states, including Vermont, to pay for administering SNAP programs.

While the federal government pays the cost of SNAP benefits, it shares the cost of administering SNAP programs with individual state governments. Right now, that burden is shared 50-50. But it’s slated to change starting in October 2026, Enoch said, to a cost share that’s 75% on states and 25% on the feds.

The Vermont Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Office reported last week that this change will cost Vermont $8 million a year starting in 2026. It’s one of many fiscal changes, prompted by Trump’s return to the White House, which state legislators will need to contend with when they return to Montpelier for the 2026 legislative session next January.

Other advocates have said a reduction in the number of people receiving SNAP benefits in Vermont could have broader impacts on the state’s food system.

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont runs a program called Crop Cash, which leverages federal funding to multiply the dollar value of SNAP benefits when recipients use them at local farmer’s markets. SNAP recipients spent more than $385,000 at markets across the state in 2024, according to the organization’s data. 

The organization is not immediately concerned about funding for the program itself. But if fewer people are shopping at farmer’s markets because they cannot afford to without SNAP benefits, local farmers could lose out on income, which could be a potentially painful hit on already tight margins, said Jessica Hays Lucas, a policy organizer for the association. 

“We’re just going to have so many fewer dollars in circulation,” she said, referring to SNAP benefits.

Read the story on VTDigger here: 14,000 Vermonters could lose nutritional benefits under Trump’s spending package.

This commentary is by Ivy Enoch of Richmond, SNAP policy and training lead at Hunger Free Vermont.

Earning a college degree is challenging, especially for Vermont students who balance school, jobs and family while working to put food on the table. Fortunately, a new policy change now makes it easier for Vermont’s community college students to access 3SquaresVT, the state’s name for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to help with grocery expenses so they can focus on success in school.

As of October 1, 2024, Vermont’s Department for Children and Families adopted a policy that eliminated a prohibitive work activity requirement for community college students seeking to gain eligibility for 3SquaresVT. 

This policy change recognizes that mandating work requirements is simply not effective at incentivizing work, because 80% of CCV students are already employed while pursuing their degree. The student work requirement does nothing other than create arduous and burdensome paperwork requirements, posing a legitimate barrier to 3SquaresVT for students simply trying to meet their basic needs while learning. 

This policy aligns Vermont with other states like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington and Connecticut, which have taken similar steps to support community college students by increasing access to programs like SNAP that help with basic living expenses. By removing the student work requirement, Vermont is supporting the food security of our community college students.

So, what does this mean for CCV students? If you’re enrolled in a two-year associate degree or certificate program (excluding liberal studies students) you no longer have to meet the “student work requirement” to qualify for 3SquaresVT. Benefits are provided on an EBT card, which works just like a debit card, and can be used at grocery stores and farmers’ markets in VT, across the country, and even online. A family of three who meets income requirements could receive up to $768 every month for groceries.

National studies show that students attending community colleges are more likely to face challenges when it comes to getting enough food for themselves and their families. In fact, nearly one in four students at community colleges struggle to afford groceries — this is an unacceptable reality. 

CCV, under guidance from President Joyce Judy, has dedicated great attention and resources to the issue of food and basic needs security among students. The institution has created robust student resource centers at every campus, holding in-person classes where students can access staple foods, a hot meal and support from a trained peer mentor in navigating program applications like 3SquaresVT. We see this as a best practice, one worth investing in. 

We commend CCV and President Judy for their commitment to their students’ well-being, and for being a vocal supporter of this shift in 3SquaresVT policy.

This policy is a win for students, families and Vermont’s economy. By ensuring students have access to the support they need to stay healthy and nourished, they are better positioned to succeed in school and their future careers. No one should ever have to choose between food or books for class. It’s a victory for all of us who believe in the power of education to transform lives.

We commend Vermont’s Department for Children and Families for adopting this common-sense policy. By making it easier for community college students to access 3SquaresVT, they are not only addressing the immediate needs of students but also contributing to the long-term success of the state’s workforce and economy. 

To all CCV students: we encourage you to see if you qualify for 3SquaresVT! You may be leaving behind grocery money that you rightfully deserve. If you want or need some support through the application process, call 2-1-1 and ask for 3SquaresVT assistance, text VFBSNAP to ‘85511’ or visit vermontfoodhelp.com to learn more.

Thank you, Vermont Department for Children and Families, for this important step forward. With this change, Vermont is leading the way in supporting community college students, ensuring they have the resources they need to succeed both in the classroom and in life.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Ivy Enoch: Vermont eases access to food program for community college students.

This commentary is by Ivy Enoch, SNAP policy and training lead at Hunger Free Vermont.

As we mark the 60th anniversary of the Food Stamps Act, now known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) nationally and 3SquaresVT here in Vermont, it is crucial to recognize the profound impact this landmark legislation has had on reducing hunger and poverty across the United States.

Since its inception in 1964, SNAP has become a cornerstone of our nation’s work to end hunger, ensuring millions of Americans have access to nourishing food to lead healthy lives. Studies have consistently shown that SNAP not only helps to put food on the table but also contributes to better long-term health, educational outcomes, and economic stability.

Every $1 spent on SNAP generates $1.79 in economic activity. In State Fiscal Year 2023, over $214 million in SNAP benefits were issued to Vermonters. These federal dollars give people the autonomy to buy the groceries that are right for them and their families, when and where they want.

In Vermont, the impact has been equally significant. More than 65,000 people across the state benefit from 3SquaresVT — helping to ensure that children, working adults, college students, people with disabilities, older adults and many others can afford the food they need to thrive. However, many more are eligible for this vital state program and are not yet tapping into its support. 3SquaresVT is for everyone who qualifies, and we all deserve this benefit in times of need.

At Hunger Free Vermont, we believe that everyone deserves access to the nourishing food they love, and programs like SNAP are essential in moving us toward a more equitable future. The benefits of SNAP extend beyond individual households; the program brings important federal dollars into Vermont’s economy, supports local retailers and farmers and helps ensure that future generations are well-fed and thriving.

As we celebrate and reflect on how SNAP has served so many in the last 60 years, we can’t ignore the unfortunate truth that SNAP is under threat. In early 2023, as Congress geared up to revisit and ultimately reauthorize the 2018 Farm Bill, Hunger Free Vermont and our allies delivered a set of policy priorities to Sens. Sanders and Welch, and Rep. Balint, informed by hundreds of individuals across the state.

That message was clear and remains the same: protect SNAP and other federal nutrition programs no matter what. Our senators and representative heard that message and centered the voices of Vermonters, and for that, we deeply thank them.

Instead of a reauthorization, Congress passed a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, which ensured that funding for SNAP and other federal nutrition programs would not lapse. This year, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees finally took up the Farm Bill, resulting in two dangerously different visions for the future of food security and agriculture policies.

While the Senate proposal included measures to protect and strengthen SNAP, House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson’s Farm Bill framework proposed to slash SNAP over the next decade. The Congressional Budget Office estimates a Thompson Farm Bill would result in a $30 billion cut to SNAP over 10 years. In Vermont, that would mean a $50 million cut to SNAP between FY2027 and FY2033.

These cuts would disproportionately affect older adults, children, people with disabilities, and veterans, exacerbating the challenges they already face in accessing nutritious food. A Farm Bill that doesn’t protect SNAP would harm all of us in Vermont — not only SNAP participants but also food shelves and pantries, farmers and markets, and our local businesses and retailers. We can’t let this happen.

Now more than ever, we need to unify our support of SNAP and champion the program that supports tens of thousands of Vermonters, and our state food security efforts as a whole. We hope you’ll join us in advocating for a Farm Bill that strengthens SNAP and ensures its responsiveness to the injustice of hunger. We encourage everyone to see if they qualify for 3SquaresVT. To learn more about the program, visit vermontfoodhelp.com.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Ivy Enoch: Why SNAP must be protected for future generations.

Vermont youths age 18 and under will have access to free food again this summer through the Summer Food Service Program, a federally funded, state-administered program that began in 1968 and served hundreds of thousands of meals throughout the state last summer.

The Vermont Agency of Education, which announced the continuation of the program on Wednesday, said meals will be accessible to anyone under age 18, regardless of income. Certain sites will prioritize foster children and children who are members of households that receive 3SquaresVT, Reach Up benefits, or meet the Summer Food Service Program’s income eligibility standards. 

In addition, people over age 18 who have a documented disability will be eligible to receive meals through the program, officials said.

The education agency’s announcement arrived at the end of a legislative session particularly focused on food access. 

Funding for pandemic-era programs such as extra EBT SNAP benefits and Everyone Eats have dried up, leaving many Vermonters reeling beneath the weight of compounding economic crises. In response, many Vermonters have organized responses to food insecurity, with some advocating for legislation to guarantee meals for Vermont students while others organize grassroots, non-market systems for distributing free food. 

Announced on the same day that legislation mandating free school meals became law in Vermont, without Gov. Phil Scott’s signature, the continuing Summer Food Service Program, is meant to make nutrition more accessible for youth and families. Last summer, it served 780,044 meals at over 276 sites across Vermont. 

The summer program “increases equity and access around the state, making sure that all children can have a summer where they can relax, play, and be kids,” said Lindsey Hedges, a policy communication specialist with the Vermont Agency of Education. “Child nutrition is also critical to how a student performs in the classroom. … When students are nourished, the likelihood of summer learning loss decreases.”

Meals offered by the program will continue to be served at sites around Vermont this year, including schools, parks, housing complexes and libraries. The locations can be found on an interactive map called the  USDA Meals For Kids Site Finder, which will be updated with new sites weekly. 

Families can also find information about open meal sites by calling 2-1-1, the United Way-run resource hotline, or through Hunger Free Vermont, which catalogs open sites by county online. 

According to the Agency of Education, the summer meals are served at three types of sites —  “open sites,” which are listed on the interactive map and are accessible to anyone 18 and under, and “closed-enrolled” and “summer camp sites,” which cater to specific populations. Both open and closed-enrolled sites can offer up to two meals or snacks per day, while camp sites are able to provide three meals or snacks daily, according to a press release.

“Access to nutritious foods is critical for child development, both during the school year and the summer months,” said Heather Bouchey, the state’s interim secretary of education, in a press release. “This is a fantastic program, and we want to make sure every community is aware of and has access to this resource.” 

Read the story on VTDigger here: Free food available to Vermont youth through the Summer Food Service Program.

Extra help during the Covid-19 pandemic provided to Vermonters who qualify for food stamps will run out next month, the Vermont Department for Children and Families announced Tuesday. 

Households that qualified got additional payments on top of the funding they already received monthly to help cover food costs. The extra funding began in March 2020 and “reached over 40,000 Vermont households comprised of over 68,000 individuals,” according to a press release. 

People eligible for the extra benefits will continue to receive them until mid-March, then will revert to their normal monthly payments, officials said.

The end of the extra funding in mid-March could be a serious issue for Vermonters struggling with food insecurity, Leslie Wisdom, director of Vermont’s Food and Nutrition Program, said in an interview. 

“Already, I think folks on our program may have been struggling with meeting all of their economic needs,” Wisdom said. “The ending of these extra benefits right now, in winter with high inflation during an economically stressful time, is going to have a real impact on families.”

The Vermont food stamp program is known as 3SquaresVT, but it is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which provides money to offset food costs for people with low incomes.

People who apply for benefits through 3SquaresVT undergo a complex eligibility process, in which officials review household income, deductions, and sometimes their resources to see if they qualify, Wisdom said. The maximum monthly benefit for a family of four is $939.

Most households that originally qualified for food stamps also qualified for the extra benefits, Wisdom said. The extra monthly funding ensured that each household received the maximum amount allotted based on the number of people in the home, even if the actual amount had been less due to other criteria.

While the regular 3SquaresVT benefits are received on the first of every month, the extra money arrives in the middle of the month, Wisdom said. 

The department released a bulleted list of resources for Vermonters who may need additional food assistance, including calling 211, using the Vermont Foodbank and more.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont announces end to pandemic program that provided extra food stamp money.

On Dec. 23, Congress passed an omnibus spending bill that funds the federal government through fiscal year 2023 and contains crucial investments in hunger prevention. 

Continued federal support to address hunger is critical as lower-income families, and those living on fixed incomes, face the winter months with skyrocketing heating, transportation and food costs. 

While we celebrate much of what Congress accomplished in the omnibus package, Hunger Free Vermont is joined by the Community of Vermont Elders, the Vermont Association of Area Agencies on Aging, Vermont Community Action Partnership, and Vermont Kin As Parents in unequivocally opposing the cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known as 3SquaresVT in Vermont) that are included in the package.

Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, many Vermonters have relied on 3SquaresVT and the temporary boost in benefits through emergency allotments, averaging $82 per person per month. More than 70,000 people in our state receive 3SquaresVT and rely on these increased benefits to buy food. 

In 2021, one in three Vermonters experienced hunger; today, two in five Vermonters currently experience food insecurity, which is nearly a 10% increase in the impact of hunger on our families, friends and neighbors since just last year. 

One-person families, which include many older Vermonters, stand to lose up to $260 per month, or 90% of the monthly benefits households have received and relied on for nearly three years. 

The 2023 omnibus bill has eliminated these allotments months earlier than expected, and redirected SNAP funds to establish a multiyear, and hopefully permanent, Summer EBT program for students who receive free or reduced-price cost meals during the school year. This new Summer EBT program will provide $40 per school-age child (less than half of the average emergency allotment per person) in electronic benefits that families can use to buy food at local grocery stores and farmers markets each month of the summer when school meals are not available. 

This is a much-needed initiative and we have long called for the creation of a permanent, federally funded Summer EBT program, particularly important in rural states like Vermont, where it is so difficult to establish and sustain congregate summer meal sites in many of our small towns. 

Ending SNAP Emergency Allotments after February while hunger is at its worst is an unacceptable price that Vermonters living with low incomes must now pay. Families do not have adequate time to prepare for this unexpected cut in benefits and thousands of Vermonters are going to receive considerably less food assistance in 2023, even with Summer EBT payments for families with school-age children. 

Our charitable and emergency food networks, already facing significantly increased need with limited funding, will not be able to fill the gap.

All Vermont families are different, yet we are unified by a fundamental need: food to thrive, to nourish ourselves and our loved ones. For many of us, including more than 9,500 known children being raised by “kin parents,” family is multigenerational, with grandparents caring for grandchildren, aunts and uncles caring for nieces and nephews, sisters and brothers caring for their siblings. 

Cutting SNAP benefits, a nutrition program that serves many different kinds of families, to pay for a child nutrition program is a no-win pattern that we see all too often from Congress. In many cases, families helped by improvements in child nutrition programs are the very same ones harmed by the reduction of their SNAP benefits. 

Taking money from one nutrition program to pay for another does not alleviate the struggle that families and individuals are experiencing. Going into the coldest months of the year in Vermont, with record-high food and heating costs, now is not the time to be sunsetting critical emergency benefits. 

Pitting vital anti-hunger programs against each other will only increase hunger in every corner of our state. In 2023, Congress has the opportunity to use the Farm Bill reauthorization process to permanently increase SNAP benefits and ease the eligibility rules so that everyone facing hunger and food insecurity — from retirees to college students to young workers to single parents — can be healthy and thrive. 

We urge Vermonters to join us in the 2023 Farm Bill Coalition to advocate for improving and strengthening the nutrition programs that many Vermonters depend on. 

Read the story on VTDigger here: Anore Horton: Omnibus bill puts families in jeopardy with early end to food benefits.

When Peter Carmolli opened South Burlington’s first food shelf in November 2019, he wasn’t expecting a global pandemic to strike a few months later. Covid-19 completely upended his operations.

About half of Carmolli’s volunteer staff stepped down in March 2020 because they were in the at-risk age group for Covid-19. Meanwhile, the food shelf’s workload was growing — food insecurity was on the rise nationwide.

In Vermont, 70,580 people are currently struggling with hunger, according to Feeding America. Since the pandemic’s onset, nearly 30 percent of Vermonters have experienced food insecurity — almost triple 2018 levels — a study by the University of Vermont found.

“We were just figuring out what to do when the apocalypse hit. We are now relearning what to do,” Carmolli said. “The timing couldn’t have been better or worse, depending on your perspective.”

Initially, the charity’s board met to discuss whether to remain open. Gretchen Gundrum, a board member and South Burlington resident who has been using the food shelf’s services since 2019, strongly advocated continuing to serve the community.

Gundrum recognized from her own experiences as a single mother of two children with special needs that it would be more difficult to juggle child care and find gainful employment in the pandemic. She wanted to ensure that the food shelf would be open for neighbors dealing with similar concerns.

“Even when you’re facing a financial setback, you still have to eat,” Gundrum said. “What you see a lot is people having to choose: Do you pay your light bill or put food on the table?”

The board decided to keep the food shelf open, and about 30 separate households per week now use the service. Carmolli and his volunteer staff give out between 70 and 80 pounds of food and supplies to each household, totaling more than 2,000 pounds per week.

Since the food shelf opened its doors in 2019, Carmolli has missed work just two days.

Staff at Lamoille Community Food Share in Morrisville struggled, too, with increased need — visits were up by 59 percent last year, according to Susan Rousselle, the community engagement coordinator. Although numbers began to level off in January, it was still a record-breaking month for the food share.

“The greatest challenge is keeping up with demand,” Rousselle said.

Interrupted supply chains have made it more time-consuming to order food. The loss of volunteer support (many at Lamoille were also over age 65), meant more labor for the remaining workers.

Beyond the sheer amount of food and supplies that needed to be distributed, Carmolli suddenly had to navigate ever-changing safety guidelines to keep his staff, clients and himself Covid-free. Donations are left untouched for 24 hours before distribution, staff frequently wash and sanitize their hands, and volunteers prepack bags of food that Carmolli hands to clients outside while everyone wears masks and stays at least 6 feet apart.

Carmolli limits contact with clients for safety reasons, but he considers social interactions an essential part of the job.

“People need food, but sometimes they also need to talk,” he said. “So many people have no contacts. The mental health aspect is something you have to keep in mind along with the physical health.”

His greatest challenge? Not being able to give someone a big hug when it’s the No. 1 sense of connection they need.

Barriers to help

Another barrier that Carmolli has worked to overcome is the stigma of receiving food assistance. Many customers are embarrassed about using the food shelf, he said. There is a similar stigma associated with federal programs like 3SquaresVT, Vermont’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“The message [from leaders in the federal government] has been loud and clear that, if you seek out government assistance, there is something wrong with you. To me, this is outrageous,” said Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont. “The causes of hunger are not moral, and they are not personal. They are purely economic and systemic.”

Horton also lamented the lack of effort put into promoting 3SquaresVT at the governor’s twice-weekly press conferences. Although charitable projects like Everyone Eats and food shelves are doing essential work, Horton thinks they have received a disproportionate amount of attention while federal programs have largely been ignored.

Food shelves have reported an increase in donations, and there is more collaboration across the state to help fill in gaps, according to Carmolli.

Community networks have also been expanded to include producers and farmers. For instance, Lamoille Community Food Share, based in Morrisville, began buying local products to make up for supply-chain disruptions at the national level and plans to continue these partnerships into the future.

“We’re all in this together,” Carmolli said.

To find out if you’re eligible for 3SquaresVT or to apply: https://vermontfoodhelp.com 
To find a food shelf in your area: https://www.vtfoodbank.org/agency-locator
To participate in Everyone Eats: https://vteveryoneeats.org/find-a-meal 

Read the story on VTDigger here: Virus in Vermont: Food shelves struggle to keep up as pandemic drags on.

Thousands of families that receive 3SquaresVT and Reach Up benefits will get an extra check in the mail this month to help with expenses during the pandemic.

A one-time payment of $286 will be directly distributed to 22,500 families that are eligible for the state’s food stamps program, 3SquaresVT, by check. The money will be issued to households in mid-December.

The Vermont Treasurer’s Office will distribute the $6.4 million in aid from federal Coronavirus Relief Funds allocated to the state.

An additional $1.3 million in federal relief will be distributed to 3,000 households in the state’s Reach Up program. Eligible families that apply for the funding will receive a one-time payment of $432. 

Tricia Tyo, deputy commissioner for economic services for the Department for Children and Families, said the money will go to families that were excluded from receiving extra funds earlier in the pandemic because they were already receiving the state’s maximum benefit.

“That means they actually have more expenses or are living deeper in poverty than people who received those earlier increases,” Tyo said. 

In March, the federal government allowed states to give the maximum emergency allotment to any food stamp recipients not already receiving the maximum allotment for their household size.

Tyo said that’s exactly what Vermont did, but it left thousands of people ineligible for increased benefits, even though they likely needed extra money most.

Tyo said the Legislature wanted to rectify that, and decided to use some of the coronavirus relief money to send a one-time benefit both to families that missed out entirely on the increase, and families who were near the maximum benefit, and were allowed only small increases ($50 or less).

The increase in Reach Up benefits, for Vermonters with children living in poverty, has a slightly different process for determining who will receive aid. Families will be eligible for the extra check if they had increased expenses related to the pandemic — for things like face masks, hand sanitizer and cleaning suppliers, higher utilities costs due to working and studying at home, higher child care costs, or higher health care costs.

Of the 22,500 households receiving extra 3SquaresVT benefits, 1,620 will also get a check from Reach Up. Another 7,200 are elderly Vermonters, and 11,900 are also receiving fuel benefits. 

Tyo said she hopes it’s enough to get Vermonters through the hard times.

“It was what could be done in the moment with some of the extra coronavirus relief funds,” she  said. “We’re trying to target people that didn’t receive any benefit increase from what the federal government had allowed. It’s not a lot, but it’s something, and that will help.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: State sends checks to more than 20,000 households in poverty.

UPDATE: As of today, Nov. 9, the Farmers to Families program has likely been extended to the end of December; the contractor will be Lancaster Foods out of Maryland. Starting Nov. 16, Farmers to Families food boxes will be available at multiple daily food distributions throughout Vermont. To keep wait times to a minimum, reservations will be required; visit https://humanresources.vermont.gov/food-help or call 802-476-0316. Each reservation will receive one box with about 30 pounds of food, including fresh produce, dairy products, and meat.

For more ways to obtain food, visit https://www.vtfoodbank.org/gethelp.

Government-funded programs to keep people fed during the pandemic will end in December, and people on Vermont’s hunger front lines worry that the result will be alarming rates of food insecurity.

Both the state-run Everyone Eats program and the federal Farmers to Families food box program will end in the next month. Hungry Vermonters will still be able to use permanent programs, such as 3squares VT, but those programs weren’t designed to deal with the impact of surging need as the coronavirus spurs restrictions on businesses and gatherings.

Before Covid-19 arrived, one of every 10 Vermonters struggled with food insecurity. Now one in every four residents in the state struggles to obtain adequate nutrition. 

The Gund Institute at the University of Vermont found that 50% of state residents have experienced job losses, furloughs or reduced hours over the past six months. So far, Congress has not taken action to extend pandemic-related aid, including expanded federal unemployment benefits. 

With a quarter of Vermonters having trouble getting enough nourishing food, Vermont is at the top of the list of states where food insecurity has increased most dramatically since the pandemic, along with West Virginia and North Dakota, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

And the rates are even higher for communities of color, women, and families with young children, according to the Gund Institute. Before the pandemic, food insecurity rates had been on the decline for a decade.

Food insecurity doesn’t look the same for everyone. It ranges from going hungry with not enough food to meet basic needs to families who are scraping by with help from food shelves but living with constant worry about whether there will be enough to eat. In the middle are people who resort to eating cheap calories that don’t provide vital nutrients.

For Vermonters living paycheck to paycheck, losing a job or having hours reduced because of the pandemic is often enough to make it impossible to afford nourishing food. But hunger is also a health issue, a problem that is especially urgent now, when a healthy diet can be the difference between a strong immune system and one that is vulnerable to Covid-19, among other illnesses.

At the outset of the pandemic, an outpouring of relief helped alleviate hunger, but now there is a resurgence of need as the aid programs dry up.

The Everyone Eats program, funded through $5 million from Vermont’s share of the federal CARES Act, expires Dec. 14. Everyone Eats is on course to serve 500,000 meals by then. The program pays restaurants to prepare those meals, so it’s been a steady source of income for restaurants at a time when regular business flatlined because of the virus. 

Since the pandemic began, the Vermont Foodbank has nearly doubled its distribution, but the nonprofit can only expand so much, Nicole Whalen, Vermont Foodbank director of communications, wrote in an email to VTDigger.

The Foodbank provides food to a network of food shelves in the state.

“We’re meant to help fill the gap left by government programs, not to be the first line of defense,” Whalen said.

‘No one wants to be that person’

For people without enough to eat, it’s often difficult to seek help.

“It’s not a good feeling,” said Barre resident Amanda Alexander. “I used to be homeless, so I know how it feels not to have food.”

Alexander spent time at a homeless shelter in Barre, the Good Samaritan Haven, and when she needed a meal she used to go to the food shelf and soup kitchens.

“When you’re standing in the line waiting for food, no one wants to be that person,” she said. 

But there were moments of generosity that surprised her — when the Boy Scouts who came to serve meals at Good Samaritan, and when organizations brought gifts to the shelter while she spent Christmas there.

“I didn’t think there were that many generous people,” she said.

Before the pandemic, Alexander said her probation officer showed her a pamphlet for a program called the Community Kitchen Academy. She enrolled and learned how to cook. When the virus took hold, classes had to go online; when students went back to in-person classes, they wore masks and stayed at least 6 feet apart. 

Alexander now works at Capstone Community Action, cooking and serving meals for others in need. She said working there makes her feel like a better person. She credits the changes in her life to her teacher at the academy, Chef Joey.

Alexander urged people who are struggling to reach out for help. “I used to be someone that didn’t ask for help,” she said, but “no one knows that you need help except for you.”

Frustrating delays for food boxes

As people are increasingly in need, the programs they can turn to for help become even more important. 

But there have been bumps along the way, and it is clear that challenges remain in the coming months.    

While the USDA has announced that the Farmers to Families food box program will continue through November and December, critical details have yet to be announced. 

Experts worry that will lead to a pause in the program — as happened in September, when contractors rushed to fill the need for food.

“New contracts have to be submitted and approved; the system has to get stood up again,” said Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont.

The delays lead to real consequences for Vermonters. “There’s going to be gaps,” said Horton, citing concerns about hunger and food insecurity this winter. 

While hunger is a year-round issue, heating and plowing can make the cost of living in Vermont higher in the winter. “It’s uncertain how much more that program is going to be able to provide food” in the coming months, Horton said. 

John Sayles, CEO of the Vermont Foodbank, said the delays have been frustrating. “USDA just kind of fumbled the ball.” He said that, since it began in May, the Farmers to Families box has been a “bumpy ride.”

Sayles said the Vermont Foodbank didn’t distribute any boxes in September, and he doesn’t know if it will be able to distribute any in November, either.

“USDA’s delays are going to delay food getting out to families,” Sayles said.

The vendor has yet to be announced, and no one yet knows how many food boxes will be distributed to Vermont. “There’s no way to plan for what’s coming up,” he said.

While the USDA used the Abbey group, a Vermont-based contractor, for the first two rounds of the program, the second contract was given to large, out-of-state companies — Costa Fruit and Sysco. The decision was concerning to Vermont lawmakers. 

Although the program was designed to support local food systems, that didn’t happen in the last round, when “contracts went to huge producers, even though one of the stated goals was to make sure small and mid-sized producers were able to participate,” said Laurie Beyranevand, director for agriculture and food systems at the Vermont Law School.  

“That was somewhat problematic and not where the greatest need was in terms of farm viability and thinking about how to support farmers through the crisis,” said Beyranevand, who co-authored a recent report detailing recommendations to coordinate a national food policy.

According to the report, the inefficiencies and injustices revealed by Covid are problems that have existed in food systems for a long time. Beyranevand says a more cohesive and cooperative approach could tackle these issues, but that would require new lawmaking to be effective.

Advocates have also criticized the Farmers to Families program because, they say, it isn’t a very dignified way for families to get food; it takes away choices that families should be able to make themselves about what foods they are going to receive.

“People need to have choice for the foods that work best for their families, and these food box programs do not provide that,” Sayles said. “If you’re lactose-intolerant and you get a box with 3 pounds of cheese and a gallon of milk,” that food won’t feed your family. Families who keep kosher or halal could have a similar issue with food boxes that aren’t designed to meet their specific needs.

“Giving people the resources to buy food the way they usually do is much more dignified,” he said.

The good news is the federally funded 3SquaresVT, Vermont’s SNAP program, does just that.  

3SquaresVT

3SquaresVT is Vermont’s food stamp program. Participants use an electronic benefits card to buy food at a local grocery store or a farmers market. The program has been expanded since the pandemic began, allowing households to receive the maximum monthly benefit amount. But for families already receiving that amount, the program didn’t change.

“There are certain options that lower barriers to participation,” Horton said. “Our state has been really great at taking all those options, but there’s a certain point beyond which states can’t go because federal rules supersede what we might do at the state level.”

Horton points to a new, simplified application that older Vermonters and people with disabilities can use. Getting people to participate can help not only the individuals, but also the community more broadly.

“That money goes straight into our local economy and it keeps jobs going, our farmers going, it keeps our food system going,” said Horton, who is urging anyone who is eligible to apply for the program.

“Not only is it going to help you and your family, but it’s going to help our community and our state because it brings federal dollars into our state and it puts them into our local food system. Right directly into our local economy.”

But 3SquaresVT has some problems, too.

“It’s too hard to qualify and the benefits are too small,” Sayles said. “A lot of people who can’t afford enough nourishing food aren’t eligible.” Sayles wants the federal government to increase the benefits and make more people eligible for the program, but that requires action at the federal level.

Hunger Free Vermont does that kind of advocacy at the federal level. Under the Trump administration, the nonprofit has mostly been on the defensive, fighting  attempts to cut funding.

“We were able to prevent cuts from taking effect for now, but what really needs to happen is an expansion of who is eligible and the amount of benefit that is available to people,” Horton said.

In contrast to 3SquaresVT, Covid-related programs didn’t include income requirements, so people who couldn’t get 3SquaresVT were able to use programs like Farmers to Families and Everyone Eats. 

Another program that advocates urge families to use is Meals for Kids, which provides free meals for all children under the age of 18. “The more people use this program, the better off financially our schools and our school programs are going to be,” Horton said, since Meals for Kids greatly expands school lunch programs. That program will last through June, and no application is required.

WIC and Meals on Wheels are two other federally funded programs that will remain available. These programs “are ours,” Horton said. “We have paid for them with our tax dollars while we were working. If now you’re laid off, they are yours. Use them.”

For up-to-date information about help that is available for people facing food insecurity, this page on Hunger Free Vermont explains how to help and how to obtain food during the pandemic. 

To get involved in local efforts to combat food insecurity, the local Hunger Council is a good place to start. You can also volunteer at the Vermont Foodbank.  

Editor’s note: The Gund Institute statistic regarding job losses has been clarified to include furloughs and reduced hours.

Read the story on VTDigger here: One in four Vermonters will face food insecurity as the pandemic grinds on.

The benefit for every eligible household will be raised to the maximum benefit for those months, according to the Vermont Department for Children and Families. The increase is temporary for those two months.

Those maximums are: 1 person = $194; 2 people = $355; 3 people = $509; 4 people = $646; 5 people = $768; each additional person = +$146.

The benefits will be dispersed automatically in the form households receive benefits now — on an EBT card, through direct deposit or by check.

For those eligible in June, benefits will be available on July 16 by EBT, July 19 by direct deposit, or when check arrives. For those eligible in July, benefits will be available on Aug. 15 by EBT, Aug. 18 by direct deposit, or when check arrives.

More information is available at dcf.vermont.gov/benefits/3SquaresVT.

— Cate Chant

Read the story on VTDigger here: 3SquaresVT boosts food benefits for July and August.

The authorized retailers at this time are limited to Amazon, available throughout Vermont, and Walmart.com, for pick up at the Bennington store.

Amazon orders can be paid with EBT food benefits and Walmart orders with EBT food or cash benefits. 

“This pilot gives people who get 3SquaresVT more options to put food on their tables, safely,” said DCF Commissioner Ken Schatz. “This is important during the current health crisis, especially for vulnerable Vermonters.  Some may be at higher risk for COVID-19; some may not have access to private transportation.”

For more information, go to https://dcf.vermont.gov/benefits/EBT/online.

— Cate Chant

Read the story on VTDigger here: EBT benefits can be used for some online purchases.

In the 2019-2020 school year, approximately 44,000 children in Vermont, or approximately 52% of children in participating schools, were eligible for free and reduced-priced lunch, according to a statement by the USDA. 

Vermont will now be able to offer the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program to families currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which operates as 3SquaresVT in Vermont, or other eligible families. Eligible families include those who have children that have temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price lunch at school due to pandemic-related closures. 

Over a dozen states have already been approved for this program including Massachusetts, Connecticut and California. This new program was authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which provides assistance to families of children eligible for free or reduced-price meals dealing with school closures.

— Sarah Asch

Read the story on VTDigger here: USDA approves program to feed kids in Vermont, three other states.

VTDigger is posting regular updates on the coronavirus in Vermont on this page. You can also subscribe here for regular email updates on the coronavirus. If you have any questions, thoughts or updates on how Vermont is responding to COVID-19, contact us at coronavirus@vtdigger.org

As unemployment claims pour into the state and residents await their federal stimulus checks, Vermonters are tapping into another way to keep themselves afloat during the Covid-19 crisis: SNAP benefits, commonly known as food stamps.

The number of people applying for new or renewed 3SquaresVT benefits — the state’s branch of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — grew from a weekly average of 390 to more than 2,000 from March 30 to April 3, according to data from the Department for Children and Families, which administers the program.

While the number of new applications has since slowed, with only 698 applications last week, DCF is still noticing a big uptick in calls, said Sean Brown, the deputy commissioner of the department’s economic services division.

Vermont is not alone. While national data is not yet available, states like Georgia, California and Connecticut have reported a rise in SNAP applications. The increase comes as food banks are raising the alarm about increasing demand. 

“We’ve always understood that we are supporting the most vulnerable Vermonters,” Brown said.

But Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, said she believed the number of people applying was “very good news.”

“It means that people suddenly thrown into economic hardship knew it was available as an option,” she said.

She said it concerns her more that many of the people applying to the program may not be eligible because of federal limits on who qualifies by income and other factors. 

“There are a lot of people in Vermont right now who are not able to make ends meet, and we want everyone who’s had a change in income to apply for 3Squares and every other benefit available,” she said.

The state has taken new measures to loosen eligibility requirements for 3SquaresVT. They have suspended work requirements and waived in-person interviews. DCF is also allowing a delay for people to show that they have applied for unemployment benefits, since the claims system has reported issues, Brown said.

The federal government has also raised some benefits for people on SNAP benefits. Households will soon get their “full allotment,” meaning the most that the federal government would provide someone of their household size, Brown said.

“So if you’re a one-person household receiving $100 in benefits per month, you can go up to the maximum allowed amount of $194 per month,” Brown said.

Horton said even before the crisis, the benefits level was too low for many families to survive on. Hunger Free Vermont runs a “3SquaresVT Challenge” each year to ask Vermonters to try to live off of the benefit provided by the federal government — about $36 a week for a single person as of November 2019.

The federal government has not changed rules about where recipients can use their SNAP benefits card, called an EBT card. Since people with the card have to physically swipe it at a cash register or terminal, they typically can’t use the cards for online orders — like the grocery delivery apps that many people are using to minimize their contact with others during the Covid-19 crisis.

To try to enable 3SquaresVT recipients to use remote grocery shopping options, DCF is leasing retailers mobile “point-of-sale” terminals starting this week that they can bring to someone’s home during a delivery, Brown said.

Vermont is also one of the few states that has a “cash out” program in place for older Vermonters and those with disabilities to receive their benefits via direct deposit, Brown said. This gives qualified beneficiaries the ability to pay for deliveries or curbside pickups online or through an app.

Horton praised the work of DCF, saying the department had taken advantage of “every possible waiver and provision” available through new federal rules.

State officials are also trying to implement an extension of SNAP payments for families with children on their school’s free and reduced lunch program. DCF is working with the Agency of Education to identify households that had qualified for free and reduced lunch but were not yet on SNAP, so those families can get paid for providing their kids’ extra food.

“We think there are about 14,000 households that are eligible to receive that benefit,” Brown said. DCF hopes to issue those payments in May.

The turnaround time for some to receive benefits has not changed, DCF said. The agency took strict measures at the start of the crisis to make sure they could keep up with demand, including extending their hours and authorizing more overtime for their call center employees.

“We saw ski areas closing early on for Covid and were starting to see an uptick in calls,” Brown said. “So we started implementing those changes early.”

Most applications still start online, but people can walk into a district office and answer questions through the phone in the lobby or through a window, he said.

Despite the rise in applications, the new applications have so far been a small percentage of the 38,500 total people in the state on SNAP benefits, a decline from a post-recession high of 52,000 in 2013, Brown said.

But if the crisis continues far into 2020, the state’s caseload will start to catch up, Brown said. 

“There’s always a little delay in our caseload,” he said. “So we’re asking, what will the economy look like three months or six months out?”

Horton said the fact that it is now “easier than ever” to apply is an advantage for the Vermont economy. 

“It brings federal dollars into the state for our stores, who really need it right now,” she said.

Vermonters can apply for 3SquaresVT through the DCF website. Hunger Free Vermont also maintains a list of ways to access food during the Covid-19 crisis on its website.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Food benefits applications skyrocket amid Covid-19 crisis.

Meryl Braconnier is a reporter for Community News Service.

As the Covid-19 pandemic forces many businesses to shut down temporarily or, in some cases, for good, more out-of-work Vermonters are turning to food shelves and food banks to help nourish themselves and their families.

Vermont Foodbank and its partner food shelves are busy shifting their operations to both adapt to social distancing measures and to meet the increasing need in their communities.

Nicole Whalen, director of communications and public affairs at Vermont Foodbank, described how the Foodbank and other food shelves “have been really on the front lines of addressing the huge increase in the need for food assistance that is coming as a result of this crisis.”

Vermont Foodbank is the nonprofit hunger relief organization that works with a network of more than 300 community partners to distribute food across the state. Those partners include Shelburne Food Shelf, Hinesburg Food Shelf and Feeding Chittenden in Burlington.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis and the closing of all non-essential businesses last month, Vermont Foodbank’s partners have seen an increase in people seeking food assistance that ranged between 30% and 100%.

“This pandemic is creating a food assistance emergency unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the 40-year life of food banking,” Whalen said.

According to projections from Feeding America, this crisis could result in a 46% increase in the number of people experiencing food insecurity nationwide. Whalen said that could mean an increase of about 34,000 more Vermonters facing food insecurity, pushing the need to approximately 108,000, up from 74,500.

Whalen referenced two of the agency’s monthly VeggieVanGo events — one on March 19 at Northeast Vermont Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury and another on March 20 at a school in Winooski. “Typically when we do that [hospital] event, we usually serve 200 people, and we saw 400.” As for the Winooski event, she said: “We usually serve 400 families and [we] served 650, so we’re seeing just really dramatic numbers.”

By April 6, the increase reached 98%, Whalen said, with 1,685 families served, up from a typical 849.

Volunteers who run local food shelves confirm this trend. “Our demand last time we had a distribution was up about 50%, and we anticipate that that’s going to continue,” said Susan Stock, board chair of the Shelburne Food Shelf.

Jeff Glover, co-director of the Hinesburg Food Shelf, said that in the first week of the state’s stay home order, five new families had come in. Whalen explained that the current crisis is having a double impact: people who normally struggle with hunger are needing more help than ever before, and others are now seeking help for the first time.

On Monday, Whalen said the state of Vermont reported a six-fold increase in applications for 3SquaresVT (SNAP) benefits. Foodbank outreach staff between March 16 and April 8 assisted 152 people looking to sign up. They helped just 24 applicants in the same period in 2019.

Foodbank ramps up 

In response, the Vermont Foodbank is trying to purchase as many additional staple food items as possible to support their partner food shelves, said Whalen. March distribution — aided by two more leased trucks — was up by 370,000 pounds of food to stock local food shelves.

To meet the initial wave, the Foodbank spent an extra $75,000 to buy Vermont-grown produce. “We know that this crisis is impacting our farmers as well and we want to do what we can to support them while fighting hunger,” Whalen explained, adding that the Foodbank has budgeted to spend an additional $200,000 on local produce in the coming months.

The Foodbank is buying from farms such as Pitchfork Farm, Dwight Miller Farm, Laughing Child Farm, Intervale, Jericho Settlers and Deep Root Organic Co-op, Whalen said, farms now struggling since restaurants and farmers markets have closed.

But central distribution alone won’t meet the need quickly enough. “We recognize there is some lag time before our bulk orders will arrive. To address this, we are providing a total of $195,000 in cash grants to 128 food shelves and 42 meal sites in our network,” Whalen said. “They can use these funds for emergency food and supply purchases, or whatever else they need to keep their doors open. These checks range from $150-to-$10,000 depending on how many people each site serves.”

Whalen said another role for the Foodbank is to consult with state emergency response officials to ensure that the needs of people facing hunger are met. Plans are underway, she said, to partner with community action agencies on a proposal for a mass feeding program.

Vermont’s network of donations and food distribution will likely see some federal support from relief legislation passed by Congress through the Emergency Food Assistance Program. “But it will take time for that food to reach us — likely not until June or July,” Whalen said. “And what is currently legislated will not come close to meeting the need, particularly given the timing and the restrictions on distribution.”         

Virus precautions affect operations

“What’s extra crazy right now,” Whalen explained, is that the need is increasing as everyone involved in food distribution must adapt their operations to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Typically, food shelves follow a client choice model, allowing guests to come in, peruse the shelves and choose what they want. Now, food shelf staff are pre-bagging and pre-boxing food for people to take, Whalen explained. “There’s a huge need for bags, boxes and to-go containers for meals. And a huge need for the labor to pre-pack everything. That’s much more labor-intensive,” she said.

Food shelves are experimenting with different models. For example, the Shelburne Food Shelf started by using a drive-through process. “That worked OK, but we weren’t satisfied mostly with the safety that it offered our volunteers,” Stock said. “Our food shelf is incredibly small. It’s hard to get two people into the food shelf with them being 6 feet apart.”

Now the food shelf is encouraging pre-ordering and using delivery as much as possible to further protect volunteers.

Stock explained how the new process works: First, people fill out an online survey with their food preferences. Then, board members and their immediate families will go to the food shelf at different times to pack up the food orders to be delivered on the subsequent day.

Relying on family volunteer groups will help alleviate the need for 6-foot distancing in the process, Stock explained.

Feeding Chittenden in Burlington is offering a mix of pickup and delivery, according to Anna McMahon, donor and community engagement manager. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Feeding Chittenden distributes pre-boxed groceries at the door of their food pantry to more than 800 people each week. They also have transitioned to a take-out dining service with their soup kitchen which feeds 60 people a day. Breakfast foods are packed up in to-go containers as well, McMahon said, and served Monday through Friday, 6:30 to 8:30 a.m.

“Our biggest undertaking right now is our meal delivery service,” McMahon added. The operation’s Emergency Meal Delivery program now “prepares and delivers over 1,000 meals daily to homeless and displaced individuals living in temporary shelters throughout Greater Burlington.”

Before the pandemic, Feeding Chittenden already ran a delivery service, serving 150 households in the area. That number has since increased to 200 households, according to McMahon.

The food shelf is also receiving calls for emergency deliveries. McMahon explained that due to fear of the virus, “Folks that would normally come here to get food are now calling.” They are currently receiving about 10 to 20 emergency calls per day, and they expect that number to increase.

Glover at the Hinesburg Food Shelf laments the loss of community building due to socially distanced pickup and delivery methods.

The Hinesburg Food Shelf used to offer a very friendly set-up where people would enter and explore the food shelf with a volunteer, building rapport. Glover said. “The whole goal of that for many people was to take the shame out of coming to the food shelf. It allowed people to get to know each other,” he explained.

Now, given social distancing guidelines, people must pull up in their car and open the trunk. Volunteers place the pre-packed boxes of food in the car, close the trunk, and say farewell. “It’s very sterile now compared to the fun it was before,” Glover described.

The Hinesburg Food Shelf also will deliver to those who may have difficulty leaving their homes. “Anybody who calls up can have food delivered to them once a month,” Glover said.

Creativity during a time of crisis

In addition to meeting a sharp increase in demand and adapting to public health guidelines, those running food assistance programs during the Covid-19 crisis may be struggling with a shortage of volunteers.

Glover at the Hinesburg Food Shelf said that many people who used to volunteer are older and now need to protect themselves from exposure to the virus. For example, the food shelf had 30 volunteers with six people per shift; now Glover is managing with only four people per shift, he said.

Given guidelines for people to stay physically apart, McMahon said, Feeding Chittenden spreads out staff to only allow four of them on site per day.

Despite the layers of challenges, Vermont Foodbank and its partner food shelves are persevering with high spirits.

Although she recognizes it at all times of the year, McMahon at Feeding Chittenden said this crisis is really “emphasizing the importance of this work” and the dedication of those doing it.

At the Vermont Foodbank, Whalen said the crisis creates an opportunity for the community to come together and help each other. “It’s been amazing to see the support and the willingness to step up and try and help their neighbor. There are so many creative ways that people are doing that,” Whalen said.

The Foodbank and the other operations all report an outpouring of support from the community, as individuals, businesses and restaurants offer their help and donations.

Whalen pointed to a project with Skinny Pancake to make takeout meals and the Foodbank’s Community Kitchen Academy to produce meals for people facing homelessness who are staying in motels.

As everyone in the food-assistance pipeline pushes to meet the new demands under difficult circumstances, they say their aim is to not leave anyone behind.

“The important message that we are trying to get out is that we are here for anyone who needs help,” Whalen said. “We know that during this crazy time a lot of people who haven’t had to reach out before are finding themselves in challenging situations where they need help accessing food. And there is no shame in that and we want people to know that they are welcome.”

How to help

Food program officials suggest that those who are able to support the Foodbank and local food shelves consider online monetary donations.

McMahon from Feeding Chittenden explained that cash contributions are safe and help those running the operations to meet specific needs. “We can buy in bulk. [For example,] when more cleaning products or hand sanitizer becomes more available, we can purchase that first thing.”

Helpful links: Vermont Foodbank; Shelburne Food Shelf; Hinesburg Food Shelf; Feeding Chittenden.

Community News Service is a collaboration with the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont food shelves on front lines of Covid-19 crisis.

Barre is ringed by grocery stores: Shaw’s and Price Chopper to the north, Hannaford to the south and Quality Market up the hill heading outside of town.

But the heart of downtown has lacked a grocery store since a former Grand Union closed after a corporate sale more than a decade ago. That leaves no grocery store in walking distance —  downtown residents without cars must take a bus to get to one, Mayor Lucas Herring said in an interview this month.

Another option has filled the gap, with mixed reception: dollar stores. Two Dollar Generals — one at the northwest end of the city and another store at the southern end — are closer to the city center than the closest grocery stores, and they sell cheap staples like canned goods, frozen microwave-ready meals, household goods and plenty of snacks.

For low-income families, the arrival of chain dollar stores can make food shopping more accessible and affordable. But the stores’ offerings don’t fully meet the needs of consumers, and low prices can put pressure on competitors with more diverse and fresh products.

Barre is not the only town that has experienced a dollar store boom.

Vermont had at least 60 dollar stores in 2018, nearly double the number of stores six years before, according to USDA data. That’s similar to national trends: The number of dollar stores nationally grew from fewer than 20,000 in 2011 to 29,000 in 2018.

The number of convenience stores that accept food stamps has also increased, rising from 200 in 2008 to 346 a decade later, according to USDA data on retailers that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT.

Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores have come to a state where many low-income residents are struggling to find food. The Vermont Department of Health estimates that 30% of low-income towns are more than 15 minutes from a grocery store, and USDA data shows a lack of food options for far-flung rural Vermonters and urban Vermonters without transportation.

If there’s no population to support a store, there will be no grocery store, said Jane Kolodinsky, an economist and food researcher at the University of Vermont. But when the grocery store leaves, there are fewer amenities to support that rural population. 

“It’s a further cause of the decline of rural America,” she said.

Extra time to make a grocery store run can be a burden, particularly for low-income Vermonters, said John Sayles, CEO of the Vermont Foodbank.

“It can be really challenging to get to a full-service grocery store, and when you do it’s much more expensive,” he said. “If you’re a single mother with kids, you have a limited food budget, and you are spending a portion of that budget on fresh food your kids might not even eat, and you have to prep? It’s a full-time job being poor.”

Sayles has a mixed opinion of dollar stores. They have food available at prices often lower than other places, and in urban areas they’re accessible to people without cars. And careful shoppers could get nutritious meals out of the canned goods and frozen staples sold in dollar stores.

Yet a full grocery store would provide far better options, he said. (Vermont Foodbank received $100,000 in a settlement between Dollar General and the Attorney General over deceptive pricing.)

Kolodinsky said dollar stores tend to have more processed food laden with calories and saturated fat. While the arrival of dollar stores in areas without grocery stores gives people local food shopping options, it doesn’t necessarily address the issue of access to affordable, healthy options.

“I worry there will be a proliferation of places where you can get food, and the conversation [on food deserts] goes away,” she said. “But that shuts off the conversation of what kind of food people have access to.”

Searching for veggies in the Granite City

Barre was a thriving industrial town at the turn of the 20th century, but the decline of its granite industry has led to economic struggles. More than a quarter of residents in Barre City are below the poverty line, double the Vermont average. Little data exists on car ownership, but about 27% of residents don’t drive themselves to work, higher than the rest of Vermont.

Residents of downtown Barre tend to be poorer than those in the surrounding hills of Barre Town, said Nick Landry, president of Granite City Grocery.

Landry is familiar with the grocery store divide in Barre. A longtime resident, he has been working to get a cooperative grocery store off the ground in the city since 2013. His father, Bruce, recalls the old Grand Union, now the home of Lenny’s Shoe & Apparel. “That store was profitable, but the company wasn’t,” Bruce said.

Locals have some sporadic food options, like a seasonal farmers market and the Capstone food bank and community group. There are convenience stores as well, but one owner said he’d been struggling to compete since Dollar General opened up down the road. 

“We can’t buy items wholesale as cheap as they can, and we can’t compete pricewise. They have so much buying power. They even sell tobacco and alcohol,” said Rick Dente, owner of Dente’s Market. 

Dente’s, on the main road, Route 302, just north of downtown, sells snacks, basic foods and alcohol along with some fresh fruits and deli meats. The end of Burlington News Agency’s magazine distribution has hit it hard as well, and the magazine rack sits nearly empty with just a few hobby magazines. Dente said he plans to close the store next year and try to re-open it with a new focus.

Other nearby stores have pivoted their business to gain an edge. Quality Market, a locally owned grocery store up the road from Barre, started offering fully cooked meals and a bigger produce aisle to draw in daily customers. 

“We have found our niche is really our new entrees and our meat department. There aren’t very many places where you can get custom cut-to-order steak,” said Pam Trag, owner of Quality Market. 

Nick Landry hopes to target a still-unfilled market — residents who want produce and affordable groceries within walking distance. 

“People downtown are keenly aware Barre’s a food desert,” he said. “People with cars just come from Shaw’s and bounce to Hannaford.”

Right now, Granite City Grocery, still in early planning stages, is working on getting new members. Seven hundred households have signed up to join the cooperative. Landry envisions the store combining low-cost staples with more expensive specialty produce, hoping that income from the latter will help keep the former affordable.

Hunger Free Vermont is also working with local officials to map food access in Barre. Monica Taylor, Hunger Free’s representative on the project, said other “hunger councils” across the state are keeping an eye on it as a model to clarify a complex issue. 

One area of the state has been more successful in getting grocery stores into its downtown — Burlington. After a major grocery store closure, the city commissioned a study that led it to award City Market the chance to replace its old store in 1999. 

But there’s still a divide, Kolodinsky said. “If you look at where the major grocery stores are, they’re not downtown. They’re on the outskirts.”

It’s all about access and cost, Sayles said. “There’s plenty of food available. The reason we have hunger in Vermont is people don’t have money to buy food, or they don’t have money to pay for transportation to buy the food.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Dollar stores are filling Vermont’s food deserts. Are they helping?.

BURLINGTON — Attorney General TJ Donovan is calling on Vermonters to oppose a Trump administration proposal that would cut food stamps. 

A new federal rule would cut $4.5 billion in federal funding from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. 

Northern states with harsh winters will be particularly hard-hit by the cuts because the way utility costs are used to calculate benefits would change. 

The proposal would cut $25 million in benefits to Vermonters annually, Donovan said at a Friday press conference at the Heineberg Community Senior Center in Burlington. 

“Vermonters will receive fewer SNAP benefits, meaning less money for less food,” he said. “Some might lose their SNAP benefits all together. Let me sum it up: It’s unacceptable.” 

This will lead to a loss in benefits for 68% of Vermont households on the 3SquaresVT programs, with an expected average decrease of $82 a month, he said. 

Donovan called on Vermonters to file complaints against the proposal at hungerfreevt.org.

The cut is the third proposed this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

“This latest rule is the third time the Trump administration has tried to change these rules to hurt the poor, to hurt older Vermonters and to hurt folks with disabilities,” Donovan said.

One of the new rules would increase the program’s work requirements and the other would cut food stamps from people with a certain amount of savings and other assets. Both of those rules are expected to be finalized soon. 

Vermont officials have spoken out against proposed cuts this year. Donovan himself asked Vermonters to weigh in this September against another rule change that would lead to cuts. 

The USDA has received more than 75,000 comments about one of the previous proposals, according to the New York Times. 

The department told the New York Times that the new rule would “better reflect what low-income households are actually paying for utilities so that eligible households receive SNAP benefit amounts that more accurately reflect their circumstances, no matter the state in which they reside.”

The current proposal would reduce the standard utility deduction almost in half, Donovan said. 

“These are, as we all know, significant costs in Vermont, given our winters,” he said. “Staying warm costs money.” 

The cuts will drain $25 million annually from the local economy, Donovan said, as low-income Vermonters would have to make tough choices about spending. 

The proposed change would hurt older Vermonters and Vermonters with disabilities the hardest, as 80% of 3SquaresVT recipients in those groups would lose benefits.

“We’ve got to take care of people, we’ve got to take care of people who need our help,” Donovan said. “We certainly can’t let older Vermonters and folks with disabilities be hurt the most.” 

Anore Horton, the executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, said a high number of comments could delay the process for finalizing cuts.

Donovan could join a lawsuit with other states to block the cuts if the administration moves forward, Horton said. Judges considering an injunction would review public comments in considering the merits of the case, she said. 

Donovan said that if the administration does move forward with the cuts, he would file suit. 

“If it goes through, we’ll fight this,” he said. “This is cruel, and it is unnecessary.” 

Sarah Launderville, executive director of Vermont Center for Independent Living, said the proposal would harm people with disabilities and those living in poverty.  

“This is a cookie cutter government attempt to cut an important basic need and basic program,” she said. “It doesn’t work for Vermont and it needs to be stopped.” 

Art Hathaway, a resident at the Heineberg Community Senior Center, said the proposed cuts were not right. 

“They don’t care about people who need it, lower-income and the eldery,” he said. 

Read the story on VTDigger here: Donovan calls on Vermonters to weigh in against food stamp cuts.

As Vermonters turn on their furnaces and prepare for Thanksgiving, the Trump administration is once again taking aim at some of our most vulnerable neighbors. The White House and USDA recently announced their third attempt in the past 12 months to go around Congress and take food away from millions of working families, people with disabilities, and older Americans in need.  A new proposed rule change would cut SNAP (known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT) benefits by $4.5 billion over five years, including a yearly cut of over $25 million in Vermont.

If enacted, this proposal would be devastating for thousands of Vermonters who rely on 3SquaresVT to put enough food on the table to stay healthy. According to estimates from Vermont’s Department for Children and Families, if this proposal goes into effect, over 26,000 Vermont households (or 68% of recipients) would see an average cut of $82 in their monthly food benefits. The proposal would disproportionately impact people with disabilities and older adults — populations for whom proper nutrition is especially essential to health and wellness – impacting roughly 80% of these 3SquaresVT households.

Hunger Free Vermont, the Vermont Foodbank, and Capstone Community Action call on Vermonters to stand with us to oppose this latest attack by writing and sending comments to USDA by Dec. 2.

We are joining together to ask for your help because we know from daily experience what these cuts would mean for our state. Capstone Community Action hosts Central Vermont’s largest food shelf, where over 5,000 Vermonters are assisted annually with fresh produce and ready-to-eat meals. 3SquaresVT benefits are already too low to buy enough healthy food, a key reason why the need for supplemental food assistance is growing. A reduction of $82 per month represents the loss of a week’s worth of food, and will force thousands of Vermont households into impossible decisions about whether to feed themselves and their families or cover other critical needs such as heat, rent, and medical care. Already 1 in 7 children, and 1 in 10 Vermonters overall, are living with hunger. We cannot allow this shameful situation to worsen.

Private charity simply cannot compensate for the breadth of the impact of these proposed cuts. Last year, the Vermont Foodbank provided 11.7 million pounds of food to people throughout Vermont. And yet, the charitable food system in Vermont and throughout the U.S. cannot even begin to make up the difference for families who would lose their food budget through these harsh cuts to 3SquaresVT. The Vermont Foodbank is part of Feeding America’s national network of 200 food banks. For each meal that this network provides to people in need, SNAP provides nine.

As Thanksgiving approaches we should give thanks for 3SquaresVT.  For over 40 years, SNAP/3SquaresVT has been our nation’s first line of defense against hunger. This program works: it provides, on average, over 70,000 Vermonters and 40 million Americans with money to spend on food in grocery stores and farmers markets each month. It is proven to reduce hunger, help lift people out of poverty, and deliver positive short- and long-term health, education, and employment outcomes. It helps us all by bringing over $100 million into our economy each year.

There is still time to fight this proposal, but we need your help. Writing and sending a comment to USDA by Dec. 2 is the most effective action you can take to keep people from losing their money for food, and the more comments we submit, the stronger we are together. Please visit www.hungerfreevt.org/protect3squaresvt to write and send a public comment opposing this cut to 3SquaresVT, and then ask everyone you know to do the same before Dec. 2.

With 40% of Vermonters unable to handle an unplanned $1,000 expense, any of us may need to turn to 3SquaresVT for help accessing food.  Make writing your comment an act of thanks for collective programs like 3SquaresVT that are there for all of us when we need them. Now more than ever, we must all make our voices heard to protect the nutrition program that keeps thousands of Vermonters and millions of Americans from going hungry.

If you feel unable to meet your food needs, 3SquaresVT is a great resource that we can all defend and strengthen! To learn if you’re eligible, text VFBSNAP to 85511 or call 1-855-855-6181.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Horton, Minter & Sayles: Defend access to 3SquaresVT.

A rule proposed by the Trump administration that would change how immigrants’ use of public benefits are factored into green card applications has been halted. The change was to go into effect this week.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Friday in a suit filed by Vermont Attorney General TJ Donovan and three other prosecutors. Vermont challenged the change to the “public charge” rule with New York state, Connecticut and New York City. Judges in two other cases also issued injunctions temporarily blocking the rule.

The Trump administration wants to broaden the types of benefits that could be considered when immigration officers weigh whether a green card applicant would be financially independent.

The change would result in the denial of permanent residency status for many more immigrants.

Under previous policy, only cash benefit programs could be considered. The Trump administration sought to expand the definition to include federal food, housing and health care programs. 

The rule was set to go into effect Oct. 15. 

Only a small number of immigrants are believed to be impacted by the proposed rule change in Vermont, but it has led to confusion. The lawsuit argued that in Vermont, refugees, though exempt from the rule changes, may believe that they could jeopardize their immigration status or a family member’s if they accept benefits.

“Fear and confusion surrounding the Final Rule will likely result in refugees, as well as their non-refugee family members, disenrolling in critical benefits that help them successfully integrate,” the lawsuit states.

Sara Brooks, an Americorps food coordinator at Spectrum Youth and Family Services in Burlington, said people at the drop-in center have asked whether accepting food assistance through 3Squares Vermont, the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), could impact someone’s immigration status.

“People really don’t understand it,” Brooks said Monday. “They’re like, should get off of Medicaid if I want to become a citizen at one point?”

One of the biggest issues is the lack of information about the Trump rule and the impact it could have on the immigration status of local residents, Brooks said. 

“If we’re talking about people who can’t figure out if they can [be on] food stamps or not, those are not people who can afford a $200 session with a lawyer,” Brooks said.

Opponents of the rule say it has caused a “chilling effect” in immigrants’ access to health and nutrition programs across the country. An estimated 25,000 non-citizen New York City residents dropped out of SNAP related to the rule change, officials say.

Multiple Vermont organizations contacted by VTDigger had not seen a decline in participation among immigrants in benefits programs, but they did say it has prompted confusion.

Georgia Maheras, of the Bi-State Primary Care Association, said she has heard that the federally qualified health care centers the organization represents in both Vermont and New Hampshire have gotten questions from clients confused about whether using health services will impact their immigration status.

“Individuals are not sure what they can do, what they should do, what they’re able to do — and a real worry is that they will make a choice that is disadvantageous to them or a family member,” Maheras said.

While Maheras was not aware of a decline in non-citizens’ use of health services, she noted it is a difficult population to measure.

Nissa James of the Department of Vermont Health Access said the department did not have an estimate for the number of non-citizens enrolled in Medicaid who could be affected by the rule change. Though the rule, if it does eventually go into effect, would allow Medicaid to be considered in a green card application, there are exemptions — like pregnant women, children, and refugees, as DVHA outlined in a fact sheet. Current permanent residents would also be exempt, unless they leave the country for an extended period.

Anore Horton, of Hunger Free Vermont, said before the injunction last week that the organization was hopeful that court challenges to the new rule would be successful. Hunger Free Vermont had been cautious about publicizing the rule change, because of the risk of raising concerns.

“What the rule is designed to do is scare people into dropping all their benefit programs,” Horton said last week.

Vermont’s Department for Children and Families, which oversees the state’s SNAP program, does not track detailed immigration status, so doesn’t have a clear picture of how many people would be impacted by the rule. Spokesperson Luciana DiRuocco noted it would be a “small population,” because refugees are exempt from the change. She said the department has not gotten many inquiries about the change.

In a statement after the court rulings Friday, the White House said the injunction was “extremely disappointing.”

“The rulings today prevent our Nation’s immigration officers from ensuring that immigrants seeking entry to the United States will be self-sufficient and instead allow non-citizens to continue taking advantage of our generous but limited public resources reserved for vulnerable Americans,” the White House said in a statement.

Donovan, in a statement, celebrated the blockage of the rule.

“Vermont will not allow people to be penalized for needing a helping hand when they come to this country,” Donovan said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Judge blocks Trump restrictions on immigrant benefits.

Back-to-school season has begun across America. Millions of children have returned to classrooms, ready to start a new school year. Now, thanks to the Trump administration, hundreds of thousands of struggling families — including many Vermonters — may have to worry about how they will be able to afford their child’s lunch every day.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently unveiled a shameful new rule that could deny over half a million needy students free school meals. 

The Trump administration proposal would also kick over 3 million people off of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps. We stand with the state of Vermont and Hunger Free Vermont and dozens of our colleagues in Congress in opposing this rule.

Right now, states can allow low-income families who have already qualified for federal assistance programs to be automatically enrolled in other programs. This option has a proven track record of reducing the paperwork burden for both families and states while extending support to those in need. The Trump administration would eliminate that automatic enrollment option to all states for nutrition assistance, in a move that targets working families, seniors, and people with disabilities.

SNAP is a successful program that lifted 8.4 million people across the country out of poverty in 2015 alone. Vermont’s automatic enrollment of SNAP recipients is an important piece of the program’s success. It allows families to build the assets they need to lift themselves out of poverty without fearing that they will lose their benefits. A single parent shouldn’t have to choose between a promotion and school lunch for their children.

Last fall, Congress passed a five-year Farm Bill, reauthorizing SNAP. Congress debated reducing access to SNAP, including this proposal to deny states the option of automatic enrollment, and rejected any such change. Both the House and Senate recognized SNAP as a critical tool in the fight against poverty and ensured access to food for millions of Americans. The president signed that law. Now his administration is proposing an end-run around Congress by pushing this rule to kick millions off of nutrition assistance.

We know this Trump proposal will directly affect Vermonters. According to the state of Vermont, which administers SNAP locally through the 3SquaresVT program, 21% of students would be kicked off 3SquaresVT. Because students who access 3SquaresVT are automatically eligible for free lunch, more than 4,500 Vermont children — three times the number of kids who attend our state’s largest public high school — would be deprived of free meals. This will have an even greater impact on those Vermont schools where participation in 3SquaresVT determines universal school meal programs, school and library technology support, and student-loan forgiveness for teachers. 

If the president is motivated by cost, then he should end welfare for the rich, by repealing the $1.3 trillion tax cut that overwhelming benefitted the wealthiest people in the country and large corporations. If he is worried about overreliance on government programs, he should end the tax avoidance schemes for the rich that he helped create. 

It is obscene that in the wealthiest country in world history, 40 million people live in poverty, including over 12 million children. We are committed to fighting this administration’s effort to punish millions of America’s poor and deny them food. We must work together to preserve the programs that lift people out of poverty and provide healthy, nutritious meals to our schoolchildren.

If you wish to learn more about how the Trump administration’s proposal would affect Vermont or to leave a comment for the Trump administration about the proposed rule you may do so here: https://www.hungerfreevt.org/protect3squaresvt

Read the story on VTDigger here: Leahy, Sanders & Welch: We must protect nutrition assistance.

Attorney General TJ Donovan called on Vermonters Wednesday to tell the federal government that they disagree with its plan to remove 3 million Americans from being eligible for food stamps.

The Trump administration says the rule change will stop people from taking advantage of loopholes. Donovan, however, says the effort will result in food being taken away from people who badly need it.

Donovan and other state officials are asking Vermonters to go to www.hungerfreevt.org/protect3squaresvt to submit comments to the federal government before the legally mandated public comment period ends on Sept. 23.

He said the rule change will take away $7.5 million in food benefits that Vermonters rely on, and that the public comment period is the first way that people should be letting the Trump administration know they disagree.

“In Vermont, we have success in defeating a proposed rule,” Donovan said. “We can do this.”

In 2018, more than 3,000 Vermonters submitted comments, largely in opposition to a rule change that would have required Vermont maple syrup to be packaged with an “added sugar” label. After reviewing the comments, the FDA nixed the proposed change.

John Sayles, CEO of the Vermont Foodbank, said most of the potentially affected people are unaware of the changes and won’t until it goes into effect, leaving them unable to put food on their table or have their kids get free lunch at school.

“These people are working so hard to make every moment count in their day, they’re not paying attention to this news conference, and they’re not paying attention to what’s happening in Washington,” Sayles said. “They’re going to get that letter and be knocked back.”

He said the state has 215 food sites that are already overwhelmed by need. He said the move by the Trump administration would be akin to taking food from the hungry, calling it “gratuitous cruelty.”

“The charitable sector — Vermonters who are donating their hard earned money to organizations like the food bank and Hunger Free Vermont, making a big difference — cannot make up the difference,” he said.

Sen. Debbie Ingram, D-Chittenden, said she’s aware of people who would lose benefits, and who are not taking advantage of the system. She gave examples of a 27-year-old single mom with an infant daughter making $27,000 a year, a 62-year-old and her 59-year-old partner making $19,000 a year with just $5,000 in savings, and a 71-year-old making $30,000 a year who has custody of her 10-year-old grandson — all of whom would lose their benefits under the proposal.

“Are these the people the federal government says are exploiting loopholes in the current system?” Ingram asked. “I don’t think so. I think this is cruel and unusual punishment for those living in poverty.”

Anore Horton, the executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, said her agency can say with absolute certainty that the degree of fraud in the SNAP program is miniscule, noting that it has the lowest fraud rating of any federal program.

Sayles added his agency is more worried innocent people might have their benefits cut than that a few might be gaming the system.

“We should really be thinking about ‘what’s the impact of all the people that still need it that aren’t eligible into these programs,’” Sayles said. 

Donovan said if necessary, litigation against the federal government could be considered, though for now, he said, it’s still too early. Instead, he encouraged people to make use of the comment period while they still can.

“This one is about our kids,” Donovan said. “Let’s speak up.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Donovan calls for action to oppose Trump food stamp changes.

[V]ermont’s Department for Children and Families is opposing the Trump administration’s proposal to restrict eligibility for food stamps, saying the changes could cut off benefits worth $7.5 million to about 5,200 households in the state.

“We believe that the families that would be impacted really need this benefit,” DCF Commissioner Ken Schatz said Wednesday.

Planned rule changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as 3SquaresVT in Vermont, would also affect schools. Children whose families participate in the program are automatically eligible for free and reduced meals at school, and the changes could potentially impact over 4,600 Vermont children.

Nationally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that a little over 3 million people would lose food assistance if the changes go into effect.

Trump administration officials have argued they are simply fixing a “loophole” to ensure the program only helps those who properly qualify. But critics, including Vermont officials, say the changes will hurt the poor and counterproductively incentivize low-income people not to save money.

“The American people expect their government to be fair, efficient, and to have integrity,” USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement. “That is why we are changing the rules, preventing abuse of a critical safety net system, so those who need food assistance the most are the only ones who receive it.”

Existing rules allow states to waive some eligibility criteria in certain situations. Schatz says that’s not a loophole – it’s flexibility that allows states to build programs with a local context in mind.

“When we look at the cost of living in Vermont – it’s relatively high,” Schatz said.

To qualify for food stamps, a family’s income must fall below a certain amount. And certain households cannot have assets – like savings – that exceed $3,500 or $2,500, depending on the family’s composition. But many states, including Vermont, waive the requirement that a family’s assets fall below those caps.

Nicole Tousignant, the senior policy and operations director at DCF, said the caps on assets set by the federal government are out of step with many people’s expenses.

“Those levels are extremely low. They wouldn’t even allow you, if you owned a home, to have enough to pay your property taxes, potentially,” she said.

Under one of the proposed changes, for example, a family of two in which at least one member is disabled with a net annual income of $16,910 will no longer qualify for benefits if it has savings worth over $3,500.

“It requires people to become financially destitute before they reach out for help,” said Faye Mack, the advocacy and education director at Hunger Free Vermont.

Hunger Free Vermont is leading a public campaign to push back on the changes. The nonprofit encourages Vermonters to submit feedback to the USDA on the rules by Sept. 23.

The changes could also have a profound trickle-down effects on schools.

“If the number of families who qualifies for SNAP benefits decreases, that could impact the number of schools who are able to provide free meals to all students,” said Agency of Education spokesperson Kate Connizzo.

Children whose families no longer qualify for 3SquaresVT will lose automatic enrollment in the free and reduced lunch program offered by schools. While those students might still qualify, they will have to submit a separate application, and school officials often complain that paperwork gets in the way of low-income families accessing beneficial programs.

Meanwhile, eligibility for a slew of federal grants and programs often depend on how many children in a school qualify for free and reduced lunch. If the number of children in any given school who are eligible dip below a certain rate, that school might suddenly find itself ineligible for such programs as fresh fruit and vegetable grants or discounted internet access. Teachers who work at those schools could also lose access to loan forgiveness programs.

When 40% or more of the students at a school or group of schools are directly certified for free meals, then the school can also provide universal free meals.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Food stamp cuts would impact thousands in Vt..

[L]ast week, the Trump administration announced its latest attempt to take food away from over 3 million veterans, families and older Americans in need by forcing Vermont and 42 other states to change the way they have run the SNAP program (3SquaresVT in Vermont) for over 20 years. “Broad-based categorical eligibility” affords Vermont the flexibility to enable access to critical 3SquaresVT benefits for vulnerable low-income Vermonters (including working families, children, veterans, older adults, and people with disabilities). Hunger Free Vermont and the Vermont Foodbank strongly oppose this proposal, which will increase hunger and hardship for thousands of Vermonters and millions of Americans.

For over 40 years, 3SquaresVT has been our state’s first line of defense against hunger, because it works. It provides, on average, over 70,000 Vermonters and 40 million Americans with money to spend on food in grocery stores and farmers markets each month. It is proven to reduce hunger, lift people out of poverty, and leads to positive short and long-term health, education, and employment outcomes.

Categorical eligibility helps 3SquaresVT reach households that are working and may have slightly higher incomes but significant expenses (such as high housing costs, out of pocket medical expenses, and child care costs), or while working and saving a few thousand dollars for expenses like increased heating costs in the winter or a security deposit on an apartment. It makes 3SquaresVT even more effective and responsive to the needs of food insecure Vermonters, and is used by most states in the U.S. All of these households still need to apply and meet the same requirements as anyone else in order to receive benefits.

We know that many families in Vermont who are working are still struggling to make ends meet; many rely on food shelves and other assistance to feed their families. This year, 1 in 4 Vermonters will visit a food shelf. This number is far greater than the number of Vermonters who are able to participate in 3SquaresVT, which highlights that these programs already don’t do enough to eliminate hunger for many working families.

Eliminating or restricting categorical eligibility will harm Vermonters, and weaken our nation’s most effective anti-hunger program. Those likely to be affected by this proposal disproportionately are working families with children, and research shows that food insecure children have higher rates of fair and poor health, higher rates of hospitalization, and delays in cognitive development, among other health issues. Ensuring that children have access to a program that is proven to reduce food insecurity and poverty is essential – we should be increasing benefits, rather than putting working families at risk of increased hunger and hardship.

This proposal is another in a long line of attempts by this administration to demonize low-income Americans and keep them from applying for programs that help them and their families get what they need to thrive. Despite the fact that Congress recently passed a bipartisan Farm Bill that considered and rejected this change, the Trump administration is attempting to bypass the legislative branch by enacting it through administrative action.

Blaming struggling families will not solve hunger in America. The real issue is that millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet and aren’t able to access enough food to grow, learn, and stay healthy. If the Trump administration was truly concerned about food insecurity, it would be working to increase wages and improve access to housing, health care, and food assistance, instead of repeatedly proposing severe cuts to programs that support low-income Americans.

This dangerous proposal is not yet final, and there is a 60-day public comment period where individuals and organizations can have their voices heard. Together, we can fight this cruel, unjust, and unnecessary proposal and show that Vermonters believe in supporting our neighbors during times of need so that they can move out of a place of poverty. We will be launching an advocacy campaign in the coming weeks with our partners throughout Vermont and the country and will be sharing information at www.hungerfreevt.org/protect3squaresvt. We will provide support so you can take action and raise your voice to help make sure that 3SquaresVT continues to be available for all of us who may need it.

If you feel unable to meet your food needs, please still check if you’re eligible use this important resource. We’ll keep working to make it more robust and helpful. To learn if you’re eligible, text VFBSNAP to 85511 or call 1-855-855-6181.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Anore Horton & John Sayles: Trump plans to cut to basic food assistance.

[A]fter failing to gut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT) in the farm bill, President Donald Trump is now looking to sidestep Congress and slash our nation’s largest food assistance program through administrative action. A new proposed rule aims to jeopardize food assistance for over 750,000 Americans by making it even harder for some unemployed and underemployed workers to access benefits when they have trouble finding steady work, while doing nothing to help them find stable employment.

The Vermont Foodbank and Hunger Free Vermont oppose this harmful proposed rule, which would restrict states’ ability to waive time limits on SNAP benefits in high unemployment areas. The result would be billions of meals taken away from people struggling with hunger. SNAP is our nation’s largest anti-hunger program, and it works. Each month, it provides more than 70,000 Vermonters with extra money for food, keeping them nourished when they are facing hard times, and making them more resilient and better able to weather a lack of employment options and other challenging situations.

Taking food away from people struggling to make ends meet won’t help them get a job. Rather, the proposed rule would increase the risk of food insecurity for nearly one million people. USDA projects that the proposed rule would cut $15 billion in benefits from the program over a decade, and, according to calculations by Feeding America, this rule would result in a loss of more than 8.5 billion meals each year from the tables of people facing hunger. The Vermont Foodbank and its network of food shelves and meal sites simply cannot compensate for the breadth of the impact of cuts to the program, as nationally SNAP provides 12 meals for each meal provided by food banks nationwide.

Presently, unemployed or underemployed adults without dependents face strict time limits for receiving benefits if they are unable to find work. Specifically, adults ages 18 to 50 who do not receive disability benefits and do not have children are only able to receive SNAP benefits for three months, over the course of a three-year period, unless they are working at least 20 hours a week or taking part in a comparable workforce program or training.

The proposed rule targets and seeks to punish individuals who are in great need of our help — people without resources who are unemployed. The reality of low-wage employment is that individuals often face volatile job schedules and insufficient work hours, even if they are willing to work more. Many people here in Vermont who are subject to the time limit are already working, but for others things are more complicated. In a rural state like Vermont, people experience a number of unique employment barriers – lack of jobs in their community, large distances between where people live and where jobs are available, transportation barriers, and lack of career-relevant opportunities to name a few. If the proposed rule is enacted, Vermonters facing these unique barriers to employment will be at risk of losing their benefits during a time when they most need them.

Being able to put food on the table – along with access to health care and transportation, and the ability to maintain stable housing – are prerequisites to work. And when people have access to these basics, research finds they’re better able to work and have higher earnings. We urge the Trump administration and Congress to support policies that actually help workers get ahead — like raising the minimum wage, and investing in effective case management and work training programs (like ICAN in Vermont) to help individuals overcome these barriers to employment, especially in rural states like Vermont.

Hunger Free Vermont and the Vermont Foodbank are teaming up against this proposal and encouraging others to do the same. The public has until April 2 to submit comments to USDA – and it is imperative that the administration hear just how dangerous this proposal is to the health and well-being of many Americans. We encourage everyone to submit comments in opposition to this proposal, and help prevent hunger in Vermont and throughout the nation. More details about the proposal, suggested language, and directions on how to submit a comment can be found at: www.hungerfreevt.org/timelimitcomments.

Read the story on VTDigger here: John Sayles & Anore Horton: Trump changes harmful to 3SquaresVT.

In any given year, about 950,000 documents related to state benefits pour into a processing center in Waterbury.

But state officials say that paper pile soon will get smaller because they’re finally making progress on a new, streamlined program that will allow one-stop shopping for benefits like food assistance and health insurance.

The state is rolling out pieces of that plan this year, including a new way to upload documents via cellphone. And by summer of 2020, officials hope to have a website where Vermonters can apply for and manage all of their benefits – a portal that will replace the current version of Vermont Health Connect.

While that schedule is not set in stone, officials acknowledge that Vermont has to move forward due to pressure from federal regulators who aren’t happy about the state’s cumbersome public-benefit systems.

“It can’t be about promises anymore,” said Cassandra Madison, a deputy commissioner at the Department of Vermont Health Access. “It has to be about actual progress.”

The state has been working for years to revamp its benefit programs, which rely in large part on an outdated system called ACCESS that a report last year labeled “obsolete, unsustainable, difficult (if not impossible) to configure to meet federal requirements.”

In a presentation to legislative committees during the first full week of the 2019 session, Madison detailed a host of problems with applying for and maintaining programs including Reach Up, 3SquaresVT, fuel assistance, Medicaid and qualified health plans.

Over 200,000 Vermonters apply for those programs every year, but “they often have to give us the some information multiple times,” she said. “They have to call different call centers, and there’s little to no coordination across those programs.”

Residents face lengthy approval processes, Madison said. And when they need to provide documents, “oftentimes, Vermonters don’t really understand what they’re supposed to submit to us and when, and they can’t do it in an easy or straightforward way.”

The process isn’t much easier on the administrative side. “Our processes are very manual-labor intensive,” Madison said. “Staff have to spend a lot of time memorizing complex system rules and memorizing program rules, which means that the soft skills around customer service have to take a back seat sometimes.”

Because federal funding plays a big role in state benefit programs, federal officials have taken note of Vermont’s deficiencies and have demanded changes. For example, the state is negotiating an improvement plan for Medicaid’s “aged, blind and disabled” benefit.

“There is a risk, if we don’t deliver on that negotiated timeline, that we could face financial penalties,” Madison said.

She told lawmakers that she is “concerned” about those federal-funding pressures. But Madison also laid out reasons for optimism for what’s been labeled the state’s “integrated eligibility” project.

The plan, she said, is not for a single piece of technology that’s going to solve the state’s benefit issues. Rather, Madison said it’s about “a unified customer experience.”

“We want to make sure that Vermonters have a simple and easy way to apply for, access and maintain their health coverage and financial benefits,” Madison said. “We also want to make sure that the state of Vermont can deliver these benefits efficiently and effectively.”

In a state with spotty internet access, officials aren’t focusing all of their efforts on online benefit applications.

“You should only have one application to fill out, and that application should be simple and easy to use,” Madison said. “You should also be able to do that in the way that works best for you. You should be able to do that online, in person, over the phone or on paper.”

In order to make progress toward that goal, officials say they’re tackling the integrated eligibility project in smaller chunks rather than as a whole. That approach is more manageable financially, and officials say it offers a better chance for success.

The problem-plagued rollout of Vermont Health Connect now serves as a warning about trying to do too much, too quickly. “There are a lot of lessons that we learned in there about how not to do (information technology) projects,” Madison said.

There have been some positive steps toward integrated eligibility in recent years, officials say. That includes the stabilization of Vermont Health Connect; meeting federal requirements for income-eligible Medicaid; and implementing a new asset-verification program for those applying for benefits.

The asset-verification program got off to a rocky start last year, in part due to issues with financial institutions, said Thani Boskailo of the Department of Vermont Health Access. But she told lawmakers that the program now is running more smoothly.

“We’re a year in, and the changes have been tremendous,” Boskailo said.

Additional progress is expected this year, including a new, consolidated paper application for all health benefits. That’s not a technology project, but Madison said it’s an important step toward state benefits becoming more user-friendly.

Also, the state later this year will introduce a self-service document uploader designed to make it easier to send in documentation for benefits. The uploader is supposed to shrink that mountain of paper in Waterbury.

Madison acknowledged that not everyone will want to upload their pay stubs and other documents.

“That’s why it’s really important that we still have in-person and mail available to people,” she said. “But even if you could get rid of 25 or 50 percent of those documents, that’s a huge win.”

The expected arrival of a single online-application portal in August 2020 will be a much bigger sign of progress. But Madison said there’s a lot of work to do before that, and she said schedule changes are possible.

The integrated eligibility project already has been delayed by years. There are many reasons for those delays, including the Vermont Health Connect mess.

But in general, Madison – who took the lead on the eligibility project a little over a year ago – said she believes the delays are because “technology is advancing more rapidly than our institutions.”

“We are trying to play catch-up,” she said in an interview. “As customer expectations are changing, and the federal landscape is changing, and the technology market is changing, we are trying to adapt to it. And government is not traditionally the most nimble.”

Madison said state officials are trying to become more nimble, and also more efficient.

A total price tag for the integrated eligibility project wasn’t available last week, but it’s at least in the tens of millions of dollars. Much of that is federal money, and Madison said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved two more years of funding for the project.

Madison said she could not disclose how much additional state money is needed next fiscal year until Gov. Phil Scott delivers his budget address on Thursday.

Currently, the integrated eligibility project is projecting combined state and federal spending of about $13 million a year. That’s less than it used to be, and it could go lower, Madison said.

“I think we’ve done a lot of work to try to tighten up our budget and get leaner,” she said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: State reports progress on costly, long-delayed ‘integrated eligibility’ benefits project.

If the federal government shutdown continues into March, Vermont could be on the hook for millions of dollars to fund welfare programs in the state, according to a briefing from the Joint Fiscal Office to the House Appropriations Committee on Friday.

The briefing on the impact of the shutdown on Vermont outlined how in the short term, Vermont is not being hit financially and that the federal food assistance program — SNAP — and other welfare programs will be funded through February.

The shutdown, which today tied the record for the longest in modern history at 21 days, shows no sign of ending as President Donald Trump continues to demand $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall that Democrats won’t give him.

However, if the shutdown drags on into March, lawmakers are concerned that the state may not have enough funds to cover losses caused by the shutdown.

“It’s obvious we have some cash flow and some balances that we could use in the short term that would help get them on through February and March,” said committee chair Rep. Kitty Toll, D-Danville. “But if the shutdown goes beyond March, we’re concerned if we have enough cash flow to backfill the needs of Vermonters.”

Vermont has 686 federal workers who are going without pay during the shutdown, and over 1,500 who work for agencies that have not had funds appropriated to them. There are also 1,200 Vermonters who work for the Department of Veteran Affairs — which is fully funded through 2019.

Toll said there weren’t any surprises in the briefing, but the federal gridlock “creates a lot of angst in individuals and families.”

“It puts pressure on the finances of our own state as we have to use money to fill the gap until we are reimbursed by the federal government,” she said.

The committee was also concerned about the delays in enacting the new farm bill.

With implementation of the farm bill delayed because of the shutdown, insurance protection for dairy farmers will not be immediately rolled out and there will be no safety net programs for farmers beginning in February, according to the report compiled by the Joint Fiscal Office.

3SquaresVT, a federal U.S. Department of Agriculture program administered in Vermont by the Department for Children and Families, released a statement on Thursday saying that as a result of the shutdown, SNAP benefits for February would be distributed early because of concerns the funds might not be available later on.

“We urge everyone who needs to take action to do so immediately. We remind everyone that these benefits will be for the entire month of February, so they’ll need to budget accordingly,” DCF Commissioner Ken Schatz said in a statement.

Maria Belliveau, of the Joint Fiscal Office, said that the federal government has been working with states to provide funding through the end of February for food assistance programs, but that it is unclear what will happen beyond next month.

Committee vice chair Rep. Mary Hooper, D-Montpelier, said economically struggling Vermonters are the ones who are most impacted by the shutdown.

“People who are struggling, and that’s a large part of the people who received these sort of services, are just going to be put into more stress,” Hooper said.

Committee member Rep. David Yacovone, D-Morristown, said if the shutdown continues past March and then into spring, it could bring a disastrous effect onto Vermont’s medical system, impacting thousands of Vermonters.

“If it goes on much longer, if it gets more prolonged, all of a sudden the Medicaid cash to pay nursing homes, home health, hospitals, and physicians becomes in question,” Yacovone said. “We’re not at that stage yet, though, that would be a nightmare.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: As shutdown drags on, funding at risk for Vermont welfare programs.

[A] proposed federal rule change could eliminate nutrition-assistance benefits for some Vermonters.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday announced it will tighten work requirements for adults without disabilities or dependents who receive benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – known in Vermont as 3SquaresVT.

It’s not yet clear how severe the repercussions will be in Vermont, and it’s also not clear whether Gov. Phil Scott’s administration will oppose the change.

“Based on what we know now, it would have some impacts in Vermont,” said Sean Brown, deputy commissioner of the Department for Children and Families Economic Services Division. “We still need to do a lot of work to analyze the proposed rule in total.”

Others say they will fight the federal proposal because it could unfairly penalize some who are unable to work.

“We know that taking food away from people does nothing to help them find jobs,” said Faye Mack, advocacy and education director at Hunger Free Vermont.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, billed by the federal government as “the largest program in the domestic hunger safety net,” provides benefits to low-income individuals and families. At last count, it serves more than 40 million people nationwide.

As of the end of October, state statistics show there were 71,176 Vermonters enrolled in 3SquaresVT. The average benefit for all Vermont households is $221 per month, or $369 per month for homes with children.

But President Donald Trump’s administration believes there are more people receiving those benefits than there should be.

There already is a federal rule that says “able-bodied adults without dependents” can receive nutrition benefits for only three months in a 36-month period unless they are working or “participating in a work program.”

However, he Department of Agriculture says most states have federally approved waivers for some or all adult participants so that the work rule doesn’t apply. Many of those waivers date to the Great Recession of the late 2000s, the department says, but the waivers have not been revised even as unemployment rates have dropped.

As a result, federal officials say “nearly half” of able-bodied adults who would be affected by the work rule reside in an area covered by a waiver.

“The department believes waiver criteria need to be strengthened to better align with economic reality,” department officials wrote in their proposed rule revision. “These changes would ensure that such a large percentage of the country can no longer be waived when the economy is booming and unemployment is low.”

Among the rule changes proposed by the federal government are eliminating statewide waivers in most cases; limiting the duration of waivers; ending the “carryover” of work-rule exemptions from year to year; and requiring the use of standardized economic data to support waiver requests.

Federal officials emphasized that the changes would apply only to non-disabled adults between the ages of 18 and 49 with no dependents. Those who are elderly, disabled or pregnant would not be affected.

The number of able-bodied adults without dependents who receive nutrition assistance in Vermont was not immediately available on Thursday. But Brown said there are work-rule waivers covering some portions of the state, so there likely would be some Vermonters affected by the proposed rule change.

The Department of Agriculture says it is aligning the nutrition program with Trump administration ideals of “self-sufficiency, well-being and economic mobility.”

“Long-term reliance on government assistance has never been part of the American dream,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Thursday. “As we make benefits available to those who truly need them, we must also encourage participants to take proactive steps toward self-sufficiency.”

Brown said the state has had “some success” in recent years in its effort to better equip nutrition-program beneficiaries for the workforce.

“Vermont has focused a lot of time and resources on supporting these people in order to help them develop the tools and skills to be able to participate in the job market,” he said.

Mack acknowledged that the state has a successful employment program. But from Hunger Free Vermont’s perspective, it’s clear that the Trump administration is interested in “kicking people off of SNAP,” she said.

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is just 2.8 percent, less than the national rate of 3.7 percent. But Mack said that statistic doesn’t necessarily tell the story of those who don’t have adequate transportation, the ability to afford child care or access to jobs that fit their skills.

“Vermont has a pretty low unemployment rate,” she said. “But the thing we know is that Vermonters have a diverse array of barriers to employment.”

Mack said the federal rule change also could lessen the nutrition program’s ability to respond to greater need during future economic downturns.

She said Hunger Free Vermont will encourage Vermonters to “raise their voice on behalf of their neighbors” when a public comment period opens on the proposed rule change. She added that “the entire Vermont congressional delegation has already reached out to us.”

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., noted that Trump signed a new farm bill on Thursday. During the debate over that bill, lawmakers “considered changes like the one the administration now seeks through rule-making and rejected them in favor of workforce training programs that actually help Americans get and keep employment,” Leahy said.

“These rules will do nothing to ‘restore the dignity of work’ and instead are a direct challenge to the decisions made by Congress in the bipartisan Farm Bill,” Leahy said.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Trump is “attacking the poor” with the new rule proposal.

“We should be expanding programs like food stamps that lift people out of poverty, not making them even harder to access,” Sanders said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Federal change could cut food benefits in Vermont.

[P]articipation in 3SquaresVT, the state’s federally funded nutrition program, has been declining each year since a 2013 peak as the economy has improved and unemployment has dropped.

But state officials and anti-hunger advocates say many people in Vermont are still experiencing malnutrition and food insecurity, and they are looking for ways to help eligible people enroll in the program. 3SquaresVT provides cash benefits to the elderly and disabled, and benefits on a card that can be used in stores to those who qualify by income.

On Tuesday, Hunger Free Vermont and other groups held a conference at Vermont Law School in Royalton where providers exchanged ideas for reaching out to the eligible and encouraging them to sign up for the program.

“We need to continue working together to make sure we meet the nutrition needs of our community members,” said Ken Schatz, the commissioner of the Vermont Department for Children and Families. “3SquaresVT is an anti-poverty tool.”

Food insecurity is a national issue, affecting an estimated 15 million households in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the federal food assistance program known as SNAP. DCF administers the federal program through its 3SquaresVT. The USDA defines food-insecure households as those where food is unavailable, or could be unavailable, because of insufficient money or other resources.

Use of 3SquaresVT peaked in 2013 at an average of 100,000 people per month, according to state statistics. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, that number had dropped 26 percent to an average of 74,000 per month, according to Hunger Free Vermont, a nonprofit organization in South Burlington.

Use of food assistance is also declining nationally, according to the USDA. Advocates for the hungry largely credit the improving job market for this change. Also, many states including Vermont dropped work requirements for the program during the recession, but resumed them in the years after — in Vermont’s case in 2014.

Vermont has also participated in a three-year, $9 million federal pilot program to examine ways of providing employment and training for SNAP participants, said Sean Brown, the deputy commissioner for the economic services division at DCF.

“We believe that contributed to our caseload decline,” Brown said on Tuesday.

But food pantries and food banks report increasing demands on their supplies, suggesting that there are still many Vermonters who could benefit from 3SquaresVT, said Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont. Horton spoke at the Oct. 2 conference.

“You are the people on the front lines assisting Vermonters,” she told the audience, many of whom work directly with people eligible for 3SquaresVT.

Horton said many people don’t want to sign up for the program.

“The most challenging part is helping people come to a place where they feel OK about accepting the benefit that is theirs by right,” she said. “They have worked, they have put in their taxes, they have contributed to our society in so many ways, by raising kids, by working, by taking care of ill or disabled family members, and yet to sign up for that program is just incredibly painful for people in many many cases.”

Later, Horton said that while many people have found work, in some cases those jobs pay so little that they would still qualify for 3SquaresVT. She also feels the national political climate might be suppressing the use of food assistance programs.

“That affects people’s willingness to do something that already I think is generally stigmatized in our culture, which is to accept government help,” she said.

Horton said every dollar of federal SNAP funds distributed in Vermont generates $1.70 of economic activity in the state.

“SNAP benefits are a significant source of support for our small-town stores, our grocery stores,” she said. “These are federal funds that come to Vermont and support our food economy.”

The area where Vermont is weakest in reaching eligible SNAP participants is among the elderly, said Brown, of DCF. State data shows that in June of this year, 25 percent of the 41,000 households receiving 3SquaresVT benefits included someone who was working; 47 percent included a person with a disability, and 32 percent included an older adult.

“We know from Census data that we lag in participation for older Vermont households versus the rest of our caseload,” Brown said.

Travis Poulin, director of Chittenden Community Action, said that on Monday, he spoke to a 3SquaresVT user who had recently been declared ineligible for the program because of a slight change in his income. Poulin said the man still needs the food assistance.

“He’s lost 13 pounds in the last month, and he’s not in great health,” Poulin said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Food assistance use drops, but advocates say some are missing out.

[O]n Monday, the White House released a proposed budget for 2019 that aims to make significant cuts to programs that support millions of Americans: children, seniors and working families. This budget would be devastating to the 42 million Americans struggling with food insecurity, including 74,600 food insecure Vermonters.

The proposed budget aims to cut SNAP (also known as food stamps and 3SquaresVT), which would be reduced by more than $213 billion over 10 years – a cut of more than 30 percent. This would result in the loss of more than 40 billion meals over the next 10 years, including many millions of meals in Vermont. Though the Vermont Foodbank and other Feeding America food banks throughout the U.S. together provide more than 4 billion meals each year, national programs like SNAP reach far more people. For every meal that the Feeding America network provides, SNAP provides 12 meals.

The White House has also proposed changes to the way that families receive SNAP benefits. In its current form, SNAP is respected by experts as a highly effective program that provides a path out of poverty and hunger, leading to improved educational outcomes, productivity and health. These changes would take an efficient and streamlined program, and introduce unneeded and inefficient complexity, all while reducing farm income and employment in food manufacturing and retailing.

The budget also eliminates a critical program for low-income older Americans, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). In Vermont, the USDA’s partner in administering this key nutrition program is the Vermont Foodbank, delivering monthly boxes of staple foods to 2,400 older Vermonters. With the reality of Vermont’s aging population and the fact that 7.5 percent of older Vermonters struggle to access the food they need, we should be looking for ways to better feed these neighbors, instead of cutting the programs they rely on. If this program were eliminated, at a national level over 145 million meals a year to 728,000 seniors throughout the U.S. would disappear.

While your Vermont Foodbank works tirelessly to provide emergency food assistance to families struggling to put meals on the table, the problem is simply too big to fix without national government programs that are proven to lift people out of hunger. If cuts to these programs take place at the levels proposed, it would be impossible for the charitable food system to make up the difference. Without this key support, millions of people throughout the U.S. and many here in Vermont would go hungry.

Read the story on VTDigger here: John Sayles: President’s budget is grim for Foodbank and for hungry Vermonters.

[A] new report from the state auditor casts a spotlight on how fraud is addressed in some of the state’s key benefits programs.

The latest report from Auditor Doug Hoffer’s office zeroes in on four programs managed by the Economic Services Division of the Department for Children and Families.

Though the division does have a process for investigating benefits fraud, the report finds that over a span of more than three years, overpayments were found in only two of the four programs.

The report also raises concerns over the effectiveness of the department’s efforts to recoup payment from benefits recipients who commit fraud.

Through the period spanning Jan. 1, 2013, to April 21, 2016, the unit found 1,036 cases where benefits were overpaid through fraud or error, worth a total of $1.8 million.

All of those claims were in two programs: 3SquaresVT, which is the state’s branch of the federal supplemental nutrition program formerly known as food stamps, and Reach Up, a cash benefit program for families with children.

There were no overpaid claims found in the seasonal fuel assistance program, which helps families pay for heating their homes, or in general assistance, a program that helps individuals and families pay for a variety of expenses.

The state’s current technology system is incapable of tracking the heating fuel program, according to the report. DCF staff told auditors the risk of fraud in the general assistance program is minimal because eligibility is reviewed frequently.

According to the audit, even if an investigator found that someone had provided incorrect eligibility information for benefits through 3SquaresVT or Reach Up, they did not check to see if seasonal fuel or general assistance benefits had been paid out based upon the same incorrect eligibility information.

When someone was found to have defrauded 3SquaresVT, that recipient was disqualified from receiving further benefits from that program, but that was not true of the other three programs.

The report also said the division fell short when it came to collecting money owed by clients who had provided false eligibility information. Repayment agreements expected people to repay the money they owed over a period of one to 75 years — which the report said was “an unrealistic period of time to expect the debt to be fully paid.”

The department didn’t send out regular bills after people defaulted on their debt, nor did it use the Tax Department to help collect the debts, the audit found.

The report made 13 recommendations, including suggestions to improve the system for tracking allegations and to change rules so people who lied about their eligibility can face sanctions.

DCF responded in a letter that the department had begun undertaking some of the recommendations in the audit, including making more prominent the hotline where members of the public can report fraud.

However, some of the recommendations relating to technology are a challenge. The current IT system is outdated, and DCF anticipates moving to a newer system that will serve much of the Agency of Human Services within a couple of years, according to DCF Deputy Commissioner Sean Brown, who heads the Economic Services Division.

Brown said that in many cases of fraud, there are children in the family who could be at risk if benefits are docked.

“Those children are still from a low-income and vulnerable family, and they still have a need,” Brown said.

The department needs to find a way to use “whatever remedies are available to us to make sure the health and safety of children is taken care of,” he said.

Hoffer was sympathetic to DCF’s concern about ensuring that people who need services can access them. However, he said there is a need for the system to deter fraud.

“Clearly you don’t want the children in this circumstance to be unnecessarily harmed,” Hoffer said. “But if you don’t have a disincentive to defraud the state, then why wouldn’t they defraud the state?”

Brown also emphasized that the number of fraudulent payments identified and investigated during the period of the audit is a small fraction in the scope of the Economic Services Division’s work.

According to DCF, during the 40-month period covered in the report, the division delivered $632 million in benefits. The $1.8 million worth of improper payments that the fraud unit substantiated is just 0.28 percent of the total amount paid out, “which is extremely low,” Brown said.

Hoffer said that based on the audit report, it’s difficult to know exactly how widespread fraud is in the benefits programs managed by DCF. It does not appear to be a “significant” number of Vermonters who receive assistance, he said, though he believes “it’s enough for (the division) to pay attention.”

“Whatever the percentage or the numbers are, they have an obligation to protect the integrity of the program,” he said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Auditor targets DCF’s response to benefits fraud.