Vermont Foodbank

Vermont leaders approved a plan to use roughly $6 million in state money to pay for 15 days' worth of food benefits if the federal government shutdown continues and SNAP runs out of money on Nov. 1.

“We really feel that this need in our communities, unfortunately, is here to stay,” said the leader of one group responding to the numbers.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, supplies the vast majority of food aid in Vermont, where about 65,000 residents received $155 million in benefits last year.

Vermont Foodbank President John Sayles says the organization has laid off seven staff members and eliminated two vacant positions to offset a post-COVID drop in government funding.

Major floods in 2023 and 2024 destroyed local food security infrastructure, and the Vermont Foodbank says it wants to be prepared to address local needs after natural disasters in the future.

The Vermont Foodbank and the Hardwick Area Food Pantry report an increase in requests for free food.

Host Connor Cyrus talks to advocates about cuts to federal food assistance and how it will affect Vermonters.

Two in five Vermonters are facing food insecurity, according to recent data from the Vermont Foodbank. This comes amid rising costs of food, gas and heating oil. Yet local food donations are down 20%.

This hour, host Mikaela Lefrak talks with the head of the Vermont Foodbank about food insecurity across northern New England—and what's being done to address it.

As the federal relief that propped up nutrition-assistance organizations during the pandemic begins to disappear, food security advocates say Vermont will need to increase public support for food shelves and other programs in order to avoid a surge in malnutrition.