Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Good afternoon, folks, and welcome in to the Senate Committee on Government Operations Committee meeting of Thursday, 02/05/2026. I see some rather familiar faces in the room from earlier in the day in Senate Agriculture. We're celebrating Three Squares Vermont Awareness Day. As soon as we get the bluebird shutters arranged properly. So I don't know who wants to leave off. Have Autumn Mowing going first if

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: I don't think Ivy can have a Okay.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Welcome.

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: Thank you very much.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: We could go around the room for those of you that aren't aware of who we are, and then as you come up, if you'd each identify yourself for the record, Senator John Morley is from Orleans. He is not gonna be with us today, and so he regrets that, but the rest of us are here. So we do have a forum. We have one senator on the So I'll let the rest of the well, I'll let senator Vyhovsky call.

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: Senator Tanya Vyhovsky, Chittenden Central District.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: You're back, okay.

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: I guess I'm

[Sen. Becca White (Member)]: next Senator Becca White from the Windsor County District.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Hi, I'm Brian Collamore representing the Rutland District. This is our committee assistant, Calista, in Alison Clarkson, Windsor District. So welcome everybody, and it's great to have you with us today, and you can begin whenever you like.

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: Thank you so much Chair and Committee members. I'm really happy to be here with you all. For the record, I'm Ivy Enoch. I live in Burlington. I'm the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Hunger Free Vermont, and I'm here today with partners and neighbors retailers and farmers for Three Squares Vermont Awareness Day to acknowledge this essential program and to ask for your support on requests that together will ensure the best outcomes for our communities, farmers, and economy. Three Squares Vermont is known nationally as SNAP, but in many households, it's known as a lifeline. Nearly 10% of Vermonters receive Three Squares Vermont, which is a monthly boost to grocery budget. Put most simply, Three Scars Vermont makes it easier for lower income and working class folks to buy the basics, milk, bread, produce, eggs, and more. It's the most powerful and effective and efficient food security program in the country, as well as a powerful economic development program. With an approved application, people can shop with Three Scores Vermont using an EBT card, which looks and works just like a debit card. A trip to the grocery store is just like any other shopper's experience, which is very much by design. There are more than 600 retailers in Vermont who accept Three Squares Vermont, including more than 40 farmers markets across the state. More than $12,000,000 in federal benefits are issued directly to participants each month. In November 2025, when we saw the historic and devastating lapse in federal funding for SNAP benefits, not only were 64,000 Vermonters stressed and worried about how they would pay for groceries, but our local businesses, our retailers, our farmers were stressed as well about filling a $12,000,000 gap in their bottom lines that month. Vermont's heroic effort to use state funds to issue personal benefits was a relief to families and grocers alike, and proved to be a wise investment in the safety and health of our communities. While Three Sports Vermont effectively reaches the most low income folks in our state, many more qualify and aren't enrolled. There are various reasons for this discrepancy, including complex eligibility rules, complex application processes. Accessing ThreeScores Vermont was made more challenging in October 2025, when federal changes to SNAP included in HR1 went into effect in our state. In addition to federal eligibility changes, HR one made changes to the funding structure of SNAP. Vermont faces additional costs to administer Treesboro Vermont beginning in October 2026, because the federal government is pulling back a portion of their share of the administration costs associated with operating this program in Vermont, and that is true for all states. Hunger Free Vermont has been closely following the state's projections regarding increased administrative costs resulting from this reduced federal funding, and we're glad to see the administration included funding for this, and we urge the legislature to continue to pay close attention to full funding needed to make sure we keep this critical food security and economic development program thriving in our state. FreeScore Vermont helps people afford the basics, so they can keep gas in the car to get to work, pay for childcare, pay for rent, and other essentials. When people lose eligibility, whether because they no longer qualify or because of complex reporting rules, it harms the health and economic strength of our communities. This is one of the many reasons why having trained and trusted benefit assisters at organizations across Vermont is so important. These are people who understand the complex rules and processes of Three Scores Vermont and other federal programs, and help folks navigate those processes, apply for Three Scores Vermont, and maintain their benefits. We already have a very strong network of benefit assisters in our state, and are often lifted up as a model for other states. Benefit assisters not only help people apply for three sports per month, but actually support our state agency by helping ensure applications are completed accurately, which reduces administrative burden on the state, and it supports a low payment error rate. They also play a critical role in supporting emergency response. We saw this with the unprecedented lapse in federal benefits in November, which I mentioned. We've also seen this during two summers of catastrophic flooding. Record Vermont participants were able to receive replacement benefits to compensate for food loss due to flood damage. In each of these dire emergency situations, benefit assisters played a truly critical role in helping people understand what was happening, what was available to them, and what they needed to do to get the food that they needed in those moments. Investing in this existing network of benefit assisters at trusted organizations all across the state will only strengthen our state's emergency response. Benefit assisters are responding now to many complex program changes and greater needs, including losses in federal funding for these operations. Investing in this existing network will have a multiplier effect by ensuring eligible people continue receiving tree storage from us, which means those federal dollars continue flowing in our economy. Food security is a policy choice, and Tree of Vermont is an essential part of the pathway to achieving food security for all in Vermont. There are policy choices before you that will go so far in ensuring the best outcomes for all in this moment, and my fellow partners will speak to additional complimentary requests that I will highlight to please fully fund the administrative costs needed for state fiscal 2027 to counter federal funding changes to SNAP and K-three scores Vermont available and accessible to people in our state. And secondly, please support the appropriation of $4,900,000 in fiscal year twenty twenty seven for benefit assisters for SNAP and Medicaid. Thank you so much for your time. I'm happy to answer any questions.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Senator Clarkson?

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: I missed the exact amount. We're anticipating the Fed's cutting this

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: program to 12? So, in From Vermont.

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: Well, no, so 12,000,000 It

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: be federal. I mean, state and national.

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: Correct. So in, HR one, passed in July.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: The big, awful, odious bill. Correct.

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: You said it so I don't have to.

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: For all states who operate a SNAP program, the federal government said they were no longer going to share that cost $50.50 with the states to administer the program. And so that they have reduced their share by 25, by half essentially. So they are contributing 25% of the cost to administer this program in states, and states now have to pay 75% of the cost. So it's a 25% increase for all states.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Senator Vyhovsky?

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: Yeah, have a couple of questions. As a follow-up to that, I assume most of that administrative cost is due to federal requirements and there is nothing we can do to mitigate how much that administration costs?

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: So, yeah, there is no federal obligation for states to operate the SNAP program. It is in the best interest for food security and economic development for states to operate SNAP. And so the administrative costs that's needed to make this program whole in light of the reduced federal costs is really essential.

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: Yeah, no, I appreciate how important the SNAP program is. I guess, let me reframe my question. If we choose to operate a SNAP program, the federal government has administrative requirements we must meet, correct? Yes, absolutely, yes. Okay, so a lot of the administrative costs we're talking about are due to those federal requirements, and there's nothing we could do to make it an easier process or more streamlined to decrease the administrative burden?

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: That's right. So we're talking about, you know, folks reviewing SNAP applications, completing interviews with folks, the staff time, the IT time of actually ensuring that applications and recertifications are processed with accuracy and with efficiency, and that is required, a core aspect of

[Sen. Becca White (Member)]: operating SNAP.

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: Okay, that is what I thought. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't incorrect. My other question is fairly specific, and my understanding is there were some changes in October that led our executive branch to move a group of Afghan refugees off of SNAP. I know that there is some differing opinion as to whether or not that needed to happen. Do you have any knowledge of where that sits right now and if those folks have been moved back onto the program, or kind of what's going on with that?

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: Yes, thank you so much for the question. So one of the program changes to SNAP pass in HR1 was really limiting eligibility for folks in our immigrant communities, and included in the kind of regulatory interpretation, which Vermont did to implement this as quickly as they could. They identified special immigrant visa holders, so Afghan SIVs folks, as no longer being eligible for ThreeScores Vermont. Vermont was the first state to actually implement that change before USDA issued the guidance because there was a requirement to implement that as quickly as possible. There was a lawsuit that called into question USDA's interpretation, which corrected that. So now it is clear for all states that SIV holders are eligible for SNAP. And for the 90 individuals who did lose benefits in October, they were automatically re enrolled. And we were really glad to see that the state of Vermont automatically enrolled those folks without forcing them to reapply when they were wrongfully closed. Yeah,

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: no, I'm really glad to hear that. Knew that there had been a lawsuit, but I wasn't sure what had come of the lawsuit and if those people were automatically re enrolled. Know in some of our other social benefits programs, federal government is now requiring twice yearly reauthorizations or recertifications. Is that happening in the SNAP program as well? And if so, how much is that increasing the administrative burden?

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: That is not happening in the SNAP program. Thankfully, it would be an incredibly huge administrative undertaking both for our state and for individuals. As you know, there's already a recertification process for most folks, that's every twelve months. For some folks, that's every 36. That's in particular for older adults or folks with disabilities living on fixed incomes. So we are not seeing what's happening in Medicaid, for example, with a six month reapplication requirement.

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: Wonderful. Glad to hear that. And Ken, I know SNAP is a supplemental nutrition assistance program based on the cost of food in Vermont, if someone has the full benefit about how much of their food budget would that cover? Again, obviously, it's an average. It's gonna be different from person

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: to person.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Depends on their income, isn't it?

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: It's such a good question, and it's a very complex question to answer, in broad brushstrokes because it is very dependent on the other resources that folks have. You know, how much is your rent or mortgage? Do you have medical expenses? Do you pay for childcare? And so often what we see is the first, you know, budget item to go is that grocery budget, which as you know is why ThreeSquares Vermont is so essential to supporting bolstering that budget. The average monthly household benefit for ThreeSquares Vermont is about $318 So absolutely, that does not cover the full cost of groceries for a month for many families. And yet, that is the full grocery benefit or the full grocery budget for a lot of families. So it is it is while essential, it is not reflective of the true cost of food for a month.

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: Thank you.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Senator Clarkson?

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Yeah. This is it. I don't know. What is the national budget for SNAP? What was it so that we can look at 50%?

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: That's a great question. I don't have that off the top of my head. I once did, but I will follow-up with you.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Yeah, think it'd be interesting for us to look at as we anticipate a 50% less?

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: Yeah. Are you you thinking about the, like, the total The total appropriation.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: What what is the SNAP appropriation nationally?

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Yeah.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: And it's done through the USDA, right?

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: Exactly.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: That's why it's in your company.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Correct.

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: Yeah, so, I mean, yes, right, Congress is appropriating the funds and then USDA is administering the program in partnership with states. I will definitely get back to you with that.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: That'd be great. Heidi. We appreciate Yeah. You so much. She bet. Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. Senator Vyhovsky.

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: Thank you. So Vermont has done a really job utilizing federal dollars for things like the Crop Crash program and really maximizing some of the ways in which we use these SNAP benefits. Are any of those programs at risk of losing funding or decreased funding, or are they safe for the moment?

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: I believe my colleague will be speaking to that program momentarily, so I will let the experts speak to that. Thank you so much.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Thanks again.

[Denise Walton (Community member; SIDS Pantry advocate, Concord)]: Thank you.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: I'm not sure who's driving the bus here, but who wants to go next? Gary?

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: I don't know that I have the order.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Well, have Autumn, then Ivy, Carrie, Stella, All Denise,

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: right, all right. I think we got it. All right, I'm

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: gonna shift gears a little bit for you.

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: Thank you.

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: You're Thank you, committee members. I'm Carrie Sailor. I work for Vermont Food Bank. And I am just so grateful to be here today with partners and neighbors and colleagues and friends to celebrate Three Squares Vermont. I think Ivy gave such an incredible update. I'm gonna just decide a little bit. But I do want the committee to understand, ThreeSquares Vermont is still our most efficient and effective anti hunger program. In spite of the changes that were made at the federal level, this is still the best way that we have to help people meet their needs in a dignified and choice based way. It it impacts our grocery retailers. It impacts our farms. You'll hear more of all of these pieces later, but I just wanna underscore that even though the federal government made some choices to change the way this program is administered, change to who is eligible for this program, it still gets two thumbs up.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Yes.

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: So I'm here today to talk to you a little bit about Vermont Food Bank, and I wanna really focus on what happened in November when the pause in SNAP benefits happened. And I wanna talk about that because this committee has jurisdiction over emergency management, and we've talked a lot in the past about floods and disasters and how those impact food access in our communities. And the state really made some important choices in November. They recognized that a gap in SNAP benefits for people would be disastrous, not only for community members receiving that benefit, but for the rest of the supplemental food system, but primarily the Vermont Food Bank Network and our partners. Because we do not have the capacity to replace that $12,000,000 a month with charitable food. And so I just commend the governor, the emergency board, and the legislature's foresight to have the money available for them to to provide $6,000,000 in benefits to people on November 1. Because it took seven days to get those benefits onto people's cards, the you all also appropriated $250,000 to Vermont Food Bank, and we passed that money through to our network partners across the state to go purchase food directly as quickly as possible. And I have one of our network partners here with me today, Stella from the Hargrove area food pantries, who's gonna sort of talk about what that really looked like. I think one of the pieces for this committee to understand is that from the perspective of the food bank and our partners, that process looked exactly like disaster response.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Looked exact was disaster response. Yes. Thank you. It it was.

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: And it was exactly the same process that we had to mobilize during the previous two summers with floods.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Mhmm. And

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: the difference in the way that that operate and the way that we normally operate is stark. So Vermont Food Bank and our partners are, by and large, generally utilizing excess within the food system. We're taking donated grocery foods. We're taking donated farm foods. We're taking donated food through food drives, and we're we're moving that food around the state. We do do we do purchase food, but Vermont Food Bank often purchases food in large quantities. It goes onto our shopping list. Partners order that on a monthly or biweekly basis. Right? We try and we try and create some capacity for planning and, like, logistics. Right? Because there's routes around the state that we're driving this food. We had forty eight hours to purchase food from whatever sources were available. I talked to partners who had to drive to New Hampshire, to the largest grocery store they could get to, in order to pack vans full of food to bring it back to their site and repack that for families, then deliver that to their Ford food shop locations. I talked to folks who were working with associated grocers who said, they don't really have any more food for us. Like, this is a this is a system problem because we are all trying to rapidly purchase food from the sources available. Vermont food banks shelves were emptied by our partners in that moment to utilize what we had available. It was it was, unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, not a plan for response. It was an urgent and emergent response. And I've been

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: in this committee before.

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: You were all very supportive last year when we asked for for funding for ready response in emergencies and disasters. We believe that having that funding available from the state of Vermont would have allowed us to have more capacity in a moment like that. We would like to work with our partners to plan ahead. These are not events that are one off. These are these types of events are clearly happening in a variety of different ways. And each time, they require us and our partners to stretch and strain an organic system that was not created to purchase and move large quantities of food in forty eight hours. And so if we were able to have funding through the regular budgeting process, do thoughtful planning with Vermont Emergency Management and our network partner organization to understand who has capacity to store emergency food, who has town partnerships in their communities with other organizations where they might have that capacity? Who has grocery store partnerships that they can maximize in these moments? We can create a collaborative and thoughtful process so that when these emergencies happen, we are prepared. We have a plan. We know what to do. It does not require organizations calling every volunteer that they've ever had to quickly come to a site and unload a truck. Senator Clarkson.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: So, Carrie, have you been in contact and started to, I assume you have, started to work with Erica Brand at public safety, public for emergency management?

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: Yeah, thank you for that question.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Because it just strikes me that we need to add, and you're probably getting to this and maybe I'm anticipating you, but it strikes me that we need a whole piece of resiliency in food planning too and food distribution, which is I'm sure is a piece of our plan, but not at the scale that you're talking about.

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: Yeah. So great. Thank you for that. There are two pieces to that answer. We have had a lot we've had several productive meetings with director Foran at Vermont Emergency Management. He's very supportive of this. He has shared with us that this is really not something that emergency management has the capacity for in in their current operations, and they're not necessarily funding to deliver the kind of food that we have or have the access points that we have across the state. And he, I think, would love to work with us more closely to create a better plan and better operational system around this. And it is actually in the Vermont emergency statute. You all passed a bill maybe three years ago that inserted food access into Vermont.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Maybe you did that. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you.

[Sen. Becca White (Member)]: Think that may have been Sandra

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: Vyhovsky.

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: Whether or not we've seen an increase in these emergent food needs over, say, the past five years, past decade.

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: Well, I can tell you that, yes, there have been three over the past five years. Yes. And for the prior decade, it was only hurricane Irene. So, you know, yes, certainly. And the fact that we've had them every year for the past three years, I think, is the reason that we are thinking about food access in a slightly different way. Vermont Food Bank has traditionally really thought about food access in an everyday emergency sense. Right? A job loss, a sick family member, you know, a a personal disaster. We have not always had to think about it in this community wide disaster sense, and that is not really how our system has been set up. But I I will just refer to Stella's future testimony that you'll hear about how that really differs from what happens every day and why we need funding to really support a thoughtful process and additional food resources. So, yeah, thank you for that question.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Very sweet. Yeah.

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: Yeah. Does that increase in that sort of community emergency response, how does that stress the everyday emergency response system?

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: If you don't mind, I will hold on that and let let Stella answer that question because she is in that world on a daily basis, and I am not necessarily I think you will get better examples and details from her. But what I can say is that both are con constantly required. And so the capacity is really there for those day to day and and then increases when these disasters happen, and there is not always the capacity for that. Right. I'm serious. Yes. Thank you. And you did ask about the just before I go, did ask about the ask, and you're asking for $1,000,000 for Ready Response. That's what you need to make sure we

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: can Yes. Ask if you

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: I did. I just skipped that beginning. I know. A little distracted.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: So It's a million dollars. It's a million dollars. Food resiliency planning.

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: Yes. As part of our full $5,000,000 request, 1,000,000 would go to that.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: And that is in what is in the budget? Did the $0

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: for ready response. There is no money for Vermont Food Bank in the f y twenty seven governors recommend.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: And is that the first time in a while?

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: No. Actually, the legislature has primarily end up the court act. Yes.

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: So wait. Can I just clarify that Sure?

[Sen. Becca White (Member)]: Real quick? So you had 4,950,000.00 for benefit assisters. You want an additional fund for a million dollars on top of that request or you're saying it's still Is there separate request?

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: Okay.

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: Yes. So in my written testimony, my request is very clear. And I didn't read it to you. Oh. And I apologize. I went brother.

[Sen. Becca White (Member)]: It's okay. I guess the reason I ask is because just to set expectations, as you know, we're not in the appropriations committee, but we do have our letter that we draft to the appropriations committee. I think if anything, it would be a request of whether or not we would include it in our letter. So I guess if we could get a simplified, because these are different than what you're if each person is a different one, maybe we could get one document with all of the Yes.

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: Think that's a great

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: idea and we would be happy to.

[Sen. Becca White (Member)]: I don't know when our letter comes out

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: or when we do that.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: We're starting here. BIA is gonna move across.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Yeah. I would ask if all of you send your testimony electronically. It is. I'm not on it. You're but I'm not. Do you want my paper copy? No. I will. I think I'm sure it would be great, but I it also needs to be set electronically with Leonard. Whatever. Whatever it is.

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: Yes. So just to clarify, the aspects that IV made are separate from Vermont Food Bank's request. We're requesting a total of $5,000,000. The piece that concerns this committee's jurisdiction is $1,000,000 for ready response or as senator Clark can refer to

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: as food resiliency funding. Okay. Thanks, Carrie. Stella James. Hi. Welcome.

[Denise Walton (Community member; SIDS Pantry advocate, Concord)]: Oh, thank you. Thanks for having me.

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: I'm Stella James. I live in West Danville. I'm the executive director for the Hardwick Area Food Pantries. We are three pantries located in Hardwick, Craspberry, and Albany. We serve four counties, Lemoyle, Caledonia, Orleans, you know, you're walking from there. I'm here to support the Vermont Food Bank's request for 5,000,000 for the total appropriations of the fiscal year of 2027, and this includes the 1,000,000 for ready response to the insured food access in disasters and emergencies. So, through a lot of the work that we do, we do deliveries through these four challenges for people who can't leave their homes for various reasons. We run sites where people come a few days a week to come and pick up food, and so we really are the eyes for our community. We see a lot of folks who are pretty exposed to lots of different disasters and emergencies, and day in and day out, our sites are protecting the people who are undergoing emergencies. A lot of them are personal emergencies, like job loss, death in the family, injury, illness, progressed aging in place. And so, are the things we're dealing with on a daily basis. When floods come, these personal emergencies aren't put on hold. They're really just compounded emergencies. And all of, hard work, all of our roads, inbound and outbound, are flooded. When this happens, it traps a small specialty grocer. It floods our only grocery store and the food pantry. We're just the ones above water. We learned this in both 2023 and 2024. When these floods receded, there were a lot of damaged roads and homes, but there was a lot more than that that really needed rebuilding. The snap freeze of last fall, much like the years of flooding, created unprecedented emergency for our operations. We braced for impact without any knowledge of what was coming, and we had forty eight hours to procure, receive, and store enough food for an emergency we've never seen. No one grows accustomed to the stress of survival, and my visitors were deeply concerned, and though the food bank in our community supported us, we could not continue to bridge the demand. Food disappeared from our shelves at alarming rates, and all of our usual problems never ceased, and it's too much to ask of private donors, of our donated food system, of our elderly volunteers. We really do need well laid plans. We need equipment, We need a backup generator. We need funds to purchase and store food for an emergency, because we are the disaster relief for our area. And we need additional funding for whatever next urgent emergency arises. Again, I'm here to support the 1,000,000 for Ready Response to ensure food access in disasters and emergencies, if anyone has any questions.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: So, regards to, what's your budget a year?

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: Our budget for all three of our sites is 392,000 for this year. But given that we're looking

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: at in kind donations, we're doing almost a million dollars. And what is the growth of your clients? What's your client growth? Customer growth, whatever you call it.

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: Since 2020, it's been 30%. A year? Increase. I think just since 2020, it's 30%. Our Albany and Crasberry areas, more of the rural places, have less fluctuation, whereas Hardwick, because it's a center for many counties

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: And has had more disastrous than almost anybody.

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: Right. Our, our, we definitely have higher increase at that site specifically. Thanks. Yeah, yeah, we a lot of

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: the same people. I guess that's the last question. Tell me, what's

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: your total number of hospitals you serve?

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Of the people Around that you

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: 1,000, the most. Yeah. Yeah, and we, you know, I've been working for them for years, and I see the changes stay in. Any

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: other questions? Does anybody else know? Okay, thank you very much, Philip. I have Denise Walton up next.

[Denise Walton (Community member; SIDS Pantry advocate, Concord)]: Good afternoon, Thank you for having me here. And I am Denise Walton, and I'm a community member in Concord, Vermont, Essex County. I'm also an advocate for our local food pantry, which is SIDS Pantry. It's housed in Concord Health Center. It's run by Northern Counties Healthcare. And SIDS Pantry serves approximately 60 families of all ages. It's a monthly pantry and we also do a veggie drop off, healthy lunches during the summer. Today I'm here to ask you to fully fund the Vermont Food Bank's request for the $5,000,000 for the fiscal year 2017. Dollars 2,000,000 for the Vermont Feeders, Vermonters grant program, 2,000,000 to support Vermont Food Bank Network food shelves and meal sites, and $1,000,000 for the Ready Response Food Access in Emergencies. In my community, we have a population of almost 30% or 65 and over. They live alone and they have limited families. We're very rural. We have no public transportation. We have no grocery stores. We have a small convenience store if we need to get groceries. We go to St. Johnsbury or New Hampshire. The current population of Concord is sixteen sixty nine people, that's 16.9% living at poverty level. It's a further community partnership that sits to be located at the health center. Food access is available during the hours, the open hours. We can make referrals to the pantry. The produce is always fresh. It comes directly from Vermont Food Bank. We also supplement it with the Vermont Feeders, Vermonters grant, which has been great. So we can offer the fresh local produce, helps the farmers, we can buy fresh local foods. And our community can get healthy fresh foods as well as supporting the farmers. That's important. Each month, shelves are well stocked by the food bank. They're ordered and paid for all the grants. And also our community is very generous. First of all, During the year they have a big food drive at the Concord School System. The health center offers a turkey on Thanksgiving morning for collecting canned goods and donations. And other groups will bake bread and put into the local holiday baskets, they bake 60 breads, things like that. This is all part of our community and many of Vermont communities within our state as we continue to implement projects of survival. And we are, as Vermonters, we are proud, we are humbled, and in our current status, we are in need. We ask that you please consider funding the Vermont, the Food Bank's budget for this year, the appropriation. And lastly, I'll talk quickly about the the ready response for floods, ice storms and emergencies. I myself experienced one of these emergencies on 11/01/2025. With the government shutdown, there were no SNAP benefits paid out to anyone. As an elderly disabled person, I qualify for SNAP benefits. With a tiny window of prior knowledge, we had a little window of knowledge and preparedness, I myself was able to make soups, grow sprouts, you know, I made new. And the store that day, when I went to the store, it was vacant. There was no one there. I had two items on my list I had to get that I could afford. And so the shelves were piled high with things that I could not have, that people could not have. Fresh veggies were wilting in the stores and the meat department bulged with its load. That feeling, then, that ignited me. That ignited me. It made me, I made do, I could make do, but could the families, the kids, the elders, and the veterans, our neighbors, could they make due? What if they couldn't? In response to this federal emergency, one week later, Vermont stepped up and helped its people so that we couldn't have, we wouldn't have to go without, people could have more of the crackers and tea, kids who go to bed with a nice full tummy. And I wanted to thank you all for the action that you took as legislators to ensure that those of us who needed the help most got the help. We showed folks that, like me that you also believe that poor folks don't have to deserve or need to suffer. We deserve to ask for and have choices of fresh, healthy foods and also safe, adequate programs to access these foods. I was recently surprised to learn that each month the Vermont Food Bank and our partners serve an estimated 70,000 people across Vermont with 14,000,000 pounds of food delivered. Two twenty two farms are supported by Vermont Food Bank and two seventeen network partners shared food with neighbors such as SIDS and other pantries. With a current population of 648,000 in our state, that number of estimated people that are utilizing food service access programs is continuously growing. So in closing, it's gratitude that I thank you today for having me here and I'd like you to please consider fully funding the FY27 for the health and well-being of the residents of our communities of Vermont. Thank you. Thank you.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Yeah, thanks Denise.

[Denise Walton (Community member; SIDS Pantry advocate, Concord)]: Any questions?

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: I have one. So you mentioned that you don't have any grocery stores there. How long a trip is at St. Jay to the West or over to Lime Street?

[Stella James (Executive Director, Hardwick Area Food Pantries)]: In St.

[Denise Walton (Community member; SIDS Pantry advocate, Concord)]: Jay it's a good half an hour down to St. Jay, right down Route 2. And then I'm on the outside of Concord, so I can access and go down to Littleton. That's So, you know, it's okay, but I may do. But what about people that are 65, 70, don't drive? You know, it's kind of like a lot of communities in Vermont. We're way out there, we're home.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Yeah, for sure.

[Denise Walton (Community member; SIDS Pantry advocate, Concord)]: So these programs really help and having safe places for people to access that, that's important as well.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Yeah, for sure. You may be the most rural.

[Denise Walton (Community member; SIDS Pantry advocate, Concord)]: What's that? I said,

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: You may be the most rural. Essex County. Yeah, Essex County. Love it.

[Denise Walton (Community member; SIDS Pantry advocate, Concord)]: Get that. And Maine is way up there too. I just recently found out about that.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: I thought you were talking about Essex County.

[Carrie Stahler (Vermont Foodbank)]: You were

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: talking about Essex Town?

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: No, Essex Town. Concord.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Concord is in Essex County?

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Yes, yes. No, isn't it? So you're right. I

[Sen. Becca White (Member)]: guess you get the award.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Thank you, Denise. Thank you. Okay, our final witness unless there are other people in the room that want to add is Joanna Doran from NOPA. And again, I happened to see both Carrie earlier today at seven A, so welcome in.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: That was their dress rehearsal. Yes, it's Well,

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: they both did a great job earlier, so.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Thank you. Thank

[Joanna Doran (Local Food Access Director, NOFA-VT)]: you so much for having me. Good to see you again. Thank you, committee members. My name is Joanna Doran. I live in Bunusky, and I'm the local food access director with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, or NOSH of Vermont. In addition to supporting the asks of the Vermont Food Bank, I'm here to ask for your support for $500,000 in ongoing funding to support the food security and farm viability programs of Crop Cash, Crop Cash Plus, and Farm Share. And I'm going to talk a little bit about how these programs were helpful in responding to the SNAP pause that was talked a little bit about before, when benefits were not distributed in November, and how state investment in these programs is really critical for ongoing food security. So at NOFA Vermont, we work to maximize the amount of SNAP benefits that flow directly to our local farmers and support their bottom lines. NOFA's food securities like Crop Cash, Crop Cash Plus, and Farm Share help extend the impact of SNAP by providing additional incentive for people to spend their benefits at farmers markets, farm stands, and CFAs. Vermont's food security depends on a viable agricultural sector, and these programs provide vital income for the people that grow the food that we all need and want. Some of you are really familiar with Crop Cash, you've heard this spiel, but I'm going to give just a quick rundown of what it is. For those who are not familiar, Crop Cash is a federal program that doubles three squares Vermont with SNAP benefits dollar for dollar for fruits and vegetables at farmers markets. We work with over 40 Vermont summer farmers markets and 20 winter farmers markets. So, when a customer uses their SNAP benefits at a farmers market, they can get additional coupons to spend on produce, fruits, vegetables. Thanks to the Vermont state appropriation in FY '26, we were able to bring back the Crop Cash Plus program, which enabled us to expand this program to eggs, meat, dairy, bread, all other staple foods in addition to produce, so that when people who received Three Spurs Vermont went to a farmer's market, they could spend $20 of their SNAP benefits, get an additional $20 of crop cash for produce, and then get additional dollars of crop cash plus to spend on other foods that they need. So this also meant that most agricultural vendors at farmers markets were able to get income from those programs. Senator Collamore heard a little bit this morning about some vendors at farmers markets that were getting, you know, somewhere around 20% of their income from those programs. So it's an incredible boost to the bottom line. I won't go into the details about restricted eligibility and SNAP benefits that were discussed a little bit before in HR1, but those impacts and the delay in the November SNAP benefits during the government shutdown had ripple effects, not only for folks using those programs, but also for our farmers who depend on that income. Farmers market managers reported that during those first couple weeks of November when their winter markets were just opening, they saw slower traffic, fewer customers, and customers that were navigating a lot of confusion about the changes, and whether or not they would have funds on their EBT card. So, we know that this kind of, you know, or stress adds on to existing economic challenges that folks are experiencing, both for, again, people using the benefits and farmers receiving that income. So, something I wanna highlight today is that at NOFA, we all respond to Senator Vyhovsky's question about PropCash funding, which is through the federal government primarily, or in part through the federal government. PropCash is a federal program that we get federal funding through a grant. We also have to get local match funding, which is where the state comes in and has made it possible to continue drawing down those federal funds. That is a grant based program, and so it's, you know, our grant for that program is coming to an end and we'll be applying for another round of funding for the next few years, but it's never 100% guaranteed, and the amount that the federal government has to fund that program is never enough for what every state in the country would want to invest in their own program, CrowdCash. So, to sort of answer that question, the Crop Cash program is not currently at risk this year, but we're operating with the understanding that we are getting grant funds, and grant funds are never guaranteed forever. This is one reason that state support is so important, that we have ongoing support through state funding to keep these programs going that have been around for about fifteen years. Another reason that state support has been so important is that with the Crop Cash Plus program, which operates outside of the federal program, it doesn't exist on a federal level, it only exists because the state decided to invest in it. We were able to help fill in the gaps during that two week period before Vermonters got their SNAP benefits in November. Crop cash has, you know, the federal limits of being able to, you can get Crop Cash only when you swipe your EBT card and spend SNAP dollars. So, when there is the pause, people who didn't have any benefits left on their card couldn't access Crop Cash. With Crop Cash Plus, because we had a little bit more flexibility, we were able to say, come to the market, even if you don't have funds on your card, you can still get Crop Cash Plus and be able to buy food at the market. This was a really important moment to support for Monters through that really uncertain period, and it provided an opportunity for us to say to folks that have lost eligibility for SNAP benefits, come to the market, get some crop cash plus to spend on food. So again, it was an incredibly important moment to show that when the state invests in food security, we can be more nimble on the ground and pivot when emergencies like that happen to make sure that people are getting

[Denise Walton (Community member; SIDS Pantry advocate, Concord)]: the food that they need.

[Joanna Doran (Local Food Access Director, NOFA-VT)]: So, once again, these programs, Crop Cash, Crop Cash Plus, and Farm Share, reflect our shared values in keeping people fed and supporting our farmers. Crop Cash Plus and Farm Share are critical baseline programs that we must continue, especially in light of federal uncertainty and changes. The state of Vermont has shown that it's a real leader in investing in vital food security programs, which have been pivotal during these many critical points that have been talked about. So please support Vermont's request for $5,000,000 and you'll fill Vermont's request for $500,000 in ongoing funds for crop cash, crop cash press, and farm share in the FY '27 budget. All integral components of ensuring the best possible outcomes for Vermonters and our partners. Thank you so much for holding me, and I will take any questions.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Senator

[Sen. Becca White (Member)]: Wyatt. Yeah, well, thank you. I appreciate everyone's presentations. My mom is on 3 Squares and she lives with us. So there was like a two week period where she's like, what are we doing? What's happening? And it was very scary and we were, I appreciated your comments about, like, how do you plan for it because we spent a lot of time thinking through, okay. Well, if you don't get them this day, well, let's buy some stuff now. Let's make some stuff, freeze it, and then we'll use that. You know, it was like a lot of, like, extra logistical planning that we just hadn't had to do before. And the only reason we were able to make it work in our household is because my husband and I both work. And so we were able to you know, like, we're able to moderate it as a collective group of three. If she had been on her own, I think it would have been a much different situation. And we love the Crop Cash, and we love Crop Cash Plus. We go to the Norwich Farmers Market, which is very outside of our price range on a regular day. So with the Crop Cash, it means that we get to go, and she gets to decide the things that she wants to buy. You know, it's very nice for that, like, independence as well. Mhmm. And then on top of that, with the Crop Cash Plus, we had I had been we had been buying those things separately and then kind of doing our own. But for her to be able to go and get the eggs, especially, was a really big improvement. So and I thought it in milk, there was something like maple syrup or milk could be included. I feel like she bought maple syrup and it was like, how did you do that? Yeah, is so Okay, that makes me feel better, because I was like, aren't you sure? But that's very verbatim.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: And again, just from my side of things, the fact that we're helping a farmer at the same time by buying from him or her is great. The fact is it costs more money if you, on a small basis, are growing and producing food than if you go to a giant chain because they're buying from who knows where. So it kinda has both positive effects.

[Sen. Becca White (Member)]: You're exactly right.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Senator Vyhovsky.

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: Yeah, absolutely. And I really appreciate that you made the point that it does in fact cost more to grow locally, but we know it's better for us, it's better for the environment. And part of why it costs more is because federally, a lot of investment is made in those large factory farms that is not made in our small local farms. So I love that as Vermonters, we're making those investments in what we care about, which is our small local farms and local food. My question is maybe for you, or maybe it's kind of a broader question, and you have sort of alluded or pointed to it, as did somebody else, the sort of return on investment. So we invest $1 into crop cash or we invest a dollar into the broader, you know, food system. What is the return that that is bringing to our economy?

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: It's a big one. It leverages a I lot of

[Joanna Doran (Local Food Access Director, NOFA-VT)]: think, so I think the number, I'm gonna look at the camera so that you see. Yeah, where you can see your I believe the

[Sen. Becca White (Member)]: number

[Joanna Doran (Local Food Access Director, NOFA-VT)]: investment with SNAP is for every dollar of SNAP that is spent, it brings back a dollar 60 in the local economy.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: That's where you're this point.

[Joanna Doran (Local Food Access Director, NOFA-VT)]: Yeah. I think there are probably a lot of other things that we can't quantify in that way, and I just want to name them because I work at NOFA, I know this is not the agricultural committees, but, you know, we say at NOFA when we get farming right, we get a lot of other things right. We heard earlier today some farmers testify about how important it is to be farming in a way that is stewarding our soil, and really making sure that we are taking care of our earth, so that future generations can have abundance in That is possible,

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: and it

[Joanna Doran (Local Food Access Director, NOFA-VT)]: takes, investment in our farmers who are stewarding our efforts like that.

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: I really appreciate that, and thank you for the sort of overall SNAP number. I know that historically, and this is probably still true, a lot of our farmers also relied on SNAP benefits because they were living in poverty. And does the do you know, and it may not be quantifiable, if investments in crop cash helps ease the poverty our farmers are living in?

[Joanna Doran (Local Food Access Director, NOFA-VT)]: That's a really good question. And we just heard in the House Agriculture Committee an hour or so ago testimony from a farmer who was talking about how he both receives SNAP benefits for his family and also receives that income at the farmer's market. And so he will, you know, be paid from his customers with crop cash or SNAP for his produce. And then he'll go get his crop cash and spend it with the meat vendors for things that he doesn't buy. And so it is, I don't have numbers of, you know, how many farmers that are participating in the Three Spurs for Mouth program, but it is definitely all working together to support folks and helping farmers to stay food secure as well.

[Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (Vice Chair)]: No, I appreciate that. And I would hope that as we invest in these programs, we're actually helping to lift our farmers out of poverty.

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: Yes, that is the goal. Thank

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: you, Joanna. Good to see you again. You've had a full day here, I guess.

[Joanna Doran (Local Food Access Director, NOFA-VT)]: Okay. Oh, it was great. And thank you for breakfast.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: Yeah.

[Denise Walton (Community member; SIDS Pantry advocate, Concord)]: Thank breakfast. You

[Sen. Alison Clarkson (Member)]: that was also a great wise, all of them teaming up to produce breakfast together. That was very smart. We're resource.

[Sen. Brian Collamore (Chair)]: We're gonna take a ten minute break, and, when we come back, we're gonna look at s one sixty four. And Thank you. Thank you all for your work.

[Ivy Enoch (Director of Policy & Advocacy, Hunger Free Vermont)]: You can keep some