Vermont Farm Bill Coalition needs your signature to help protect federal nutrition programs
April 5th, 2018 – This year, the Farm Bill – legislation that touches nearly every way we provide food to communities in this country – is up for reauthorization by Congress. The Farm Bill represents an opportunity to strengthen and improve key federal nutrition programs – such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) – which are critical to the health and well-being of families struggling with hunger.
While the Vermont Foodbank and our network of partner food shelves, meal sites, senior centers, and after school programs work tirelessly to provide emergency food assistance to families struggling to put meals on the table, the problem is simply too big to fix without government programs like these that are proven to lift people out of hunger.
To advocate for a Farm Bill that will make a positive difference for our neighbors facing hunger, the Vermont Foodbank has been working with the Vermont Farm Bill Nutrition Coalition – a group anti-hunger and food security advocates, agriculture organizations, and community service providers – to put together a set of recommendations detailing what we believe is needed for a strong Farm Bill. For the previous Farm Bill in 2014, we gathered over 1,000 signatures in support of these recommendations, and are hoping to top that this year.
We invite all individuals and organizations to show their support by signing on to these recommendations and by sharing them far and wide.
The way we treat hungry families shows who we are as a nation. No one should ever be forced to choose between feeding their family and paying their heating bill. Vermonters pull together to help our neighbors when they’re in need. Thank you for joining us and standing with families struggling with hunger.
The 2026 Legislative Session, and second and final year of the 2025-2026 biennium, came to a close last Friday, May 29. There were a lot of ups, some downs, and many bills passed just before the deadline. We saw an increased awareness of food security, with some surprising champions stepping forward!
Food insecurity is a solvable problem. While the bulk of the Foodbank’s work is distributing nourishing food every day, the team is also working at addressing hunger by advocating for policies that can ultimately end hunger.
It has been a busy few weeks in Montpelier and we've now crossed the mid-point of the Vermont state legislative session, called “crossover” under the golden dome in Montpelier.
