THERE'S MORE WE CAN DO TO FEED VERMONTERS.
1 in 8 Vermonters experiences hunger.
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About 66,500 of our neighbors rely on financial assistance just to eat—and federal funding is now at risk.
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The need is real.
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Time and money are generous gifts, but lasting change comes when our systems reflect the needs of our neighbors. Without your voice, policies may fall short of what Vermonters truly need.
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USE the right WORDS.
Keep the conversation on food when hunger is the issue. Farming and food are connected, yet distinct.
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VOTE with CARE.
Choose leaders who support policies that sustain farmers and nourish families.
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SPEAK UP with EMPATHY.
A heartfelt call or email can help decision-makers understand the daily importance of food.
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STAND alongside OTHERS.
Join schools, churches, service groups, and local coalitions working to bolster food security.
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LIFT the SHAME.
Hunger isn't a personal failure—it's a shared challenge we can face together.​​​​
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Keep scrolling to learn more about what we're up against, and why it matters.
FEED ME
TRUTH
Because accountability starts with facts.
The stories we tell about life in Vermont are comforting. We cling to them. We feel proud, sometimes even entitled, about those stories—even when they no longer reflect reality.
Vermonters have a shared responsibility to learn the full truth. It’s how we make better choices and take action that helps our communities.
We might believe that our agricultural state feeds itself.
But the truth is: we don’t.
86% of the food we eat comes from outside of Vermont.
Much of that depends on long, fragile supply chains. That reality is often overlooked, even by those shaping policies that affect food access and production.
When decisions are made on outdated beliefs, the results ripple through the system; farmers are left unsupported, families slip through the cracks, and communities stretch to fill the gaps.
Food insecurity is—or will soon be—a fact of life for many Vermonters:
In working households, including the homes of farmers.
In towns surrounded by farmland, but cut off from local food.
In families who don’t ask for help, even when they need it.
Truth grounds our decisions in what’s real, and helps us rebuild systems that actually serve us.
FEED ME
JUSTICE
Because the decisions of some affect us all.
Food justice means everyone can access food that is healthy, familiar, and possible to prepare wherever they need to eat it.
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It also means addressing the policies that define how food is grown, processed, and shared, with care for everyone involved. Farm workers, no matter where they come from, deserve to work with safety and dignity.
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In Vermont, local decisions can restrict what farms are allowed to do. These limitations contribute to a food system where many farmers earn less than it takes to meet basic needs.
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The average Vermont farmer earns just $25,000 a year;
54% earn less than $10,000 annually.
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This reality affects what shows up at the store, what families can afford, how much local food is available, and whether the people producing it can keep going.​
Policy choices in the food system should be designed thoughtfully—grounded in real conditions—with a focus on fairness from grower to consumer.
FEED ME
HOPE
Because there's momentum in showing up.
Hope is something we build and maintain.
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It’s the habits that hold communities together: the neighbor who drops off soup, the volunteer who packs bags, the farmer who keeps planting after a hard year.
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We find hope when we actively seek it. Sometimes it’s in the harvest; sometimes it’s in the effort.
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In Vermont, more than a third of residents regularly volunteer their time.
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That spirit keeps communities close. It’s a big part of how we live here.
Once hope takes root, it grows in motion:
In food that’s passed hand to hand.
In stories told across a shared table.
In the willingness to try again after we fall short.
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Persistent, and rooted in what we do next, hope keeps us moving when things don’t go as planned.