A dozen truckloads of food for hungry residents in Vermont aren’t coming, now that federal funding is being cut.
The confirmation of these cuts to the Emergency Food Assistance Program was verified March 28, said Vermont Foodbank Government and Public Affairs Senior Manager Carrie Stahler.
“We got the final confirmation Friday night that a dozen federal truckloads of food were being canceled,” Stahler said.
Exactly 12 truckloads of food intended to serve residents across Vermont over the course of 2025 are now not expected to arrive – approximately 15 to 20% of goods provided by the federal government. About 80 Vermont community partners will be affected.
This was confirmed by Vermont Agency of Education Policy Communications Specialist Lindsey Hedges, who, in an email, said, “12 truckloads of food that were expected to be delivered to the Vermont Foodbank warehouses between March and August were cancelled in USDA’s ordering system on March 24 with no explanation.”
It comes in the midst of the Trump administration cutting $660 million in federal funds for Local Food for Schools across the country.
Creating uncertainty at food banks
Vermont Foodbank CEO John Sayles said there is a lot of uncertainty. The USDA has not released if more funds or facets will be affected, and the Vermont Education Department doesn’t seem to have a lot of information.
While Vermont is not alone in facing these cuts, local food banks and pantries say this is a detrimental time for this to be happening. Sayles said the need is exceeding the resources that were available even before these cuts were made.
Sayles said they have seen increased demand the past few years, and that with the increased price of groceries and housing, and now higher tariffs, more people need a reliable access to food.
“The administration is cutting a safety net,” Feeding Champlain Valley Director Rob Meehan said. “These cuts are not helping our country become stronger.”
Vermont food banks struggle with their own cuts
For Burlington-based Feeding Champlain Valley, different cuts came before the USDA trucks were cancelled.
Meehan said that the federal government cut a previously received grant of $30,000 that was intended to be used to purchase foods from local farms.
Now there will be less food for those who need it, as well as a local economic impact.
Vermont residents pride themselves on supporting mutually beneficial relationships with the state’s farms, an industry that Meehan said is “eroding,” and needs help to grow. The grant was going to pump money into those local farms and funnel back into the local economy. Meehan said while they will still try and have working relationships with Vermont farmers, this loss of money challenges that.
Meehan said that SNAP – Vermont’s federal food assistance program – is also threatened, again, the loss of which would hurt household and the local economy.
Contrastingly, TEFAP purchases food from large scale farms around the country. While that cut funding may have less of an impact on the local economy, it will impact local households.
Patrick Leahy Farm to School grant canceled
Additionally, the Patrick Leahy Farm to School grants were also canceled for 2025, along with the Local Foods for Schools and Child Care funding that was cancelled a few weeks ago.
The grants help child nutrition program operators incorporate local foods in the National School Lunch Program, the Summer Food Service Program the Child and Adult Care Food Program and all associated programs.
Though the grants for fiscal year 2025 had not been awarded yet, the cancellation removes almost $10 million that typically funnels into this program.
Sayles and Stahler said that while the uncertainty is creating a “real fear” for people, the Foodbank is in as good a place as they could be. They said they will continue working with Vermont Legislature and the congressional delegation, who have “been responsive,” along with their parent company Feeding America.
“Over the past 10 years we worked to diversify how we bring food into the system,” Stahler said. “While this one stream is being affected, we have people working in many other ways.”
Sydney P. Hakes is the Burlington city reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
发表回复