Right now, 2 in 5 people in Vermont are experiencing hunger.
Why is there hunger in Vermont?
The simple answer is that people don’t have enough money to cover their most basic needs.
The more complex answer is that hunger is caused by systems and structures that go back a long time in history.
Hunger is caused by policy decisions. Some of the policy decisions that lead to high levels of hunger were made a long time ago, and some continue to be made by our current federal, state, and town governments. (Not acting to change long-standing policies that cause hunger is another kind of policy decision that we and our elected representatives often make.)
Many of these policy decisions were–and continue to be–justified by biases and unchecked assumptions;
About different groups of people (Indigenous people, Black people, immigrants, women, older people, people who don’t conform with gender norms, etc.);
About who is deserving of resources and who is not (children but not adults, workers but not family caregivers, single mothers but not single fathers, etc.);
About human nature (for example, believing that people are fundamentally lazy and must be forced to work by the threat of starvation versus believing that people fundamentally want to contribute to their community, but are sidelined from doing so when they lack the basic needs that enable them to thrive);
About how the economy works (for example, “Raising taxes on the wealthy will cause them to leave Vermont and stifle new business development,” versus “Raising taxes and using the money to meet basic needs will make people want to stay and grow Vermont’s economy.”)
These underlying causes of hunger remain unresolved and unaddressed, and many are only worsening, including:
White supremacy and race-based inequities
Lack of affordable housing
Lack of affordable childcare
Shortage of jobs that pay a livable wage
Increases in the cost of food, heat, and other basic needs
Rising healthcare costs
Decrease in the number of local, affordable grocery stores
Lack of public transportation
Stigma associated with using safety net programs
BIPOC: 10.4x
as likely to face hunger.
Women: 7.3x
as likely to face hunger.
as likely to face hunger.
Households experiencing job disruption: 4.3x
as likely to face hunger.
Hunger exists in every community in America, and in Vermont. It’s not always visible, but thousands of people in Vermont struggle to afford enough food for themselves and their families every day. This struggle is not new. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 10 people in Vermont faced hunger. The pandemic has put significant pressure on households across the country; nearly half of American adults have experienced economic hardship during this time. Hunger and economic hardship go hand-in-hand, and in Vermont, 1 in 3 of us have faced hunger at some point during the last two + years.
“Even when you’re facing a financial setback, you still have to eat. What you see a lot is people having to choose: Do you pay your light bill or put food on the table?”
— Rachel Gundrum, South Burlington resident
What do we mean when we say hunger?
There are a variety of academic and non-academic terms used to describe hunger, including food insecurity, food insufficiency, and others. We use the term hunger - because we find that it most accurately describes the wide range of experiences individuals face when they aren’t able to get enough food or they aren’t able to get enough of the foods they want to eat due to financial and structural barriers.
There is no one single description of what hunger really looks like. We all experience hunger in different ways.
For some, hunger may come and go seasonally as work ebbs and flows. For others, it may be a constant worry, especially at the end of the month after 3SquaresVT benefits have run out. Or, it might be a short-term experience due to a job loss or emergency expense. For many, hunger is something we face even though we are working - many jobs don’t pay enough to cover all of our monthly expenses but put us above the income limits for programs that can help, like 3SquaresVT and free school meals.
It sometimes means skipping more expensive foods like fresh fruits and vegetables and meat in favor of less nutritious, but less expensive, foods. Or, it’s going grocery shopping once per month when 3SquaresVT benefits are renewed and then relying on a food shelf for the rest of the month. For others still, it is making the impossible choice between paying your heating bill or buying more food when your fridge and cupboards are bare.
No matter what hunger looks like when we are struggling to put food on the table, it brings stress and worry. It can feel shameful and isolating. But, it’s something most of us face at some point during our lives, and - we can end it for everyone in Vermont.