Bill Coleman
Progressive Candidate for Vermont House of Representatives in the Caledonia-3 District
What do you believe is the role of state government, if any, in ensuring that everyone living in Vermont has the food they need to thrive?
No one should be left without food. As a long time Meals on Wheels driver I have often seen the faces of hungry people waiting for me to arrive with their hot meals. Hunger gets very real for those of us who have experienced it! I have been hungry to the point where waiting for food was the only thing on my mind. As a state we must step up efforts to get meals to people and to teach healthy cooking to those who are interested and capable of expanding their efforts to nourish themselves. Collaboration between local farmers and meal sites is critically needed. But so are buy ins by groceries and restaurants that end up with unsold surplus food. Those unable to cook meals need to be asked qualitatively questions about their needs by skilled intake professionals.
What would be your policy priorities to move Vermont toward food security for all?
Universal school meals is a great place to start. No one should be ashamed at not having money for lunch. In this economy our federal government has become very cold, loudly putting forth an attitude that this country is a meritocracy and those who are hungry are probably lazy and their families need to take care of them!
What do you believe are the root causes of hunger, and what should the state do to address those underlying factors?
Economic inequality is the primary root cause of hunger in Vermont and beyond. Also capitalism does not allow for s safety net and increasingly people fall through the net due to poor contact with caring professionals including aversions to people regarded as authorities due to paranoia. Addiction is also closely tied to an inability to value proper nutrition. Children of persons addicted to drugs grow up very often with insufficient access to healthy meals or foods sometimes complicated further by parental neglect.
How would you help strengthen the state’s agriculture and food economy to ensure Vermont farms can continue to grow the food we all need?
My thinking as far as solutions to so many problems including challenges faced by farmers is to build up the state treasury enough to support increased support for local diversified food production. We have leaders in Vermont who openly discuss how fearful they are about taxing the very wealthy more substantially.