Bram Kleppner
Democratic Candidate for Vermont House of Representatives in the Chittenden-13 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?
In a state as wealthy as ours, with our rich agriculture, no one should ever go hungry. Keeping everyone fed requires multiple approaches -- food shelves, farm-to-shopping bag programs, shoring up 3SquaresVT to replace federal cuts, free school breakfasts and lunches year-round, with as much local content as possible, and more.
What would be your policy priorities to move Vermont toward food security for all?
Ensuring Universal School Meals area available year-round, and expanding programs that get food from local farms onto the tables of local people.
What do you believe are the root causes of hunger, and what should the state do to address those underlying factors?
The costs of housing, including utility bills, and the cost of health care, the cost of transportation (especially gasoline), are all forcing Vermonters to skimp on groceries. We passed bills this session to make it easier to build clean energy to bring down energy costs (which the Governor vetoed), we passed reference-based pricing to bring down the cost of health care (which the Governor vetoed), and we continue to build on the CHIPS program and C-PACE programs to lower the cost of housing. We'll keep at it!
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?
Tricky -- we want food to be cheap, and we want farmers get paid well. I don't know how to achieve both in a way that is sustainable for the farmers, for the consumers, for the food supply chain, and for the tax payers. Again, we'll keep working on it.