Esther Charlestin

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?

Yes. State government has a clear and active role. No Vermonter should wonder where their next meal comes from, and the state has the reach and responsibility to make sure they don’t have to. As a former middle school dean and a mom of two, I have seen what hunger does to a child’s ability to learn and feel safe. Food access is not charity. It is infrastructure.Vermont already leads. Universal School Meals means every student eats, with no forms and no stigma. 3SquaresVT, Reach Up, and Summer EBT keep families fed year round. My job is to support funding what works, remove the barriers that keep eligible families from enrolling, and make sure uncertainty in Washington never becomes hunger at a Vermont kitchen table. Ending childhood hunger by 2035 is within reach, and I want to help finish that work.

What would be your policy priorities to move Vermont toward food security for all?

Food security has two halves. Feeding people now, and building a food system that can feed us long term. My priorities cover both. First, protect and fully fund Universal School Meals. It works, and it should never land back on the chopping block. Second, close the 3SquaresVT enrollment gap. Thousands of eligible Vermonters miss benefits they qualify for. I would simplify enrollment and fund real outreach. Third, strengthen the safety net. Raise Reach Up for the lowest-income parents, make Summer EBT permanent, and fund early-childhood meals through Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).Fourth, treat the food system as economic policy. Expand Farm to School and local purchasing so nutrition dollars stay on Vermont farms.

What do you believe are the root causes of hunger, and what should the state do to address those underlying factors?

Hunger is a symptom. The root cause is that too many Vermonters cannot afford the basics on the wages they earn. Food is elastic in a family budget in a way rent and heat are not. You cannot negotiate your mortgage down in a hard month, so the grocery list shrinks first. When housing, childcare, healthcare, and fuel all climb faster than pay, food becomes the shock absorber. That is why hunger shows up in working households. So the state cannot treat hunger in isolation. We end it by making everyday life affordable. Build the housing we are short on. Invest in childcare so parents can work. Hold down healthcare and energy costs. Raise Reach Up and a minimum wage that tracks what life here actually costs. Food programs keep people fed today. Affordability is what ends hunger for good. 

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?

Vermont farmers do more than grow food. They keep our landscape open, anchor rural communities, and hold up a local economy. When a farm goes under, we lose all of it at once. The state has every reason to help them stay. The pressures are real and include swinging prices, rising land costs, and too few workers. Here is how I would help. First, keep farmland affordable and in farming. Protect Current Use and back the conservation tools that let the next generation buy in. Second, build stable markets close to home. Expand Farm to School and local purchasing by schools, hospitals, and state agencies so nutrition dollars stay in Vermont. Third, invest in infrastructure. Fund the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative and the processing, storage, and food hubs that let farmers keep more of every dollar. Fourth, address labor. That means workforce housing and standing with our farmworkers.