John Stroup

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?

Food security is a justice issue. No child should be hungry at school, no one should choose between heating your home and essential groceries. Policy choices alleviate these and other food needs.

The state has both a moral obligation and a practical interest in ensuring every Vermonter has enough to eat. Practically that means protecting and expanding 3SquaresVT, supporting local food shelves and food banks, investing in Vermont's agricultural economy so that locally grown food is accessible and affordable, and connecting food security to housing, healthcare, and living wage work.

Vermont grows extraordinary and healthy food. We can connect all Vermonters to it especially children and seniors.

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

Food security does require a connected system of investments. My priorities: protect and expand Universal School Meals without means-testing or cuts. Strengthen Crop Cash, Farm Share, and Vermonters Feeding Vermonters because they connect Vermont's extraordinary agricultural capacity to the Vermonters who need it most while supporting farmers simultaneously. Protect 3SquaresVT and fight federal SNAP cuts aggressively. Vermont must backfill where Washington retreats.

And address the underlying drivers such as unaffordable housing, inadequate wages, inaccessible healthcare.

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

The root causes are often structural such as wages that haven't kept pace with inflation, housing costs that consume incomes before basic needs are met especially in the rental market, healthcare bills that devastate family budgets, and transportation barriers that isolate rural Vermonters from services and employment.

The state's response has to match the scale of those causes living wages, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, reliable rural transit, and robust income support when needed. It's a small addition to this crucial list but I think energy efficiency helps too. Often families who are economically vulnerable live in drafting expensive homes and rentals. Reducing energy costs increases disposable income.

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 farming is our identity, our landscape, and our food security.

I will focus on the "to" part of the Farm to Table system. One of the most promising opportunities I've seen is the growth of local meat processing capacity in which facilities that allow livestock farmers to get their animals processed locally, sell directly, and capture more of the value of what they produce. Vermont has been investing in this through Working Lands grants and the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program. I want to expand that investment.