Matt Gile
Progressive/Democratic Candidate for Vermont House of Representatives in the Chittenden-21 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?
It is a fundamental responsibility of our government to ensure everyone has the food they need to thrive. When the federal government cuts benefits, our state must fill those gaps.
What would be your policy priorities to move Vermont toward food security for all?
Universal school meals has been vital to meeting the needs of our students at the school district I live and work in, Winooski. But that support only exists during the school day, and doesn’t extend after school, over weekends, or on school breaks. Our district helps fills some of those gaps with our Necessities Store (which provides non-perishable food, as well as weather appropriate clothing at no cost) and by hosting a weekly VeggieVanGo program from the VT Foodbank for our students and community. We can expand programs like VeggieVanGo to ensure food access across the state, and could use state funding to implement Winooski’s Necessities Store model in other school districts.
What do you believe are the root causes of hunger, and what should the state do to address those underlying factors?
Affordability and access. The cost of food is outpacing increases in wages, many communities don’t have grocery stores and without a robust public transit system in our state folks without a car or who are unable to drive face huge barriers just getting to a store. If we address our housing crisis with public investment in transit oriented mixed use development we will also address many of the barriers to food access. The priority of my campaign is taxing the rich to fund Vermont, so we can address the interlocking housing, affordability, and healthcare crises in our state.
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?
NOFA’s Farm Security Fund is a policy that would mitigate the uncertainty from our increasingly erratic weather caused by climate change, and is a policy I would fully support in office. I believe our farm workers deserve dignified working conditions, and would look for ways our state could pressure more producers and retailers to join Migrant Justice’s Milk with Dignity program.