Hunger Free Vermont Commends Governor Scott and Attorney General Charity Clark for standing up for Vermonter’s basic needs

We commend Governor Scott for directing his administration to work with Attorney General Charity Clark to join a multi-state lawsuit demanding that the federal government release unlawfully withheld SNAP funds. We applaud Attorney General Clark for acting swiftly to join 22 other states in challenging USDA’s inhumane and illegal withholding of these essential benefits.

This manufactured crisis created by USDA is causing very real harm and a legitimate crisis to 40 million people across the country, including 64,000 here in Vermont who have been living in uncertainty about whether they will have grocery money on November 1st. The federal government has a basic obligation to meet people's most basic needs and they are failing to do so.

USDA already has two-thirds of the money needed to fund November benefits through a contingency fund and has the legal authority to access additional funds to cover the rest. They are simply choosing not to. Vermont’s decision to join this lawsuit sends a clear message: federal inaction that threatens families’ ability to eat is unacceptable.