Thomas Chittenden

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?

The state government plays a systemic role in ensuring everyone in Vermont has access to the food they need to thrive. Food is the foundation for community health, education, and economic stability. Beyond aid, government must invest in Vermont’s agricultural infrastructure to connect local farmers directly with food hubs and low-income communities. Because food insecurity is a symptom of broader economic disparities, the state has a responsibility to address root causes by enacting policies that target poverty, affordable housing, and fair wages. By taking a proactive approach, state government transforms food access from a private struggle into a reliable, public infrastructure that allows all Vermonters to reach their full potential.

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

Achieving full food security in Vermont means treating nutrition as critical infrastructure, balancing immediate household relief with a highly resilient local agricultural sector. A natural starting point is protecting the safety nets that keep families stable by expanding local matching initiatives like Crop Cash and Farm Share. By making it affordable for Vermonters to buy fresh, local food, we simultaneously put nutritious food on dinner tables and keep dollars flowing directly to our local producers.

At the same time, we have to strengthen our regional supply chain so we aren't completely dependent on vulnerable out-of-state systems. We can do this by fully capitalizing the Vermonters Feeding Vermonters program, which allows the Vermont Foodbank to buy directly from local farms. This provides stable income for our growers while stocking food shelves with high-quality, local produce and dairy. Finally, because our farmers are on the front lines of unpredictable weather and intense flooding, we must commit reliable funding to the Farm and Forestry Operations Security Special Fund. Ensuring our diversified farms have swift emergency relief when federal programs fall short protects our long-term food supply and keeps our working lands viable for generations to come.

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

Hunger is rarely a problem of food scarcity; it is a problem of affordability and competing pressures. When the cost of keeping a roof over your head or paying for essential healthcare spikes, the grocery budget is almost always the first thing families are forced to cut because it feels like the only flexible line item. The root cause of hunger is a systemic gap between stagnant wages and the skyrocketing cost of living, exacerbated by a critical shortage of affordable housing and a lack of accessible public transportation in our rural communities. When individuals are forced to channel the majority of their income into survival costs, nutrition naturally takes a back seat.

To address these underlying factors, the state must treat poverty alleviation as the primary vehicle for ending hunger. This means aggressively supporting the construction of housing to lower rent and mortgage burdens across the state. We also need to focus on lowering household overhead by expanding access to affordable childcare and strengthening public transit options so working Vermonters aren't trapped by high fuel and car maintenance costs. By building a stronger economic foundation—where healthcare, housing, and living wages are within reach—we can ensure that no one is forced to sacrifice their next meal just to keep the lights on.

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?

Strengthening Vermont’s agricultural economy requires a shift from viewing farming as a legacy industry to protecting it as an essential, climate-threatened pillar of our infrastructure. To address skyrocketing land costs that lock out the next generation of growers, the state must aggressively support community engagement and funding models for affordable farmland access. When it comes to labor shortages, we have to make farming a viable, sustainable career choice in Vermont. Since many small-scale farmers and farmworkers rely heavily on the individual marketplace for health insurance, a critical state priority must be expanding access to affordable healthcare to prevent medical costs from driving families off the land. We also need to cut down on the costly regulatory burdens that restrict how farms operate. Fully supporting the recent expansion of Act 250 exemptions for accessory on-farm businesses allows growers to diversify their revenue through farm stays, educational events, and on-site processing without facing expensive permitting hurdles. Finally, protecting our food supply means helping our producers survive volatile markets and unpredictable weather. Following the severe climate challenges our agricultural community has faced, we must reliably fund state initiatives like the Farm and Forestry Operations Security Special Fund. Providing swift emergency relief when federal disaster programs fall short ensures our farms can weather the financial shocks of flooding or drought, keeping our working landscape productive and our local food economy secure for the long haul. The Vermont Climate Action Plan overview details how the state is working to build long-term economic and environmental resilience into its natural resource and agricultural sectors.