Dear Editor,
As a longtime anti-hunger advocate, a former SNAP recipient, and a proud Vermonter, I am deeply alarmed by proposals moving through Congress that would gut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known here in Vermont as 3SquaresVT. If passed, these cuts would devastate thousands of families across the Green Mountain State that rely on this vital program to put food on the table.
In May, the House narrowly passed a budget bill that would slash more than $1 trillion from programs like SNAP and Medicaid, essential lifelines for people in need. Meanwhile, the same bill offers massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and corporations. Now, the Senate is taking up this bill, and the future of food assistance hangs in the balance.
Here in Vermont, SNAP supports 66,500 residents—1 in 10 of us. More than half of those served are children, and over 53% are in families that include older adults or people with disabilities. Nearly a third are working families doing their best to make ends meet. These are our neighbors, friends, and coworkers.
This is personal—for all of us.
Having spent nearly two decades advocating for anti-hunger policy at food banks in New York City and San Francisco, I’ve seen firsthand the consequences when federal food programs like SNAP are undermined. Local food shelves play a critical role, but they were never intended—and simply aren’t equipped—to fill the gap left by insufficient government support. SNAP is efficient, targeted, and responsive. It lets people buy the food they need with dignity, and it strengthens our economy. In fact, every $1 in SNAP generates about $1.50 in local economic activity, supporting more than 700 local Vermont grocers, farmers, and retailers.
Cuts like these take food off shelves and they break a social contract, our promise to care for each other, especially in hard times.
Thankfully, Vermont is represented by two of the most steadfast champions of this program: Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Peter Welch. I want to thank them for their leadership and urge them to continue fighting for 3SquaresVT and for every Vermonter who relies on it. We need their voices, now more than ever.
We need to help our friends and family in other states urge their senators to follow Vermont’s lead and oppose these harmful cuts. Call your friends and family, whether they’re across the country or just over the border in Maine, and urge them to contact their senators and demand a “no” vote on these devastating cuts to SNAP and Medicaid.
As a parent, I’m grateful to be raising my kids in a state where food, compassion, and a deep sense that we are responsible for one another are all abundant. It’s on all of us to defend the programs that make these values real for our families and communities.
Congress has a deadline of July 4 to finalize this bill. There is still time to stop these harmful cuts, and we must.
Cuts to SNAP threaten not only our neighbors’ dinner tables, but the heart of what it means to be a Vermonter. Let’s stand up for one another—and demand that Congress do the same.
Meg Davidson, Jericho
