More than 5,000 Vermonters have lost SNAP benefits

Dear Reader,

Today, you can support two worthy causes with one donation. Make a year-end gift to VTDigger and you will also provide 10 meals to the Vermont Foodbank.

Last fall, when the government shutdown disrupted food assistance, I spoke with Vermonters flooding to the state’s food shelves, and watched leaders in Montpelier approve emergency funding to restore benefits.

Since then, provisions in the federal budget law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act have further tightened access to SNAP. The Vermont Foodbank says about 5,000 people in Vermont have lost their benefits since the changes took effect. 

VTDigger has worked this year to track the impacts of those federal changes, as well as following state-level shifts in food assistance and the struggles of local service providers.

Will you make a gift today to support reporting on these issues? Every gift during VTDigger’s year-end drive will also send 10 meals to the Vermont Foodbank.

The cost of food and other basic needs is rising while wages struggle to keep pace. I report on wealth, poverty and economic inequality in Vermont to show how those pressures — and the policies behind them — affect people’s lives. I’ll continue to follow these issues in the months ahead.

Reader support makes this reporting possible and keeps it free for everyone who relies on it. Thank you for giving us the resources to do this work.

Sincerely,

Theo Wells-Spackman

Wealth, Poverty & Inequality Reporter, VTDigger

The cost of the meals is generously underwritten by Market 32 and Price Chopper. Thanks to their sponsorship, 100% of your donation goes directly to VTDigger’s nonprofit journalism while also providing 10 meals for neighbors.

Read the story on VTDigger here: More than 5,000 Vermonters have lost SNAP benefits.