When the federal government shuts down, the consequences ripple into every corner of daily life. For Vermont families who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known as 3SquaresVT in our state), the stakes aren’t political, they are personal. It’s whether a child eats dinner tonight.
That’s why we applaud members of the Vermont Emergency Board for approving $6.3 million in state funds to cover 15 days of 3SquaresVT benefits in the absence of federal funding and $250,000 in supplemental funding to provide food at food shelves across the state until these critical state-funded benefits reach participants. This decision reflects Vermont’s values: that every one of us, including the 19,000 Vermont children who rely on 3SquaresVT (according to the Vermont Department for Children and Families’ Data Team, Sept. 2025), deserves the security of knowing there will be enough to eat.
But this is a stopgap. When those 15 days are up, uncertainty returns and is dangerous and deeply destabilizing. The Emergency Board is set to reconvene on November 13 to decide whether to extend state support if the shutdown persists. Until then, families are left wondering what happens next, and that uncertainty is its own form of harm.
Research shows that food insecurity is linked to toxic stress in children, which can have lasting effects on health, learning, and development. For families already stretched to the limit, this moment adds another layer of trauma.
Around one in 10 Vermonters rely on 3SquaresVT. It is the foundation of our state’s food security system, designed to ensure consistent, dignified access to nutritious food. Food shelves and charitable networks play a vital role, but they cannot replace a federal benefit program that delivers more than $12 million each month to Vermont households. When 3SquaresVT is disrupted, the entire emergency food system is strained, and so is our local economy.
This lapse in benefits comes directly after SNAP has faced some of the largest rollbacks in the program’s history. These cuts make it harder for states to run the program, reducing or removing benefits for some of the families who need them most. And on top of that, the USDA is ending one of the most important tools for tracking hunger in the U.S., the Household Food Security report.
Just last week, Vermont reaffirmed its commitment to addressing these very issues through the approval of Vermont’s Early Childhood Strategic Plan 2030. The plan’s first goal, “All Children and Families Have Their Basic Needs Met,” recognizes that meeting children’s basic needs, including food, is fundamental to their well-being and development. It calls for maintaining and promoting programs like 3SquaresVT and WIC, and for expanding equitable access to nutritious, culturally meaningful food in every community and early childhood setting.
Vermont has already declared that food security is essential to thriving children; now we must act in alignment with that vision.
Vermont’s swift action sets an example for the nation, but it also underscores how fragile our safety net has become. A patchwork of emergency measures cannot replace long-term planning. If the shutdown continues, Vermont must prepare to protect families beyond the next two weeks and ensure that no child faces hunger because of political gridlock in Washington.
As leaders dedicated to child well-being, hunger relief, and family support, we share a common goal: that every Vermont child grows up with their basic needs met. Food on the table is the first step toward healthy kids, strong communities, and a thriving Vermont.
Vermont has shown heart and leadership in this moment. Now we must show resolve. The state must be ready to extend its support, strengthen its contingency plans, and continue to center children and the adults that care for them in every decision we make about food security and basic needs.
Because no child in Vermont should ever go to bed hungry—not for a night, not for two weeks, and not because of a government shutdown.
