Solving Hunger Applauds Vermont Legislators for Feeding 84,000 Kids Permanently in Vermont Schools

Vermont's Governor allowed free school meals to all students to become law without signature

BURLINGTON, Vt., June 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vermont Governor Phil Scott on Wednesday allowed free school meals to become law without his signature, saying that a veto would likely be overridden because of overwhelmingly strong support in the legislature. Vermont is now the 6th state to decide to permanently feed all kids breakfast and lunch for free, every single day, joining California, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, and New Mexico. It goes into effect on July 1.

Tusk Philanthropies' Solving Hunger has partnered with Hunger Free Vermont in the past three legislative sessions and helped Vermont pass free school meals in 2022, which made breakfast and lunch free for all public school students for the 2022-2023 school year. This legislative session, Solving Hunger and Hunger Free Vermont, worked together to run a successful lobbying, communications and public relations and paid media services campaign to make that program permanent.

"Any day where 84,000 kids getting fed permanently in schools becomes law is a fantastic day," said Bradley Tusk, the founder of Tusk Philanthropies' Solving Hunger. "This has been a multi-year fight, and I'm grateful for our partners on the ground, Hunger Free Vermont, who have been in the trenches fighting this fight for kids for over a decade, and for our key legislative champions: Rep. Erin Brady, Rep. Esme Cole, and Sen. Brian Campion who brought this all the way to the finish line. No kid should have to go hungry. The end. That's now a reality in Vermont, and we'll continue this fight in other states going forward."

"This has been a decade in the making," said Anore Horton, the Executive Director of Hunger Free Vermont. "At long last, we can say no child in Vermont will have to learn what hunger feels like at school, and we never could have achieved this great victory without the thousands of people in Vermont who stepped up and made this cause their own – our many coalition partners and our committed funders who jumped in and took the risk to make permanent systemic change."

"Across all income levels, children are attuned to distinctions between themselves and other students – that's a basic tenet of child development, said Representative Erin Brady, the lead sponsor of H.165, a Democrat representing Williston and the Vice Chair of The House Education Committee. "When meals are not universally free for all students, the students who qualify often skip the meal to avoid any sense of labeling, particularly as they get older. School nutrition staff told legislators that they used to routinely see students in their schools who didn't access free/reduced-price meals because of the stigma felt by students and as a public high school teacher for 17 years, I certainly know this to be true. Students may come to school hungry for many, many reasons beyond economic need including family stress, parents working multiple jobs or high school students often starting very early in the morning. I'm so proud to see Vermont take this important step to make Universal Meals permanent."

"The implementation of permanent universal school meals will unlock unprecedented opportunities in relationships between local producers and schools," said Representative Esme Cole, H.165's co-sponsor, a Democrat representing Hartford and a first-term legislator on the House Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry Committee. "This program provides the level of predictability necessary for farmers to provide local foods at institutional scales. School food administrators will have greater bandwidth to invest time into nourishment rather than separating children based on family income status and chasing down payments for outstanding meal bills. Universal school meals is a four-tiered win for our schools, students, local producers, and the economy. This investment in both Vermont farms and students' health and well-being will have a noticeable impact for years to come."

"Stable, predictable school environments are essential to students' mental and physical well-being," said Senator Brian Campion, H.165's lead champion in the Senate, a Democrat representing Bennington and the Chair of The Senate Education Committee. "Universal school meals are part of this equation. Being hungry is unacceptable and puts up an unnecessary barrier to learning and social and emotional growth for Vermont students."

About Solving Hunger
Solving Hunger runs coordinated anti-hunger campaigns in cities and states to pass legislation that expands nutrition programs. For this upcoming year, Solving Hunger will provide resources and funding to four organizations focused solely on enacting political and policy changes to bring healthy school meals for all (also known as Universal Free Meals) to their communities.

About Hunger Free Vermont
Hunger Free Vermont is a statewide nonprofit organization that works with state agencies and community groups to develop sustainable hunger solutions. Since 1993 Hunger Free Vermont's outreach programs and advocacy have substantially enhanced Vermont's nutrition safety net and increased access to nutritious foods. To learn more about Hunger Free Vermont, visit www.hungerfreevt.org, and to learn more about the Universal School Meals Campaign, visit www.universalschoolmealsvt.org.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Tusk Philanthropies