The Vermont Foodbank is asking lawmakers for $1.75 million a year to establish an emergency food distribution system for floods and other natural disasters.
John Sayles, CEO of the Vermont Foodbank, told lawmakers this week that major floods in 2023 and 2024 destroyed local food security infrastructure. He said his organization wants to be prepared to address local needs after natural disasters in the future.
鈥淪o the idea here would be that we would have food emergency boxes and operational capacity, capacity in our trucking,鈥� Sayles said. 鈥淲e鈥檇 have pallet slots available for food to come in. And all of that costs money.鈥�
Eric Forand, director of Vermont Emergency Management, said getting food to affected communities is one of the top priorities after a natural disaster. While the state partners with the federal government and local businesses and nonprofits on a 鈥渕ass food care鈥� program to address the need, he said the days immediately following an event are 鈥渁 bit of a gap鈥� in Vermont鈥檚 existing disaster response apparatus.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely something that we鈥檝e been trying to address,鈥� Forand said.
Forand said VEM has been in discussions with the Vermont Foodbank about playing a larger role in the disaster response system. And he said the organization is well-situated to fill the need.
鈥淭hey have capacity to store some food and water that can quickly be attained and then handed out to those who need it. They also have some capacity in their food delivery drivers 鈥� that can get the food out there. So they have some things that the state of Vermont doesn鈥檛 have,鈥� he said.
Democratic lawmakers say they need to gather more information before deciding whether to grant the Foodbank鈥檚 appropriations request.
Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.
