The Vermont Emergency Board's approved plan will reportedly fund the first 15 days of November SNAP/3SquaresVT benefits.

Officials agreed to provide food benefits for low income residents for two weeks as shutdown drags on, and may extend that further.

It's our obligation at this point as states to do what we can for the people we serve,” Gov. Phil Scott said after the meeting. “This is a basic benefit that many, many Vermonters rely on.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees SNAP, said there will not be enough funding to give enrolled Americans their food benefits next month. More than 64,000 Vermont residents will not receive their SNAP funds in November (referred to as 3SquaresVT within the state).

Food shelves in Rutland have been busy. Aubrey Bridge, executive director of the Rutland Community Cupboard said the people coming in for food have already been on the rise since she started there. She explained that in 2022 the shelf roughly saw about 420 visits a month.

The president has created a new crisis,” Attorney General Charity Clark said Tuesday. “The best case scenario is that (he) comes to his senses … and does what Congress asked him to do.”

AG Clark says that “Denying SNAP funding for millions of Americans, when Congress created a contingency plan to ensure no American goes hungry is illegal and it is cruel."

While Vermont will use emergency funds to extend SNAP temporarily in November, migrant and food advocates are raising other concerns about the federal program. On Thursday, they testified before the House Committee on Human Services with a discussion focusing mostly on SNAP changes that are now law in President Donald Trump's "big,