{"id":15425,"date":"2026-05-10T17:49:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T17:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/10\/food-assistance-battle-sen-welchs-visit-to-hope-valley-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T17:49:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T17:49:38","slug":"food-assistance-battle-sen-welchs-visit-to-hope-valley-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/05\/10\/food-assistance-battle-sen-welchs-visit-to-hope-valley-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Food assistance battle: Sen. Welch's visit to HOPE – Valley News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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MIDDLEBURY \u2014 In a visit to Addison County\u2019s largest food shelf Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., emphasized the importance of what he called a \u201cbattle\u201d over food assistance in Washington, D.C.
\u201cTraditionally, we\u2019ve had bipartisan support for nutrition programs, and that\u2019s fractured,\u201d Welch told reporters after a tour of Helping Overcome Poverty\u2019s Effects, or HOPE. \u201cDemocrats have made it very clear that we will oppose further cuts in nutrition because it could make the work of this food shelf even more difficult.\u201d
The Republican-led federal budget law that passed last July has tightened restrictions for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the nation\u2019s largest source of food aid. New work requirements for the program took effect in March, affecting thousands of Vermonters, and many legally present noncitizens lost access to the program last fall under new eligibility rules.
Welch said that as federal cuts to benefit programs meet rising prices \u2014 partly as a result, he said, of President Donald Trump\u2019s tariff policies and the war with Iran \u2014 more Vermonters will struggle to meet their basic needs. And the Pentagon\u2019s demands for increased military spending to support the war effort show an imbalance of priorities, he added.
\u201cThis is all about the affordability crisis,\u201d Welch said. \u201cIf you\u2019re working hard, you should be able to pay your bills.\u201d
Jeanne Montross, the executive director of HOPE, said that price increases anywhere are felt acutely by the people her organization serves.
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\u201cEverybody decides where to put their limited money, whether they pay the rent or they make a car payment or they fill up their gas tank or they buy sufficient groceries,\u201d she said. \u201cWe try to be here to fill in whatever gaps that people have got.\u201d
Traffic has ticked up about 15% since late winter, Montross said, with the food shelf currently serving about 1,000 people per month.
Kerry Conley, the organization’s client services manager, said she hears about fuel prices daily. Having experienced intense cold this winter and with chilly weather extending well into the spring, the rising prices of both gasoline and home heating oil have been difficult for her community to bear, she said.
Welch cited reports released by Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee, which state that the average Vermont household has experienced $2,500 in additional costs due to inflation since Trump took office for the second time. Although Consumer Price Index reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that recent increases in grocery prices are much smaller than the jump in energy rates, the overall inflation rate for the 12 months ending in March was a relatively high 3.3%. Some economists say inflated costs of transportation and gas-based fertilizer will likely begin to affect food prices more in the coming months.
Nonetheless, some Vermont grocers say their businesses and customers are already feeling the direct effects of federal tariffs. Rowan Sherwood, the community relations and marketing manager at Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier, said the store is responding to rising prices of everyday goods such as coffee.
\u201cThere\u2019s a certain amount that we can absorb and then a certain amount that we need to pass along\u201d to customers, Sherwood said.
Last year\u2019s One Big Beautiful Bill Act also saddled Vermont with millions in administrative costs for food assistance that were previously covered federally. And in light of new restrictions to the program, advocates are calling for millions more in state funds to help vulnerable groups navigate complex new paperwork to continue receiving benefits.
Welch criticized the Trump administration for \u201cpushing the administrative burden back to the states\u201d when it comes to food assistance. It\u2019s unfair to Vermonters, he said, and feels like backwards policy in such a wealthy nation.
\u201cThere\u2019s a total dedication to the people who are coming in here and treating them with great dignity and respect,\u201d Welch said of the HOPE operation and staff. \u201cMy hope is I could take a little bit of what folks are doing here back to Washington.\u201d
This story was republished with permission from VtDigger, which offers its reporting at no cost to local news organizations through its Community News Sharing Project. To learn more, visit vtdigger.org\/community-news-sharing-project.<\/em>
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