 Thank you all for coming. You know, one of the incredible challenges we have in this country and in this state is hunger. And it is astonishing that even as we have the highest job participation rate, lowest unemployment rate that we've had in decades, the amount of hunger is severe in rising. We've got like about 3% unemployment, but by the standard measures about 12% insecurity for food. So that's kids, it's seniors, it's students, it's really a very, very serious problem. And it's why I and the folks with me have been very committed to doing everything we can to make sure that there's good nutrition available for everyone. The SNAP program, which is the food program that helps lower income people, is very, very needed. It needs some reforms. And I've introduced two pieces of legislation, one that would help seniors and one that would help students. Under the seniors, the bill would say that when there is a cost of living increase that applies to your social security benefits, that bump in your income would not go against your eligibility for the SNAP program. Now that may seem like a very little amount of money because if you are making, if you're getting like say $1,600 a month on social security and there's say a 4% increase, that's tiny. And some of it gets eaten up by the additional contribution you have to make for Medicare eligibility. So this really impacts the eligibility that those folks have for the SNAP program. Just those few dollars puts them on the other side of the line. So our legislation would say, no, when you get a cost of living increase that doesn't go against your eligibility to get the SNAP program, which is really a lifeline for many of our seniors here in Vermont and around the country. The second program uses the same principle but for students. And this is students who are paying back their student loans. And those student loans are tough. When you're starting out and you're trying to rent an apartment, maybe hopefully by a condominium, get started in life by a car where you've got to take on debt to do those things, you also have student loans. And this program is targeted to folks who are making those monthly payments. And that income that they pay, let's say they pay 500 bucks or 600 bucks a month off on their student loans, that amount of money is deducted from what is their eligibility. Because that's a big amount of money. It puts them on the other side of eligibility for the SNAP program. And what we're talking about here are students who are doing their level best to get started in life and to try to get that student loan paid off but then have no income or not insufficient income to pay all the bills that all of us have at the end of every month. So the bottom line here, we want the eligibility to not be adversely affected for a senior when they get a cost of living increase. It's such a modest amount of money. But that modest amount of money makes them oftentimes ineligible to get the SNAP benefit. And secondly, for students, it's the same thing. Students who are paying every month to pay off that student loan, they shouldn't lose eligibility by that amount of money that they're paying off on their student loans. So this is important. And I think we've got a good shot at getting this passed. It's really about maintaining the status quo for folks who are working really hard or who have worked really hard to make ends meet but also they need to eat. And I'm happy to be here with some leaders in helping Vermonters who are, I guess, who are hungry. And we're going to start with Anor Horton of Hungra-Free Vermont. Anor, thank you so much for all the work that you and your organization is doing here in Vermont. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you so much, Senator Welch. And we at Hungra-Free Vermont are so excited about these two bills that Senator Welch has introduced. What we need to do to really ensure food security for everyone in this state and this country is to make smart policy choices like these that tackle specific challenges within these critical programs like SNAP or as we call it here in Vermont, Three Squares Vermont. This is the largest, best, most flexible, most important food security program that we have here in Vermont and nationally. And these fixes, as Senator Welch said, need to be made. And, you know, right now in Vermont, we are experiencing really a very prolonged hunger crisis. And it's affecting many groups of people in Vermont. And it hasn't lessened even as the pandemic is waning, even as inflation to some degree seems to be coming under control. You can talk to any of our friends and neighbors here in our state and they will tell you that it is not under control when it comes to the cost of food and rent and basic necessities that everyone needs to survive. And that hunger crisis that we're in means that it needs to be all hands on deck here in Vermont. And I'm so excited to be here today to uplift these bills on the national level, uplift the incredible work of Agewell and of the South Burlington Senior Center and all the senior centers and all the area agencies on aging around the state of Vermont who serve so many older Vermonters with meals and with meals on wheels. And we really need to support that and we need our state government to help supplement and fund those programs adequately so everyone who needs them can be served. And I'm also really excited to say that at the state level, we have some Three Squares Vermont reform efforts underway. We have a Give Three Squares Vermont a boost bill that would bring the SNAP restaurant meals program here to Vermont. And that program allows people over 60, people with disabilities and people who are homeless to use their Three Squares Vermont benefits at participating restaurants. So even if they can't store food, they don't have a place to cook food, they can still eat a hot and healthy meal. And we also have a part of our bill is to study how we can put a Vermont values based floor under the lowest benefit amounts for Three Squares Vermont. So many older Vermonters when they are eligible for Three Squares Vermont, but their Social Security payments as Senator Welch was talking about mean that they are only eligible for the federal minimum benefit, which is just $23 a month for food. And I don't have to tell any of you that that's not going to buy enough. It's kind of a slap in the face, honestly, to people who have worked hard all their lives and now need some assistance covering all of their basic needs, including food. So we're excited about the opportunities to make changes to this incredibly valuable program so that it becomes even more valuable for folks in our great state of Vermont. So thank you so much for being here today. And thank you, Senator for introducing those bills. Thank you. That was great. And now Pam Scanlon from Age Well Vermont. Thank you. Put my glasses on. And excuse me, I have tremors. So if you see me shaking, it's not nervous. This is just part of who I am. Thank you for hosting this. And thank you for all your advocacy for everyone, including the seniors who we represent. Age Well represents people 60 years and older. We're one of the five agencies on aging in Vermont. We represent people from Addison, Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties. 30% of Vermont's population and by 2023 is going to be 60 and over. That's a lot of folks. And we serve a lot of them. In the last year, we served 350,000 meals. That includes meals on wheels, 275,645 meals on wheels. And the rest of them are congregate meals, such as the one that South Burlington is hosting today. That's 20% more meals than pre-pandemic, than fiscal year 19. So every year, we're seeing an increase in demand for meals for seniors. And that's just meals on wheels and congregate meals. Every day almost, we hear of people who call our organization, who, as Inora was saying, have had their three squares benefits lowered or stopped entirely. And sometimes that is the coal it increases. Every year when people get their coal raises, as some people like to call it, which they're not raises, it's 3%, 4%, sometimes a little more. People will call us panicked because their benefits have been cut. When they get, it goes, someone yesterday went from $211 a month down to the 23, and she was panicking, like, how am I going to get food? We were providing her, which we are, one meal or seven meals a week through meals on wheels. There's still a gap, you know, we provide nutritionally balanced meals for people through the Older Americans Act, but that's not enough. And having those three square benefits, having not to worry every month when they get their, their coal increase, that their benefits might be cut, would be a great relief for people. And thank you for doing that. Thank you for advocating for that. You know, although we serve more meals than ever to clients, the cost isn't completely covered by the Older Americans Funding Act. Less than 30% of the cost of a meal is OAA funding, and another 88 cents per meal is donated by participants. We rely on state, local, community, different donations to cover the difference, which is over 60% of the meal. So we're, we're getting a lot of different funding to provide these meals to people, and we're so happy that we can do that and we continue to do that. But we have noted an increased need, and since the OAA allowed it due to COVID-19 pandemic, we've offered grab-and-go meals throughout our, our counties over all our service areas to fill the gap. We served over 30,000 of these last year. SNAP benefits, increased SNAP benefits, benefits that will attack, will complement this, will help our seniors get their meals every day, get proper dietary, get three squares a day versus one square, which is what a lot of these folks, and they're having to choose between heat, or they're having to choose between feeding their pets or giving up their pets, which happens quite frequently, because they, and they're their companions, and their mental health is their ability to have their dog, have their cat, but sometimes they have to give them up because they can't afford it. So anything we can do, and I know you're working, this is specifically SNAP-related, but anything you can do would be so helpful to our demographic, and thank you for hosting us. Yeah, no, thank you. I really appreciate it. And now, Rebecca Isham of the South Burlington Senior Center, and I'm going over there after. Yes. I'm looking forward to that. Thank you, Senator. Yeah, thank you. It is an honor to have Senator Welsh joining us today. I'm excited to have this opportunity to impact the senior centers not only in South Burlington, but in Vermont. Vermont is the third oldest state, and our older adults outnumber the amount of children in the state of Vermont. We are lucky to have senior centers and meal providers, sites across the state that continue to offer vibrant hubs in which older adults can learn a new skill, connect with valuable resources such as educational and wellness programs and access nutritious meals that allows them to socialize with others. It is often forgotten that senior centers offer a sense of belonging, where you can ask for help and obtain services such as foot care and help or assistance with your tax returns. Vermont senior centers are continuing evolving and changing to meet the needs of the past, present, and future older adults. Next week, March 22, we'll mark the 51st anniversary that nutrition was added to the Older Americans Act. Since that time, older Vermonters have had access to home-delivered meals and congregate meals that have improved health conditions and provided rural communities in our state with companionship and to check in on many who live alone and do not have access to transportation. Times have changed in the last 50 years, and so have the needs of the older Vermonters. We are no longer more, excuse me, we are living longer, more active lives and we know that medically tailored meals improve our health and more people are actively participating in wellness programs provided by senior centers. Senator, as you know, the Older Americans Act is up for reauthorization. In order for senior centers to continue to thrive and provide our older adults with these essential resources, we need to have senior centers included as part of this sustainable funding resource. Many senior centers rely on community volunteers to support their work in order to limit cost so that they can provide older Vermonters the resources they need to successfully age in their homes and communities. I appreciate that you included me in today's press conference and I am looking forward to you joining us down the hall at the Senior Center meal today. Thank you. Thank you very much everyone. Appreciate it, appreciate all your work. You're doing the hard work, any questions? That's true. Any questions? All right, we really appreciate it. Thank you and we're going to go to... Senior lunch. Yeah. Hey Carol. We're using different funding sources to build out or downtown and do cool things. Our city council chair is on his way up but I want to thank you for your work to grab a seat not only on the $8 million for the bridge that you just announced this week but also for the congressional director spending. That's great. That makes a difference. That bridge is going to be really fantastic for the community. Tell me about that. That's exciting. People are going to have access to walk out of their bikes. Yeah. So our tax increment financing district which is this neighborhood right here that you can see developing is 40 years of community vision in the process. The whole public investment in that TIF district is around walkability and bike ability. Right. Tim Barrett is here. He is our new city council chair. Hey Tim. Long time. We're hearing about the bridge. I'm so excited about that. The bridge is somewhere. The bridge is somewhere, yeah. So the bike and ped bridge is really that winch pin between not only the South Burlington that's on the other side of 89. We have many, many neighbors who live in South Burlington but on the other side of the interstate but also to the Hill institutions and to Burlington. So really that connectivity between our downtowns to ensure that city center is vibrant and successful in the way that the community has envisioned for decades. It provides a really good path for all those UVM students who want to get over to our retail area that it's so difficult to go down Wilson Road and cross over 89. You know, it really is. I've jogged there. Well, you do. Yeah. It's just kind of a nightmare when you're trying to cross. Especially at nighttime. Yeah. And cars are coming off ramps. They're going on ramps. And they can't see people at the crosswalks. It's just dedicated to pedestrians and bikers. Right. Right. And hopefully we'll help us meet some of our climate goals as well. You know, the exit 14 is the busiest intersection in the state and really we really want to promote people getting out of cars and when they can, walking from all the apartments here over to jobs either along Wilson Road, Beta on Logic or up to the Hill Institutions, being able to walk, bike, you know, not need to get into a fossil fuel burning car to do that. So we're excited. There's a lot happening here. Tim, how long have you been serving? Since, well, City Council? Yeah. About eight years. Yeah. That's great. You've got a lot to be proud of. Yeah. I made a list of all the things that have happened that, you know, we've, we've, accomplishments, construction, policy changes. It was a pretty long list that I, that I recited at the last meeting that we had. Yeah. Well, I'm glad we could have that bridge. Yeah. And I'm looking forward to riding my bike over it. So let's get that done. And we'll be proud of the wintertime too. That's important. Yeah. Although the cross-country skiers may object. Maybe leave a little bit of a side for them, right? That's a problem with the golf course. When you go up and ski the golf course, right? Yeah. And then the walkers, like, get in the ski tracks, and you're like, oh, these were perfect ski tracks, you know, like an hour ago. That's inappropriate. Well. What did you hear at the senior center today? Well, we were talking about the meal programs and trying to make some adjustments. You know, it's pretty astonishing how much hunger there is in the country. And that includes Vermont. You know, because we've got 3% unemployment, but like 12% food insecurity. So the two bills we have that we talked about, is one, when a senior gets a cola, you know, that slight increase, that affects her eligibility for the SNAP program. So I was talking to one downstairs who went from, she got, you know, modest bump. She went from 60 bucks to 20 bucks in terms of her SNAP benefit. So we want to not count the cola on your income statement. And then students who are the ones paying their loans, not ones who've gotten a little relief, but they're making that monthly payment, we want that not to be counted as income, because that's pretty tough. So it'll make, you know, something of a difference for them. So we're just trying to keep the SNAP benefits level so people can at least tread water. So that's what we were talking about. But you've got a beautiful senior center too. You know, I've been in a lot of them, and they're mostly in basements. So you don't have that magnificent light. I'm surprised you didn't take that for the council room. But you made the right choice. This was one of the accomplishments that I noted, right? Because we used to be down on Dorsey Street, you know, across from high school. No, it's really nice. And people seem happy. One day we're going to have the best table as they saw it, because they can look at it in the playground. Well, this really is a credit to, you know, as I said, like decades of community planning to realize this downtown and tax increment financing as a tool. Without that as a tool, we would not have been able to achieve this beautiful facility for the community, the senior center, the library. It's pretty impressive what this community has been able to do for the decades. I've been here on and off, and it's always something new that's going up, and it's planned out, so it's not just random. So tip on if there's been 25% of this facility? Yeah. And 100% of the library. Right. Oh, that's great. Well, thank you. Thank you very much. I wish you could send some of your competence and cooperation to Washington. That might make my job easier. We are trying to, Tim and I do a lot of work to try and maintain civility in our public conversations and ensure that everyone's heard. And I think Vermonters do that really well, and I think you represent that really well in Washington for us as well. So keep it up. It's not just manners. It's like the way you get things done, you know? So, I mean, this is testament to that. It's really pretty inspiring. I think we're pretty lucky to stop by the people that are involved in the government, local government, and involved in the community committees. They feel the same way. Yeah, I agree. Yeah, no, I do. It's great about representing Vermont. So we need a little more of Vermont and Washington and Vermont. Only statement. Keep it up. That's right. Let's get a picture real quick. Oh, good. Over here on the board. Yeah. On the wall of... Beautiful orange backdrop.