States across the country are proposing bills and passing laws that will make it harder to vote. Vermont, on the other hand, has taken an extraordinary step: over the veto of Governor Phil Scott, they have now passed two bills that will allow legal non-citizens of two Vermont towns to vote in local elections. Representative Hal Colston of Winooski is one of the sponsors of the bill that passed, and he discusses whether this would set a precedent for the rest of the state.
Later in the show, Dara Kennedy and Maya Shwayder examine food insecurity in our region. Jill Hussels, a school nutrition specialist for New England Dairy in Vermont, tells us how a grant from New England Dairy helped Hartland Elementary School fight food insecurity among their students.
Amanda Aldred, Manager of School Nutrition with New England Dairy, explains how the last year of the pandemic brought a big shift in how schools, and her program, reached out to students who might be hungry.
Rich Parr is the Research Director for MassINC Polling Group, and he breaks down the results of their recent study that indicated that 47% of surveyed Massachusetts families were food-challenged over the last year.
Correction: As originally aired, this episode misidentified data from a survey. It should have said 47% of "surveyed" families reported food insecurity in the past year, instead of Massachusetts families. Also during this episode, the Vermont Legislature and state Rep. Hal Colston were misidentified as the Vermont Congress and congressman.
