The City of Burlington needs to pass legislation that addresses the concerns of local business leaders, including relocating the Food Not Cops lunch program.
In the past five years, Burlington has seen an increase in drug incidents and property crimes, according to BTVstat Data Hub.
On May 9, 2025, more than 150 Burlington business owners penned an open letter to Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak requesting action from the city to address these issues.
The business owners’ requests included visible security cameras in downtown parking garages and the implementation of a program to remove used needles from high-traffic areas, according to the letter.
Unfortunately, the letter proved to be controversial. The main point of contention was a request from the group of business owners to relocate a free daily lunch program, which was serving food out of the Marketplace parking garage.
The lunch program is operated by the Burlington-based organization Food Not Cops and began in 2020, according to a May 2025 Seven Days article.
Food Not Cops is a mutual aid collective run entirely by volunteers who provide meals, clothing and camping gear to people in need, according to the organization’s website.
They are the local offshoot of the global Food Not Bombs movement, according to their website.
Business owners argued that the presence of the lunch program in the parking garage discouraged people from parking in the garages and shopping downtown.
On May 15, 2025, a counter letter from dozens of organizations was published, requesting the businesses that signed the original letter to revoke their support for relocating the lunch program.
These organizations argued that the lunch program has kept people safe. However, in the original letter, business owners made it clear that they did not want the program to be eliminated.
But tensions rose after an additional fraudulent letter was published by those opposed to relocating the lunch program, which falsely claimed that Burlington business owners held disdain for homeless individuals, according to a June 2025 Burlington Free Press article.
On May 19, 2025, the Burlington City Council voted to relocate the free daily lunch program out of the parking garage. In June, Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak allocated $10,000 to assist Food Not Cops in their relocation, according to a June 2025 WCAX article.
Despite these decisions, Food Not Cops refused to work with the city. In July, they relocated to City Hall Park without city approval.
Many city officials, including Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak, have argued that City Hall Park is also not an adequate location for the lunch program, according to a July 2025 WCAX article.
By refusing to partner with the city, Food Not Cops is wasting an opportunity to provide better services to the people they feed.
If they partner with the city, Food Not Cops could work to move the free lunch program to an indoor location. One such location explored by the city was the First Congregational Church on South Winooski Avenue, according to a May 2025 Seven Days article.
Relocating to the First Congregational Church would provide people who utilize the free lunch program with a heated space in the winter months. It would also provide the volunteers who make the lunch with a place to cook.
In addition to relocating the lunch program, the City of Burlington needs to continue to engage with Burlington business leaders to address their concerns.
Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak has hosted forums on public safety and has created two new city programs aimed at addressing low-level crimes such as trespassing and disorderly conduct, according to a June 2025 VTDigger article.
But beyond these programs, the city needs to invest in a campaign to improve downtown’s public image. In my personal experience, many people don’t want to go downtown due to an exaggerated negative perception, which has worsened the challenges facing businesses.
Burlington also needs to continue to provide assistance to homeless individuals regardless of any plans to work with business owners.
A year-round homeless shelter opened in Oct. 2025, and a shelter for homeless people seeking recovery from addiction opened on March 9. However, the City of Burlington still needs to increase the number of shelter beds available to homeless individuals.
Everybody deserves to feel safe downtown, and it’s time that everyone does.
