Vermont FEED
is working towards a big vision: to engage every student and community in a local food and farm culture that nurtures child health, cultivates viable farms, and builds vibrant communities. How do we make this vision a reality? We support farm to school programs, which connect classrooms, cafeterias, and communities in pursuit of a healthier, more just food system.
Here’s a look at 2024 and some of the projects and collaborations that helped to move the farm to school movement forward.
45 farm-based educators
participated in ABCs of FarmBased Education, a threeday program helping farmers engage and inspire visitors.
11 school & early childhood teams, representing 23,836 students,
participated in our Northeast Farm to School Institute. This year-long program brings teams together to build robust farm to school plans for their districts, schools, and early childhood programs. With the support of a coach, teams put their plans into action to create change that lasts.
15 states offered Farm to School Institutes
across the country, all modeled on our own Northeast program and supported through our Adaptation program and community of practice.
16
farm to school champions from all over the U.S.
—from California to Virginia— participated in the first-ever Farm to School Leadership Academy, our year-long community of learning to support transforming school food systems.
47 elementary classrooms
connected to 14 local dairy farms as part of the Dairy in the Classroom program, developing an appreciation for the importance of farms, farmers, and animals in their everyday life.
We coordinate the Vermont Farm to School & Early Childhood Network, which hosted 6 regional gatherings across the state, engaging 179 farm to school champions.
The events offered space for peer-to-peer learning and identifying opportunities to strengthen the area’s farm to school movement.
Through technical assistance, we supported 12 School
Food
Authorities in securing the Subsequent Year Grant of Vermont’s Local Foods Incentive, resulting in an investment in local foods totaling approximately $1.2 million.
102 participants from 13 schools and early childhood programs received Vermont Agency of Agricultural Food & Markets’ Farm to School & Early Childhood Capacity Building Grants, the state’s flagship funding opportunity. We coached six teams, and supported grantees with action planning, curriculum integration, and local food procurement.
80
Vermont students participated in FEAST, a daylong, food systems focused event created by high school students for high school students. The day featured 12 workshops, including: Raising Goats & Micro Dairies; Cell Phones, Climate Change & Bees; and Arepa Making.
30
CSAs were subsidized for early childhood programs through grant funding from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets. We support educators in accessing resources, making farm connections, and helping our earliest learners eat more local foods.
In collaboration with Miller Farm, Windham Northeast Supervisory Union, and the National Organic Family Farm Partnership, we expanded a pilot project bringing Vermont organic milk to three new schools, totaling 13 schools, 3,000+ students, and 8,000 gallons of milk served.