Last week at Troy School, the students on the Revitalizing Troy Community Action Cooking Team made sweet potato chili and cornbread to feed the community. This gave them a chance to really hone their knife skills and practice seasoning to taste. They were pleasantly surprised to make such a delicious and satisfying chili without using any meat! 🍠🍠🍠

They also got a chance to flex their critical thinking skills and creativity with a food budget and meal planning exercise: they were each given an imaginary amount of money to last 3 days, and asked what ingredients they would buy and what they would make with those ingredients. It’s fun to see what they came up with!

These students have prepared 144 meals for their community over the past 5 weeks.  🥰

This Valentine’s Day week, we teamed up with the VT Department of Health’s WIC program to host a fun and informative food workshop at the Barton Library. Participants learned how to prepare healthy, no-bake treats using locally-grown root vegetables from @deeprootorganiccoop and @petes.greens 💕

We kicked things off by making Carrot Cake Bites, followed by delicious Chocolatey Beet Balls. Packed with nutritious ingredients like dates, oats, and nuts, these energy-packed bites were a hit with the kids! The best part? It’s simple—just blend the ingredients in a food processor, roll into balls, and you’re done! The kids especially enjoyed rolling the treats into different coatings.

One parent shared, “What a great snack! I’m always looking for quick, healthy options for my kid, and this was so easy to put together.”

Thank you the Barton Public Library and Vermont Department of Health - Newport for helping us make local food more accessible to families.

Cold season got you down? @wilsonfarmvermont has got you covered with wellness tonics like Fire Cider and Elderberry Syrup, and hand-crafted medicinal tea blends like Anti-inflammatory, Breathe Deep, and Habitual Bliss. ☕️

Wilson Farm is a small-scale Certified Organic farm in Greensboro, VT. Founded in 2015, the farm grows perennials and herbs to produce tea and herbal concoctions for their on-site Apothecary. Owners Brenden & Lindsay Beer seek to increase awareness of the medicinal properties of plants through ancestral knowledge, while maintaining the highest quality standards of herbal medicine. They hand-harvest, dry and process every batch with great care to achieves its greatest healing potential. Their fields of herbs and flowers don’t just look & smell wonderful- they also provide expansive habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects.

In addition to medicinal tea blends & wellness tonics to support the body, Wilson Farm creates herb-infused ice cream to nourish your spirit as well. Learn more at wilsonfarmvermont.com

You can find Wilson Farm products at their farm stand in Greensboro, @therootsfarmmarket , @thegennyvt , and other small retailers throughout the Northeast Kingdom.

“Funding for creating a sustainable local food system was made possible in part with a Rural Business Development Grant from USDA Rural Development.”

#sustainableagriculture #organic #supportlocalfarms

It’s carrot season in Vermont! 🥕 These delicious root vegetables have managed to stay fresh throughout the winter thanks to their belated harvest time and tolerance to freezing temperatures.

Last week, kindergarteners at Orleans learned about carrots first-hand, helping prepare our Harvest of the Month Taste Test: Maple Roasted Carrots and Crispy Chickpeas with a Lemon Garlic Yogurt Sauce. Although a mouthful to say, 77% of students who tried the taste test either liked or loved the recipe!

This week, the Revitalizing Troy Teen Cooking Club at Troy School made vegetable lo mein with a side of marinated tofu. The recipe made good use of carrots and onions gleaned by Salvation Farms. The group learned a few new terms this week, including “julienne” and “garnish”. They were also introduced to tofu for the first time ever - hesitant at first, the group found it to be quite delicious when fried in a maple-hoisin-garlic sauce!

It’s already week 4, and these students are really stepping up their game, with 100+ meals prepared and donated so far to community members in North Troy. 🥰

This Valentine’s Day, indulge your senses with decadent chocolate from @prophecychocolate 🍫🥰

Located in Morrisville, Prophecy Chocolate sells several ethically sourced and uniquely delicious chocolate bars. Their intriguing ingredient lists include chilies, maple sugar, dandelion root, marshmallow, and even black pepper. Owner Mateo lived in Peru for three years, learning how to cultivate and process cacao using traditional methods. A mission-driven business that adheres to Indigenous farming practices, Prophecy Chocolate supports restorative and reforestation projects in regions impacted by environmental destruction. 🌳🌲

You can find Prophecy Chocolate at @therootsfarmmarket , @wilsonfarmvermont , @humbleheart_homestead , and other small retailers throughout the Northeast Kingdom, or buy direct from their storefront!

From bean to bar, Prophecy Chocolate crafts only the finest products. This is a chocolate you’ll want to indulge in. Learn more at: prophecychocolate.com

Funding for creating a sustainable local food system was made possible in part with a Rural Business Development Grant from USDA Rural Development.

This January, Troy School’s Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 2nd Grade classes visited the Nulhegan Education and Cultural Center in Holland to learn about the Nulhegan band of the Abenaki tribe! Students learned traditional Abenaki songs and dances, learned how to play Abenaki winter games like “snow snake,” and ate cornbread from grounded corn. Thank you to Miss Lucy Neel and the NECC for hosting our students and teaching them about our region’s Indigenous communities.