Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) is a leader in the growing farm-to-school movement in Vermont. Our mission is to strengthen local food systems in Vermont by promoting positive economic relationships, education, and access between schools, farms, and communities.
We create and sustain healthy communities by working across the food system with capacity building, resource development, and technical assistance through our Farm-to-School program, Farm Direct food hub, and Lunchbox food truck.
Our Programs
Thank you to our 2024 premier sponsors – The Abbey Group, Community National Bank and Jay Peak!
Our work is made possible because of a network of businesses, institutions, organizations and community members who are in partnership with us.
You can view all our supporters here. Interested in becoming a sponsor? Please contact Catherine at ccusack@gmfts.org
Follow Our Story
This spring, we contributed over 770 pounds of local food to three school backpack programs in the Kingdom, reaching 104 students and their families. This food included @maplemeadowsmb eggs, @butterworksfarmvt yogurt, @sweetrowenfarmstead cheese, ground beef from @fourtownlowlines and NEK Processing, carrots and potatoes from @petes.greens and @deeprootorganiccoop , and apples from @halls_orchard 🥚🧀🥕🍎
Thank you to our 24/25 school year backpack funders — the Agnes M. Lindsay Trust, @benandjerrys Foundation, Harris & Frances Block Foundation, @mandt_bank Charitable Foundation, and Walmart Foundation — for helping us connect local families to nutritious, local food over school breaks.
Spring Art and Garden Club is in full swing at Irasburg Village School! 🌱💧🌞 🎨 In our first session, we began by establishing our expectations for one another and signed our names together. Then, students focused on learning and creating art about soil. During our first two weeks, students played games to learn the difference between sand, silt, and clay, sorted everyday items into the compost bin, recycling, or the trash, and discussed the importance of healthy soil in growing a garden. To conclude our unit, students painted with soil from the school’s garden. 🖌Before we began, we talked about how Talaandig artists, an Indigenous group in the Philippines, create soil paintings depicting their people’s traditions as a way to connect with nature. 🌏 Irasburg students were encouraged to look for subtle differences in color while making art from soil paint. Last week, students began starting seeds in the school’s grow lab and talked about the five essential elements a plant needs in order to grow.
Founded in 1985, @deeprootorganiccoop is one of the oldest co-ops of organic vegetable growers in the United States. The co-op exists to promote local, sustainable, and organic agriculture through its small, family owned farms in Vermont and Eastern Quebec. Due to the size and variety of their 24 member farms, they offer a wide range of products available throughout the year. Farms are located as far south as Berlin and as far north as Compton, Quebec, 26 miles from Derby Line.
We love working with Deep Root to source local, organic veggies for schools and small retailers throughout the Northeast Kingdom. You can find Deep Root Organic products at @morrisvillecoop , @buffalomountainmarket , @plainfieldcooperative , @arborfarmmarket and more! Learn more at deeprootorganic.coop/deeproot
#organic #supportlocalfarms
Last week, on a beautiful, snowy day, Brownington’s Kindergarten class took a trip to Colburn’s Sugarhouse in Glover! Students started the day by taking a tour of the sugarhouse and sugarbush, checking for sap in maple buckets along the way. They then played a maple scavenger hunt, searching all over the farm for the tools needed to make syrup. Finally, the trip ended with a maple taste test alongside donuts dipped in syrup! Thank you Mrs. Hope for your incredible tour and for welcoming our students to your farm!
Our Cabbage Preservation Party was so much fun! 15 people showed up to save leftover cabbage from going to waste by turning it into sauerkraut. Folks shared tips and tricks, and experimented with different seasonings: dill, caraway, curry powder, and garlic powder + black pepper. Everyone got to take a jar home (including a mystery-flavored jar which we ended up with, which we’re excited to try in a couple of weeks!)
Cabbage madness! Brighton Elementary School 3rd graders chop and scrunch away as they prepare cabbage to turn into sauerkraut! Fermentation is fun!
Our Food Hub Logistics Manager, Meggie Patton, had a fun trip to @montshirefarms in North Haverhill, NH the other day. Thank you Montshire for taking the time to meet and for the free case of Boyden Beef ground beef for our school customers to sample!
Preservation helps us enjoy nutritious food even when it’s out of season, and keeps it from going to waste. Join us THIS Wednesday at the Barton Memorial Hall for a cabbage preservation party, and bring home a jar of homemade sauerkraut! We will also discuss food sovereignty efforts in Barton & beyond. Hope to see you there!
