As a nonprofit serving Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom region and beyond, Green Mountain Farm-to-School works to strengthen our local food systems and increase equitable access to local foods.
Who We Serve
Farms
We help Vermont farms and food businesses grow by connecting them with local buyers, from schools to co-ops. At the same time, we provide targeted marketing and sales support.
60 farm and food business partners
Schools
We connect students to food through hands-on farm-to-school programs in Northeast Kingdom schools, including cooking, gardening, and farm field trips. We also help schools across Northern and Central Vermont buy more from nearby farms and improve the quality of school meals.
17 school partners for educational programming
75 school partners for local food distribution
Communities
We bring people together around food through hands-on workshops and shared meals across the Northeast Kingdom, building skills, strengthening community, and learning by doing. We also expand access to local food by connecting farms with stores, schools, and community food programs.
11 towns served by community programming
83 towns in our local food distribution network
It was a wonderful week at The Lunchbox, especially because it was our first week with our food truck back in action! Kids learned how to make quick pickles using a simple and tasty recipe. We’re happy to report that many tried new flavors like fennel and pickling spice. It was fantastic to see that the majority of chefs thought their recipes were delicious! 🥒
A big thank you to our community partners for helping make this week at The Lunchbox even more special! In Irasburg, @healthvermont distributed free bike helmets and shared important summer safety tips. In Barton, Everybody Wins! Vermont gifted children free books to encourage summer reading. In Newport, every child had the opportunity to take home free books thanks to the @clifonline 📚
Join us next week for more fun activities and good food! We’d love to see you there. 🍎
Our food hub has been proud to carry Kingdom Mountain Maple’s organic syrup for over a decade. 🍁 Owners of Kingdom Mountain Maple, Dan and Kim, produce Vermont Organic Farmers certified organic maple syrup. Business expansion is thoughtful and intentional, ensuring it remains a largely family-run, sustainable operation. To produce its syrup, Kingdom Mountain Maple uses reverse osmosis, a process that drastically reduces the water content of maple sap before it’s boiled into the liquid gold everyone knows.
Kingdom Mountain Maple partners with Green Mountain Farm Direct to provide syrup to restaurants, institutions, and schools throughout our community.
Funding for creating a sustainable local food system was made possible in part with a Rural Business Development Grant from USDA Rural Development.
📷 by @vermontcorey
Tune in to “Across the Fence” to hear our friends Marita from @migrantjusticevt and Carleton from @champlainvalleycreamery talk about the new value-driven cheese product - Cheese with Dignity - and the impact it’s creating in Vermont! 🧀✨
We’re proud to be part of this project through our partnership with @vermontwayfoods and are excited to support a local food system that values sustainability, fairness, and dignity.
Watch the segment by visiting @acrossthefence55 and clicking the link in their bio to their YouTube channel!
📚Join us tomorrow (Thursday, July 16) at The Lunchbox in Gardner Park for a special storytime with children’s book author Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, hosted in partnership with Goodrich Memorial Library!
Storytime begins at 10:30 a.m. at the gazebo, and every child who attends will receive two free books, courtesy of the Children’s Literacy Foundation.
After storytime, stay for a delicious lunch! From 11 a.m.–1 p.m., we’ll be serving: hamburgers or chicken salad sandwich on whole-grain bread with lettuce, served with roasted potato wedges, fresh fruit and milk. Vegetarian meals always available upon request. 🍔
Lunch is free for all kids and teens 18 and under.
We hope to see you there for a morning of stories, free books, and a great meal!✨
We have exciting news: The Lunchbox food truck has been repaired and is READY TO HIT THE ROAD! Thank you to everyone who continued to support our program despite the unexpected format. We are so excited to once again be able to serve delicious free meals from our truck! 🍔🥗
Outside of the truck, we will be learning how to make pickles using a simple recipe! Grab some free fresh produce at our Market Basket. Learn about summer safety with the Dept. of Health in Irasburg, and pick up FREE books from Everybody Wins! in Barton.
Come visit us from 11 am-1 pm at the following locations:
* Tuesdays at Leach Public Library, Irasburg
* Wednesdays at Barton Public Library
* Thursdays at Gardner Park in Newport
It was another great week at The Lunchbox! ☀️
Kids had fun making pinecone bird feeders that they got to take home, and talking about the types of birds and animals they might see visiting their creations.🐦⬛
We were lucky enough to be joined by some fantastic community organizations this week! In Irasburg, Everybody Wins! Vermont gave out many free books to families. 📚 Thanks to @butterworksfarmvt for bringing their two-day-old baby calf for the children to meet in Barton. 🐄 In Newport, we learned about biking, swimming, and tick safety with fun activities and games. 🚲
We can’t wait to see you at The Lunchbox next week!
Did you know you can find local All-Purpose flour, heirloom beans, and even cold-pressed sunflower oil made right here in the Northeast Kingdom? Glover’s Morningstar Farm is a certified organic 70-acre farm that brings our community high-quality kitchen staples. Learn more: morningstarfarmvt.com 🌻🫘
Find their products at @humbleheart_homestead, @plainfieldcooperative, @corkvt, @thegennyvt, and @railcitymarket.
Funding for creating a sustainable local food system was made possible in part with a Rural Business Development Grant from USDA Rural Development
🌱Help keep your school garden growing this summer! 🌱Our school gardens don’t take summer vacation, and we could use your help! We’re looking for volunteers to help care for school gardens while students are away.
Volunteers sign up one week at a time and visit the garden 1–3 times during that week to help with tasks like watering, weeding, trellising, and harvesting fresh vegetables. You can sign up for as many weeks as you’d like!
Whether your child attends the school or you simply enjoy gardening, this is a great way to support your community.💛
Sign up today and we’ll be in touch (link in bio).
Below are the school gardens where we are looking for volunteer support:
-Barton
-Brighton
-Coventry
-Craftsbury - Dustin Field Garden
-Craftsbury - Elementary School Garden
-Derby
-Glover
-Irasburg
-Jay/Westfield
-Lowell
-Newport City
-Orleans
-Troy
Thanks to our generous lead sponsors!
