This school year, end-of-year holiday breaks lasted two weeks, meaning an extended time away from the school meals that many children rely on. Our Food Access Coordinator, Hilary Rosa, worked with local holiday meal and backpack programs to get whole, locally sourced produce, dairy, and meat to these children and other community members in need. In total, GMFTS donated 790 lbs of food to support 211 households in Barton and Lyndonville. Food items included carrots, potatoes, meat and plant-based proteins, cheese, honey, maple syrup, wellness tonics and dried herbs. These purchases also supported our Farm Direct partner producers, providing a full-circle benefit to our communities.
A foster parent shared how these holiday food donations benefited the children in her care: “I appreciate nutritious, healthy food to aid in their physical well-being. This brings me joy!”
Throughout the month of February, we continued to work with area schools to source local food for their backpack programs, contributing over 357 lbs of meat, eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese and fresh produce to 47 families in North Troy and Orleans.
Thank you to the Walmart Foundation, Ben & Jerry’s, and M&T Bank for supporting these rounds of backpack/food boxes.
