Photo caption: Left to right: Kristen McDowell (Intervale), Allen Reetz (Hanover Co-Op Food Stores), Martha Machia (Salvation Farms), Rose Lovett (GMFTS), Julia MacGilbeny (Feeding Champlain Valley), Becca Perrin (GMFTS), Christine Porcaro (Healthy Roots Collaborative), Catherine Cusack (GMFTS) [...]
Pictured above: AmeriCorps Farm-to-School Coordinators serving over the past few yearsDear friends, The wave of federal funding cuts this spring included the cancellation of the Local Food Purchase Assistance program, the Local Food for Schools and Child [...]
Photo caption: The Derby Elementary Jr. Iron Chef team showed off their cooking skills.On May 8th, GMFTS and the Vermont Farm-to-School & Early Childhood Network hosted a gathering for the Northeast Kingdom Region at Derby Elementary School. [...]
Our Farm Direct product list just got a lot more fun(gi). Meet our newest producer: FUNJ. Shrooming Company! This Burlington-based urban organic mushroom farm provides Vermonters with delicious and sustainably cultivated mushrooms. FUNJ represents exploration into the [...]
Deep Meadow Farm is a Certified Organic farm dedicated to providing natural produce and herbs direct to consumers. The farm offers a unique system for providing fresh and diverse produce throughout the growing season, offering more choices [...]
In our ongoing efforts to develop a more effective response plan to severe weather events, Green Mountain Farm Direct attended a focus group for Northeast Kingdom Farm Resilience. NOFA-VT is hosting a series of meetings in the [...]
Photo caption: Left to right - Meryl Friets (Logistics Manager, Farm Connex), Meggie Patton (Food Hub Logistics Manager, GMFTS), Hilary Rosa (Food Access and Logistics Coordinator, GMFTS), Yarrow Fought (Food Hub Operations Manager, Farm Connex), Becca Perrin [...]
Photo caption: A Craftsbury 3rd grader plays a traditional Abenaki winter game, “Snow Snake”. Winter is the season for Farm-to-School field trips to the Nulhegan Cultural Center in Holland, VT! Students, parents, and staff have enjoyed visiting [...]
Pictured: Irasburg 3rd graders prepare sweet potato gnocchi for their school’s December HOM Taste Test, highlighting sweet potato.Each month, our AmeriCorps Farm-to-School Coordinators collaborate with our member schools to cook something with students in celebration of the [...]
Photo caption: Left to right - Ciara Konhaus (former GMFTS Farm-to-School Coordinator, now at Salvation Farms) alongside Marlow Saucier, Lily Riesett, Olivia Anderson, and Courtney Fortunato (current GMFTS Farm-to-School Coordinators)On February 15th, our four Americorps Farm-To-School Coordinators [...]
Pictured: Students chop peppers for a chili recipe. In January, we brought our cooking program to Troy School, where students participating in the Revitalizing Troy Teen Committee have been feeding their community. Each week, a group of [...]
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 [...]
Pictured: Children learn to prepare ingredients This Valentine’s Day week, we teamed up with the Vermont Department of Health’s WIC program to host a fun and informative food workshop at the Barton Public Library. Participants learned how [...]
Photo caption: Left to right - Elyse Perambo (Farm-to-School Program Manager, GMFTS), Leanne Harple (Orleans County Rep), and Becca Perrin (Food Hub Account Manager, GMFTS)On February 12th, our Farm-to-School Program Manager, Elyse Perambo, and our Food Hub [...]
By Emma Palumbo, GMFTS InternVermont’s dairy industry, once a cornerstone of the state’s agricultural heritage, has seen a sharp decline since its peak. In 1950, there were about 11,000 dairy farms in operation throughout the state (Seven [...]
Pictured: Our own “Vermont delegation” from the Organic Trade Association with Representative Becca Balint By Catherine Cusack, GMFTS Executive Director Vermont Way Foods™ LLC (VWF) has had a busy year! Thanks to the leadership of Matt Landi, [...]
By Arlene Shannon Whether you have a garden, belong to a CSA, or are the lucky recipient of a shared summer bounty, it’s sometimes challenging to use all of the produce before it spoils. Here are some [...]
Pictured: Clohee Daniel-Fleury, a 10th grader in the Animal Sciences program at North Country Career Center, led the youth summit’s Dairy workshop.by Emma Palumbo, GMFTS Intern GMFTS Farm-to-School Program Manager, Elyse Perambo, co-leads the VT Farm to [...]
This past year, GMFTS has partnered with Salvation Farms to promote greater access to fresh, locally grown food. This partnership has enhanced our Market Basket table, which provides free produce to all Lunchbox program visitors. As of [...]
By Nadiya BeCoats, GMFTS InternWithin the last year, I learned that I have a gluten intolerance that makes me extremely sick. So, over the past seven months, I’ve spent a lot of time shifting and curating my [...]
By Rose Lovett, GMFTS Development ManagerRustic and a little unconventional, Sweet Mountain Chocolate LLC uses local Vermont ingredients for a truly tasty treat. Rather than make a traditional bar, the Westfield-based chocolatier, Jennifer Grace, creates yummy chocolate [...]
A favorite moment from your year of service: One of my favorite days of service was taking a Kindergarten class on a field trip to Tinker's Green Farm in Newport. It was the definition of a joyful, [...]
A favorite moment from your year of service: One of my favorite moments was watching the kids harvest their fruits and vegetables in the fall, and being able to see how proud they were knowing they planted [...]
A favorite moment from your year(s) of service: Every Thursday for the past two years, I’ve gone to the same elementary school to facilitate an afterschool program. We made tons of memories playing farm-to-school games and doing [...]
A favorite moment from your year of service: A favorite moment of my year of service would have to be a series of moments from early September, when we helped to host Harvest Festivals at all four [...]
(Pictured Above: Salad bar at North Country High School featuring Watermelon radishes from Deep Root Organic, mixed beets and shoots from Pete’s Greens, and Hood cottage cheese.) By Hilary RosaThe Local Food for Schools Program (LFS), launched [...]
By Arlene Shannon When fall arrives, we turn to familiar, reliable foods such as apples, pumpkins, root vegetables, and squash. This year was a tough one for apple growers in the Northeast. A hard frost in May [...]
By Emma Trainor1. Support Farmers and Your Local Economy Large scale farms from out-of-state and industrial agriculture account for a significant percentage of Vermonters’ total food consumption. According to Ellen Kahler, the Executive Director of the Vermont [...]
By Arlene ShannonRadishes are a friend to both the gardener and the garden. Many of us know radishes as only a spicy and colorful addition to a salad, but there are different types, many ways to use [...]
By Rose LovettFruits In and Out of the Fridge What fruits go in the fridge and what ones are best left outside the fridge? Apples and citrus fruits all do best in your fridge’s fruit crisper drawer. [...]
By Rose LovettBerry Creek Farm is a 158-acre organic farm located in Westfield, VT. For the past 31 years, Gerard and Rosemary Croizet have run the farm together. They sell their fruits, vegetables, flowers and more, as [...]
By Rose LovettBlue Ledge Farm is a first generation, family owned goat dairy and cheese-making operation on 150 acres in Sallsbury, VT. For 23 years, Greg Bernhardt and Hannah Sessions have run and developed the farm together. [...]
Food Service Director Bob Hildebrand holds local spinach (a Harvest of the Month product) grown at Joe’s Brook Farm and sourced through Green Mountain Farm Direct. June 13th, 2023 Green Mountain Farm-to-School Contact: Becca Perrin Food Hub [...]
By Emma Trainor Immune System Boost Did you know that skin- to-soil contact actually helps boost the functioning of your immune system? It turns out that getting “dirty” is a great way to increase the body's [...]
Universal School Meals Program By Becca Perrin What is it? The Universal School Meals Program was enacted at the start of the pandemic and supported through federal funding. That funding ran out last year and lawmakers extended [...]
By Rose LovettThis maple season, students in our Farm-to-School programs had lots of fun learning about maple sugaring and incorporating local syrup into recipes they prepared in the classroom. Many also attended field trips to local maple [...]
March 13th, 2023We had a great time at the NEK Chef, Farmer & Food Producer Networking Event that we organized in collaboration with Vermont Fresh Network (VFN). More than 40 people turned up to enjoy beer, pizza, [...]
By Rose LovettHow has Vermont agriculture changed and remained the same over time? How has agriculture changed the landscape of Vermont? Who has changed agriculture and the landscape? These are the guiding questions in our Farm-to-School "VT [...]
By Emma TrainorFebruary 16th, 2023 3rd and 5th graders from Irasburg Village School took a field trip to Butterworks Farm in Westfield, VT to learn about how yogurt is made and what the process of running a [...]
By Rose Lovett and Meggie PattonWhat is food sovereignty? "According to the International Movement on Food Sovereignty, the term food sovereignty means 'the right of peoples to healthy and culturally-appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable [...]
Farm Field Trips offer a unique opportunity for both students and farmers to build connections in the Northeast Kingdom. Students have a chance to get out of the classroom and into nature, while learning about where their [...]
GMFTS is a founding member of Vermont Way Foods (VWF), a collaboration that began in 2020 in an effort to expand market access for Vermont farmers and producers. VWF's launch of a certified organic (VOF) produce line [...]
Located in Irasburg, Creek Valley Farm is in its third year of business. The farm is owned and operated by Lorinda Campbell, Charleen Miles and Mel Tyree. The farm’s small herd of Jersey cows are rotationally grazed. [...]
Started by Paul Lisai in 2012, Sweet Rowen Farmstead is a family owned and operated dairy farm located in West Glover, VT. The Sweet Rowen mission is to "maintain a working landscape that provides families with fresh [...]
Last year, a GMFTS AmeriCorps member applied for a Seed Grant from New England Grassroots Environment Fund and successfully secured funding to help Charleston Elementary School purchase a Grow Lab, garden supplies, and materials for a new [...]
Join Green Mountain Farm-to School on Social Media! Take a photo or short video of your garden! Tell us how you celebrate VT’s agricultural heritage! Tag us (Green Mountain Farm-to-School) in your post or post right onto [...]
Green Mountain Farm to School organized a field trip for Irasburg students to the Nulhegan Education and Cultural Center in Holland on Wednesday, March 30. Students learned about the Abenaki culture and were able to participate in [...]
NEWPORT, VT Green Mountain Farm-to-School Contact: Alida Farrell, afarrell@gmfts.org, (802) 334-2044 January 3, 2022 Vermont Everyone Eats Continues Through April 1, 2022 Vermont Everyone Eats (VEE), the innovative COVID-19 response program that provides meal assistance to Vermonters [...]
Click here to read our Fall newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/0e272160a11b/gmfts-spring-newsletter-4876338?e=ff5f03a9f2
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Matt Landi, Director of Brand and Business Development, Vermont Way Foods™ or Catherine Cusack, Communications Committee Chair, Vermont Food Hub Collaborative L3C Phone: (831) 818-0179 (Matt) (802) 334-2044 (Catherine) Email: Matt@vermontwayfoods.com Matt Landi [...]
Vermont Harvest of the Month and Early Childhood Education: Stories of Success at Newport Head Start NEWPORT, VT Contact: Maire Folan, Farm to School Program Manager, Green Mountain Farm-to-School mfolan@gmfts.org June 17, 2021 Vermont Harvest of the [...]
Read our Spring Newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/38d3315b8236/gmfts-spring-newsletter-4811866?e=9afbbebcf6
CONTACTS Alida Farrell Consumer Education and Food Access Coordinator Green Mountain Farm to School afarrell@gmfts.org Meghan Wayland Food Access Coordinator The Center for an Agricultural Economy meghan@hardwickagricultre.com Everyone Eats, one million meals served On Thursday, April 29, [...]
Green Mountain Farm-to-School Delivering Free Meals to Migrant Farm Workers in the NEK through Vermont Everyone EatsNEWPORT, VTContact: Alida Farrell, Local Food Access Coordinatorafarrell@gmfts.orgMarch 22, 2021In an effort to reach some of the most important yet underserved [...]
NEWPORT, VTContact: Amrita Parry, Food Hub Accounts ManagerGreen Mountain Farm-to-Schoolaparry@gmfts.org (802) 334-2044 Green Mountain Farm Direct Hits Record Sales Week, Distributes More Local Food to NEK Communities Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) is a small nonprofit based out of [...]
Alida Farrell, GMFTS’s new Local Food Access Coordinator, pictured with bags of food prepared at the Orleans Federated Church Community Food Shelf. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWPORT, VT Contact: Jessica Weston, Communications and Development Coordinator Green Mountain Farm-to-School [...]
By Esmé Forbes, AmeriCorps Farm to School Coordinaor Map of Abenaki Tribes in the NortheastSource: http://abenakiart.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Grades_3_to_5_-_Study_Guide_-_Alnobak.95203501.pdf Green Mountain Farm-to-Schools programs operate throughout the Northeast Kingdom. This is the ancestral and current homeland of the Nulhegan Band of [...]
By Esmé Forbes, AmeriCorps Farm to School Coordinator Visual depiction of the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address (Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen) - Greetings to the Natural World by Erwin Printup, Jr. The illustration is from the book, Giving Thanks: A Native American [...]
Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) has partnered with the new Vermont Everyone Eats program to distribute prepared meals to people negatively impacted by the pandemic. GMFTS is delivering 350 meals per week in the NEK. The program reimburses [...]
GMFTS and the "neighbors to neighbors" task force at the weekly Craftsbury & Albany Food Share. Photo Courtesy of Karen Gowen Photography. CRAFTSBURY, VT Contact: Catherine Cusack, Executive Director October 8, 2020 The Green Mountain [...]
Big news! Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) has partnered with the White Market for their Coins for Community program which allows customers to donate to a rotating local nonprofit organization each month. For the entire month of October, [...]
NEWPORT, VT Contact: Maire Folan, mfolan@gmfts.org (802) 334-2044 September 21, 2020 Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) is working with 15 schools in the Northeast Kingdom to provide meaningful STEM learning opportunities in the outdoors this school year. “Outdoor [...]
NEWPORT, VTContact: Jessica Weston, jweston@gmfts.org, (802) 334-2044September 16, 2020Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS), a small nonprofit based out of Newport, VT, has been working to fight ongoing COVID-19 related food insecurity while contributing to local economic recovery by [...]
NEWPORT, VTContact: Jessica Weston, jweston@gmfts.org, (802) 334-2044July 20, 2020 Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS), a small nonprofit organization seeks to mitigate COVID-related food insecurity and promote the use of local food in the Northeast Kingdom through various new [...]
In an effort to get more local food out to our community and to reduce waste in school gardens, GMFTS is expanding the Lunchbox’s “Market Basket” program for 2020. After a successful pilot year in 2019, Green [...]
The Lunchbox, a mobile food truck and free meal service, is on back on the road after a long winter hibernation! Starting June 17th, the Lunchbox will be serving 9 weeks of free meals to kids 18 [...]
NEWPORT, VTContact: Jessica Weston, jweston@gmfts.org, (802) 334-2044May 5, 2020Green Mountain Farm Direct (GMFD), a local food hub run by Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS), works to connect local farms with schools, restaurants, and institutions across Northern Vermont to [...]
#GivingTuesdayNow and Beyond - A Spring Fundraiser to Support GMFTS’s Response to COVID-19Here at Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) we are encouraged by the resiliency of our community under such sudden and extraordinary pressures. We have seen so [...]
With Spring, there comes Hope ...and GARDENS! Dear GMFTS Family - in these times of uncertainty we are grateful to have you as our friends, partners, and supporters - - we are thinking of you and hope [...]
Dear Farm Direct community, We would like to take this opportunity to update you on our operations during the COVID-19 outbreak. Green Mountain Farm Direct remains open and operational and we are dedicated to bringing you fresh, [...]
Online sales for the raffle are now closed! Tickets may be purchased in-person at the 12th Annual Taste of the Kingdom until 8pm
At Canaan School this past October, Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) and the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE) hosted the Vermont Farm to School Network’s Regional Fall Gathering for the Northeast. The gathering served as a celebration [...]
In early December, Green Mountain Farm to School (GMFTS)’s local food hub, Green Mountain Farm Direct (GMFD), successfully engaged in it’s first hub-to-hub transaction in an effort to expand the product catalog for the holidays. GMFD is [...]
Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) is happy to announce the arrival of two new additions to our team - Jessica Weston and Laurie Evans. Jessica joined in September as Communications and Development Coordinator, and Laurie joined in October [...]
NEWPORT, VT Contact: Jessica Weston, jweston@gmfts.org, (802) 334-2044 October 9, 2019 Did you know? October is National Farm to School Month! Green Mountain Farm To School (GMFTS) was excited to celebrate this occasion with the successful completion [...]
In February 2019, Farm to School Program Manager, Maire Folan, began serving as a coach for the 2019 grantees of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) Farm to School Program. The coaching support Folan [...]
August 28, 2019 - NEWPORT, VT Between June 19th and August 15th, the Lunchbox food truck, a free summer meal site, served 3,219 free meals to kids and teens and sold 583 adult meals to community members [...]
Thanks for your interest in our Farm to School Conference! We are postponing this year's conference to a later date. Please stay tuned for more details!
NEWPORT, VT - July 29, 2019 A cornerstone of Green Mountain Farm-to-School’s programming is the 19 school gardens we plant, maintain, and harvest with the help of five AmeriCorps Farm to School Coordinators. These school gardens provide [...]
Since June 19th, the Lunchbox food truck has served over 1800 free youth meals in Barton, Newport, and Derby, Vermont. The Lunchbox is a free summer meal site and mobile learning kitchen operated in partnership by Green [...]
Contact: Sophie Westover swestover@gmfts.org 802 334 2044 [Newport, VT] — On Wednesday, July 10, 2019 from 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM at the Barton Public Library, children and teens are invited to a storytelling presentation and brand-new [...]
Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) is hosting it’s 5th Summer Block Party in the Kingdom, a free community event, on June 20 from 3 PM to 6 PM at Gardner Park in Newport. The event marks the start [...]
The Lunchbox, a summer meal program providing food education, is on the road again this season! Starting June 19th, the Lunchbox will be serving 10 weeks of free meals to kids 18 and under throughout the summer. [...]
NEWPORT, VT - May 9, 2019 On April 30, Green Mountain Farm-to-School ended its fourth year of operating the Fresh Fruit & Vegetables Coupon Program, distributing $70,000 worth of coupons for fresh produce to residents of Essex [...]
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How three GMFTS programs - Green Mountain Farm Direct, Farm to School, and the Vermont Harvest of the Month - work together to increase the amount of fresh Vermont-grown foods on cafeteria plates. In 2009, GMFTS founded [...]
Farm to school programs at GMFTS focuses on experiential, hands-on learning that reaches across the cafeteria, classroom, and community. To learn more about why farm field trips are an important piece of this equation, we sat down [...]
Green Mountain Farm to School is pleased to share our 2017-2018 Annual Report with our community. Read the full report here.
School Lunch Hero Day is May 3, 2019 NEWPORT, Vermont – Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) works with a variety of school nutrition staff at schools throughout the region. These professionals are critical to getting local food onto [...]
By: Rachel Proctor April 9, 2019 NEWPORT, VERMONT- Four, sixth-grade students from Coventry Village School were proud to compete with 67 other Vermont schools at the 12th Annual Jr. Iron Chef competition hosted by Vermont Food Education [...]
Full Posting: GMFTS FTS Coordinator, 2019-2020 This position is part of the Lyndon Economic opportunity AmeriCorps Program (LEAP). LEAP is a national service program that places AmeriCorps members with non-profit organizations throughout the NEK of Vermont to [...]
NEWPORT — The 11th Annual Taste of the Kingdom, a fundraising event held by Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS), will take place on February 27th at 6 p.m. at Jay Peak Resort’s Foeger Ballroom. Tickets are on sale [...]
Enter the Green Mountain Farm-to-School raffle for your chance to win a 2-night stay for 4 people in a Hotel Jay Suite – Lift Tickets, Waterpark, and Climb Time included! To purchase raffle tickets online, click the donate [...]
In 2013, lunchtime at Irasburg Village School (IVS) looked a lot different than it does today. Uneaten food and kitchen scraps went straight into trash cans, then on to landfills. The need for a composting program was [...]
NEWPORT, VT- October, 31, 2018 On Thursday, October 18th, an unseasonably cold day, 37 members of our community gathered for Green Mountain Farm-to-School’s 2018 Fall On-Farm Community Dinner at Morningstar Farm in Glover, Vermont. The event was [...]
For the fourth consecutive year, Green Mountain Farm-to-School is offering $60,000 in coupons for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables to the residents of Essex and Orleans counties enrolled in 3SquaresVT, also known as the Supplemental [...]
October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate connections happening all over the country between schools, food, and local farmers! Farm to school enriches the connections communities have with fresh, healthy food and local [...]
Green Mountain Farm-to-School’s mission-driven food hub, Green Mountain Farm Direct (Farm Direct), is a reliable source for wholesale local food purchasing that is working to improve farm viability in the region. Last year, GMFD worked with 34 [...]
Green Mountain Farm-to-School’s mobile summer meal site, the Lunchbox food truck spent the summer out on the road again serving up free healthy, locally-sourced meals to our community. This year, the Lunchbox served 1,820 free meals to [...]