Vibrant school gardens bustling with students learning to grow food. School cafeterias serving nutritious meals made with locally produced ingredients. Children taking field trips to local farms to pick up their community supported agriculture (CSA) share. These are just some of the impacts of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets’ Farm to School and Early Childhood grant programs.
Since it was established in 2006, hundreds of schools and early childhood education (ECE) providers, and over 50,000 Vermont students and children have benefited from the financial and technical support offered through these annual grants. Whether it’s developing a holistic farm to school program through the Farm to School and Early Childhood grant, accessing locally grown food through the Community Supported Agriculture grant, or developing innovative farm to school initiatives through the Farm to School Vision grant, these programs provide critical support to Vermont educators, students, farmers and communities.
To learn more about the impact of these programs, including how they’ve helped schools and ECEs respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, check out the latest impact report. Questions about these programs can be directed to Trevor Lowell.
To review the report: https://agriculture.vermont.gov/sites/agriculture/files/documents/Farm_to_School_Institution/Farm%20To%20School%20%26%20Early%20Childhood%20Impact%20Report%20%281%29.pdf.