Shelburne Farms Awarded $500,000 from USDA to Expand Farm to School Efforts

The Northeast Farm to School Institute model will be adapted by other states and regions. 

Originally posted by Shelburne Farms on December 10, 2021.

Shelburne Farms is excited to announce that it has been awarded $500,000 in a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service to replicate the Northeast Farm to School Institute model nationally. The Institute was developed by Vermont FEED (Food Education Every Day), which is a farm to school partnership project of Shelburne Farms and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT).

Since 2010, the annual, year-long Institute has built enduring farm to school (FTS) programs in over 100 schools and districts. The Institute works by supporting school teams that represent Classrooms, Cafeterias, and Communities (our 3C model of change), then coaching those teams through design and implementation of farm to school action plans that create whole-school change. In partnership with the USDA, Vermont FEED will be scaling up this model across the country over the next two years selecting eight states to pilot adaptation projects and to help refine the model’s framework. 

“It’s such a great opportunity to make lasting and systemic change in schools and food systems not just in the northeast, but across the country, so that kids can eat and connect with fresh local foods, farmers can serve their local communities, and those communities can thrive,” says Vermont FEED Project Director Betsy Rosenbluth.

More than half of America’s children—nearly 30 million students—get daily nutrition from school meals, and schools spend over $6.3 billion on food costs. These numbers present enormous farm to school opportunities for supporting whole-school systems change that fosters a culture of wellness while improving educational, environmental, and community outcomes.

Senator Patrick Leahy is a long-time champion of Farm to School, having been the original author of the federal Farm To School program in the 2010 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act. In his role as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Leahy worked to ensure the USDA had the capacity to build this successful partnership with Shelburne Farms. “Shelburne Farms has been a leader in Farm to School since the program’s infancy,” said Leahy. “With the partnership with USDA, Shelburne Farms will be able to broaden its reach and help schools in Vermont and around the country as they seek to expand nutrition education and healthy meal options to America’s students. I am proud that this innovative Vermont organization is using its strengths to benefit states, schools and students across the country.”

The adaptation project will launch with the kick-off of Vermont FEED’s 12th annual Northeast Farm to School Institute, June 28-30, 2022. Engaging teams in whole-school action planning, coaching during the school year, and capacity building is vital to assuring the long-term staying power of FTS programs.  

“Our goal is to eventually reach a tipping point in farm to school when it becomes the ‘norm’ for all students and all U.S.children to equally benefit from the educational and wellness benefits of a thriving FTS program in their community,” says Shelburne Farms Executive Vice President and Program Director Megan Camp. “We are so grateful to Senator Leahy for having the vision to see the win-win of farm to school and to helping to secure this funding. Our children, our food systems, and the agricultural economy will be healthier as a result.”

Media Contact: Elizabeth Davis, Shelburne Farms, [email protected], 802-598-7155