2024 Impact by the Numbers - Text Only

Vermont FEED is working toward a big vision: to engage every student and community in a local food and farm culture that nurtures child health, cultivates viable farms, and builds vibrant communities.

How do we make this vision a reality? We focus on farm to school programs, which connect classrooms, cafeterias, and communities in pursuit of a healthier, more just food system.

Here’s a look at 2024 and some of the projects and collaborations that helped to move the farm to school movement forward. 

• 102 participants from 13 schools and ECE programs received Vermont Agency of Agricultural Food & Markets’ (VAAFM) Farm to School & Early Childhood Capacity Building Grants, the state’s flagship funding opportunity. We supported grantees with action planning, curriculum integration, and local food procurement and coached 6 teams.
• 11 school and early childhood teams—representing 23,836 students—participated in our Northeast Farm to School Institute. This year-long professional learning program brings teams together to build robust farm to school plans for their districts and programs. With the support of a coach, teams put their plans into action to create change that lasts.
• We coordinate the Vermont Farm to School & Early Childhood Network, which hosted 6 regional gatherings across the state, engaging 179 farm to school champions. The events offered peer-to-peer learning and opportunities to strengthen local  farm to school movements.
• 30 CSAs were subsidized for early childhood programs through grant funding from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets. We support these educators with accessing resources, making farm connections, and helping our earliest learners eat more local foods.
• 80 Vermont students participated in F.E.A.S.T., a day-long, food systems focused event created by high school students for high school students. The day featured 12 workshops, including: Raising Goats and Micro Dairies; Cell phones, Climate Change, and Bees; and Arepa Making. 
• Through technical assistance, we helped 12 School Food Authorities secure the Subsequent Year Grant of the Local Foods Incentive, resulting in approximately $1.2 million invested in local food.
• 15 states offered Farm to School Institutes across the country, all modeled on our own Northeast program and supported through our Adaptation program and community of practice.
• 47 Vermont elementary classrooms connected to 14 local dairy farms as part of the Dairy in the Classroom program, developing an appreciation for the importance of farms, farmers, and animals in their everyday life.
• 45 farm-based educators participated in the ABCs of Farm-Based Education, a three-day program helping farmers engage and inspire visitors.
• 16 farm to school champions from all over the country — from California to Virginia — participated in the first-ever Farm to School Leadership Academy, a year-long community of learning to support transforming school food systems.
• In collaboration with Miller Farm, Windham Northeast Supervisory Union, and the National Organic Family Farm Partnership, we expanded a pilot project bringing Vermont organic milk to three new schools, totaling 13 schools, 3,000+ students, and 8,000 gallons of milk served.