Barre School Celebrates Local Food & Community Connections During Farm to School Month

Tuesday, October 24, Barre — Students, school and district staff, Congressional delegation staff, Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets Anson Tebbetts, and the Vermont Farm to School and Early Childhood Network gathered at Spaulding Education Alternatives School (SEA) to celebrate National Farm to School Month and the success of Farm Fresh School Meals for All in Vermont.

Farm to school is about engaging students with the food system and the impacts of their food choices on their own health and their community’s health. SEA is an alternative school within the Barre Unified Union School District supporting students around their social/emotional and academic needs. Within their project-based academic programs, they’re using farm to school approaches—including visits to local farms, hands-on cooking in the kitchen, building and maintaining a student garden and greenhouse, and bringing more student voice into cafeteria menu planning—to deliver rigorous academics with a real world context and build community connections.

The event included a tour of the school gardens and remarks from staff (L: District Manager of Food Programs Jennifer Hutchinson, R: Student Support Specialist Alyssa Pratt)

SEA’s celebratory event highlighted these efforts, including student-made snacks prepared with produce harvested from the school garden; a tour of the school including the gardens, woodshop, and cafeteria; and words from SEA staff on the impact of project-based farm to school programming.

“Everything you’re seeing today—the students had a part in all of this,” explained Jennifer Hutchinson, District Manager of Food Programs. “They've started the greenhouse and gardens with the help of staff. Project-based learning is a huge part of what goes on here.”

Superintendent Chris Hennessey Speaks with the SEA Farm to School Team

Video by Laura Potter, BUUSD Hiring Coordinator

“We're going to use the space as an outdoor classroom,” Student Support Specialist Alyssa Pratt explains, “where we can learn about gardening, plant life cycles, composting, hydroponics, and more. When they’re building the greenhouse, so many different disciplines are used —math, science, history, English, physical education — so we can really expand the credit that they can get for the work. Slowly and surely we’re trying to establish plans here, and the goal is to spread farm to school programming throughout the district.” 

Students have spent the fall building connections with local farmers, producers, and chefs, too. “We made mozzarella with Pearl Street Pizza co-owner and chef Stefano Coppola out of local organic Buttercup Mountain Farm milk,” Pratt shares. “We made our own curds, and the students had a lot of fun learning these new skills.”

A school garden inspired snack—heirloom tomatoes, basil, and eggplant with student-made mozzarella—is prepared by students and staff before the event.

“Yesterday might be one of the best days I've ever had in my entire career,” Hutchinson shares about preparing for the event. “We had four or five kids in the kitchen learning cooking and meal planning skills. We made macaroni and cheese for today's school lunch and sandwiches for tomorrow’s field trips. And the kids are still talking about it, everybody loved it.”

District Manager of Food Programs Jennifer Hutchinson works with a student in the kitchen preparing for the day’s events.

“A lot of the field trips that the students go on aren’t opportunities the students would always have outside of school,” adds school counselor Cristina Scharnberg. “Just being out in the community with peers and families can be something we all take for granted. These experiences are a really fun time for them, and it's a good way for them to connect as students together.”

SEA is participating in the Northeast Farm to School Institute, our year-long professional learning opportunity. With the support of a coach, teams spend the school year creating robust and sustainable farm to school programs. Vermont school teams participating in the Institute also receive a Farm to School & Early Childhood Action Plan Implementation Grant from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets to implement their projects. 

“Through the Farm to School Institute, we’ve been able to support SEA in connecting their activities across the cafeteria, classroom, and community,” shared Betsy Rosenbluth, Farm to School Director of Shelburne Farms. “The program is one of many opportunities supporting schools and early childhood across Vermont in offering equitable access to nutritious, local foods and food education."

Youth Employment Specialist Nashanda McGee-Browman (left) and Student Support Specialist Alyssa Pratt lead a tour through the SEA woodshop, where elements of the school garden space were built by students.

Learn more about the statewide programs supporting schools and early childhood programs in deepening student connections to local food systems:

• The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, & Markets (VAAFM) Farm to School and Early Childhood Capacity Building Grant provides financial and technical assistance to schools or early childhood education organizations looking to develop or expand their farm to school programs. Application due November 15.
• The Vermont Agency of Education State SNP Equipment Grant covers 50% of the  costs associated with the purchase of new equipment for School Nutrition Programs. Supervisory Unions and School Districts are eligible to apply.  Application due November 17.
• The VAAFM Farm to Institution Market Development Grant supports market development opportunities for local food producers and processors, with a focus on Vermont institutional markets. Application due November 29.
• The Vermont Agency of Education Local Foods Incentive Grant provides a financial incentive to school districts and supervisory unions that meet local purchasing targets in their school meal programs. Application due December 9.
• NOFA-VT and Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools’ Northeast Farm to School Institute is a unique year-long professional learning opportunity for selected school, district, or early childhood teams from New England and New York. Applications open December 2023.
• The USDA Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program can launch new farm to school programs or expand existing efforts. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Farm to School Grant awards projects of 24 months in length for funding up to $500,000. Applications are due January 11, 2024. 
• The VAAFM Farm to School and Early Childhood Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Grant reimburses early childhood education providers and after school programs for the cost of a CSA share. Applications open February 1, 2024.
• The VAAFM Farm to School and Early Childhood Vision Grant supports innovative projects that engage youth in addressing contemporary problems through farm to school and early childhood activities. Applications open February 8, 2024.

Story & photos by Sarah Webb