How the Northeast is Building a Movement

“We need to move from competitive ideation, trying to push our individual ideas, to collective ideation, collaborative ideation. It isn’t about having the number one best idea, but having ideas that come from, and work for, more people.” –adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy

How can we — schools, towns, states, regions, countries — create the changes we need in our food systems and schools? At Vermont FEED, we know the path is through collaboration.

Facilitated by Vermont FEED, The Northeast Farm to School Collaborative is a  community of farm to school leaders working together to advance the movement through networking, peer learning, collaborative projects and resources, policy, and convenings. Active since 2008, this group of innovators from seven Northeast states and the USDA has been sharing successes, ideas, and resources to effect bigger change, faster. 

Here’s a glimpse into what that work has looked like lately:

The 2022-23 Northeast Farm to School Institute cohort during the summer kickoff retreat at Shelburne Farms. Photo by Sarah Webb.

Spreading Farm to School Learning across the Region

Vermont FEED’s Farm to School Institute is a meaningful example of collaboration in and of itself: schools form teams that represent a diverse mix of staff and community members. Then, those teams are supported by a coach to design and implement farm to school action plans that create whole-school change. 

Since 2010 our annual, year-long Institute has catalyzed enduring farm to school programs in over 120 schools, districts, and early childhood programs. That growth is now  exponential as Northeast states have adapted this model to serve more schools in their own communities.

“It has been so exciting to support our partners adapt the Vermont FEED model across the region so that more students can eat and connect with fresh local foods, farmers can serve their local communities, and those communities can build stronger connections to the schools with place based learning opportunities,” says Vermont FEED Project Director Betsy Rosenbluth.

By summer 2023, Massachusetts, New York, Maine, and Connecticut will all be offering a statewide Farm to School Institute based on our Vermont-grown model.

School children enjoy fresh, locally sourced meals in the cafeteria. Photo by Hunger Free Vermont.

Effecting Change through Policy, Faster

The values of farm to school are nothing new, but lately they are causing major waves in state and national policy: increasing access to school meals, investing in a more resilient local food system, and appreciating the power of community to effect change. As a Collaborative, we have the opportunity to learn from each other’s work to more effectively advocate for sustaining farm to school through state-level policies. A collective, seven-state voice is a powerful force.

The success of a local food purchasing incentive program for schools in New York inspired Vermont’s Legislature to establish and fund a similar program in 2021 (continued funding of Act 67), and New Hampshire lawmakers are considering a bill like Maine’s legislation that could establish a local foods incentive in future legislative sessions. “School nutrition staff want to feed their kids more local foods but are challenged by costs,” explains Helen Rortvedt Vermont FEED Program Director at NOFA-VT. “Providing supervisory unions with this grant funding is essential for feeding more Vermont kids with fresh local food and incentivizes them to direct more dollars to Vermont farmers.” 

A child holds out a handful of Vermont cranberry beans, an Indigenous Abenaki crop. Photo by Sarah Webb.

More Voices, Better Outcomes

The Northeast is collectively working on building culturally sustaining farm to school resources. Many existing farm to school resources do not adequately recognize the history and influence of the Indigenous peoples in our states, and similarly lack recognition of the food traditions of all students and their families. Underrepresentation makes it difficult for many students to develop meaningful connections with the land, their community, their peers, and themselves.

By seeking out and incorporating a diversity of perspectives, we’re creating a toolset for more culturally aware, sustainable change in our school communities. “When we work together across the Northeast, we’re able to get multiple points of view about what is needed, and what work is already underway,” shares Aimee Arandia Østensen, Professional Learning Facilitator at Shelburne Farms. “We can jumpstart efforts by building on work that others in the Northeast have already done.” Unique partnerships need to be created in every community, but inspiration and lessons learned can be taken from all across the region. 

Some current and recent projects underway with the goal of elevating multiple voices and perspectives include:

• Vermont’s Harvest of the Month is a hub of resources to explore, promote, and cook through Vermont’s season. The Vermont Farm to school & Early Childhood Network is applying an equity lens to associated materials, recipes, and activities in order to create a more culturally sustaining collection of resources. Read more about the process.
   
• In Maine, the Portland Public School System (PPS) is working with the Wabanaki tribes to integrate Indigenous studies into district-wide curriculum. A group has created the Wabanaki Studies Planning Guide For Portland Educators to support teachers in the absence of an official state Wabanaki Studies curriculum. Farm to school partners are developing Wabanaki Harvest of the Month resources centering traditional foods. Student-led taste testing has also led to expanding culturally important menu development in the cafeterias.
   
• New Hampshire Farm to School published the Indigenous Harvest Calendar, an educational project by New Hampshire Farm to School in collaboration with the New Hampshire Indigenous Collaborative Collective and the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People.
   
• Farm to Institution New York State (FINYS) has developed the “Cultivating Collaborations” program in partnership with Qiana Mickie to support BIPOC, LGBTQI+, and historically resilient small-scale farmers who are interested in connecting with schools to sell their products and engage in taste tests, harvest of the month items, farm field trips, and other opportunities that are mutually beneficial to both farmer and school.

As our Maine partners noted, “Having this group of farm to school experts and advocates as part of my network circle has been so valuable in helping our state advance policy work, launch a state-level Farm to School Institute, start a state-level food policy work group, launch a state harvest of the month program, develop regional resources like the Sea to School Guide, and develop an Indigenous harvest of the month program, to name a few.”

This work is supported by the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, using the power of collaboration across the region in order to create food system change.