On the Rise: Brattleboro Schools Break Records (and Bread!)
Posted on May 25, 2026
A cheer sounds through the cafeteria, “A new record!” Chef Noah Gillard leaps through the swinging kitchen doors, beaming, “Brunch for lunch! 705!”
This year, the Brattleboro school meals team started a tradition. Every time they break their previous record for the number of school lunches served in a day, they add a panel to a growing banner. This lunch was one of those celebrations.
The growing banner in the Brattleboro school kitchen — new record to be added!
“I wish I had a recording of everyone cheering when they found out. It was like a wave of sound moving toward us,” Kayla Strom, NOFA-VT Farm to Institution Program Director, remembers. “The excitement was amazing.”
Part of what made the day remarkable was what was on the menu. Not only was the meal 100% local, the day also marked the first time the school served locally made whole wheat sourdough rolls from nearby Butter Mountain Bakery. This is significant: Local grain products in schools are uncommon. Baker and owner Hannah Small delivered 1,200 rolls for the lunch service — and every single one was eaten. It was a big win after months of dreaming and planning with the district’s School Nutrition Director, Harley Sterling, and the local procurement team at NOFA-VT.
Students pick up local whole wheat rolls made by Butter Mountain Bakery in the Brattleboro school cafeteria.
In 2024, 14.5 million school meals were served in Vermont. This particular kitchen puts out 1,600 meals every day including breakfasts, lunches, and some after-school offerings. And like many schools in the state, they work hard to incorporate local foods into the menus. While items like fresh vegetables or maple syrup are often available locally, it’s much more challenging to source everyday staples, like bread, that meet the nutritional specifications and volume schools require.
And schools serve a lot of bread: rolls, sandwich bread, burger buns. To meet their unique needs, schools typically get their inventory from large, consolidated corporate food companies. “There is a huge untapped market for local bakeries to fill if they can unravel all the intricacies of school foods,” Kayla explains. “For instance, all bread products served in schools have to be at least 50% whole wheat. We’re here to help local producers navigate the school purchasing systems, nutrition requirements, and complex federal mandates.”
In 2024, NOFA-VT began deliberately examining what it would take to get more local grains and breads into school meals. “We were dreaming up crazy ideas,” explains Harley, “and grain seemed to be this dark horse that was really unaddressed. So we polled school nutrition directors on which products there's the most enthusiasm for.”
And that enthusiasm propelled NOFA-VT to lead the charge on a collaborative project, On The Rise (part of the larger Bridging the Gap: Supply Chain Transformation for Vermont School Meals), to provide financial support for local bakeries so they could afford the infrastructure changes they need — things like larger ovens, dough formers and rollers, and cold storage capacity — to make those sought-after products for schools.
It was through her connections with Harley that Hannah was brought into this opportunity with NOFA-VT. The grant allowed her to get the equipment she needed and move into a large operating space in order to be able to reliably supply the school with bread. “Two years ago, selling to schools felt totally out of the question. It was just me doing everything.”
Left: Baker Hannah Small delivered 1,200 whole wheat rolls to the cafeteria the day of service. Chef Noah Gillard works nearby. Right: Hannah (left) and Kelsey Baumgarten (right) prepare the rolls for lunch.
After starting her backing career in New York City, Hannah returned to Vermont in 2014 and steadily built Butter Mountain Bakery from an in-home business baking mostly for farmers markets into a commercial space. “A wholesale market, like schools, provides stability. My bakery is in Wilmington, which is a tourist town, so there's so much ebb and flow throughout the year. The school system is a consistent market.” With the grant funding, Hannah was able to purchase more equipment, move into a larger space, and begin to expand her staff.
“I care about what kids are eating. I know my kids are very fortunate to get sourdough and treats and amazing locally produced things all the time, but most of their friends don't have that opportunity. So it just was like such an amazing opportunity, not only for the business, but personally, to be able to give back.”
One student's lunch for the day: local seasoned chicken, a fresh salad with scratch-made dressing, and a local whole wheat roll with butter.
As the school district and Hannah continue to work together, Hannah will be able to offer more products and determine where and when scaling up makes sense. “We landed on a whole wheat sourdough roll to start. But we have lots of ideas going forward for other items.”
But make no mistake, Hannah didn’t cut corners in her baking to please a student palate — this is a premium artisan product. “We looked at a bunch of different approaches for getting Vermont grains into schools,” explains Harley. “Mass scalability and a low price point is one approach. This approach was kind of on the crazier end, we got a premium product into the meals.”
Their plan is to feature the rolls on the menu monthly, with the potential for more as the relationship grows. Butter Mountain Bakery isn’t the main source of bread in the cafeteria, “But if we purchase 1,000 rolls a week, and then Hannah sells 1,000 rolls a week at another school district, that makes a big difference in her business.”
“I know what impact it makes when you get an order that big as a baker or farmer,” adds Kelsey Baumgarten, Assistant Director of Nutrition. “It’s a relief to know all this food you created has a home, and you don't have to go to a market and stand there for six hours. That takes so much more effort than to just have a partnership like this.”
But, for enduring success, they need buy-in from their most important customers, the students.
Every month, Steve Hed, Food Systems Coordinator for the district offers a taste test highlighting the Vermont Harvest of the Month (HOTM) during the lunch periods. April’s harvest was grains, the perfect time to launch Butter Mountain Bakery rolls in the cafeteria.
These taste tests—organized in collaboration with Food Connects, which runs the statewide HOTM program—try out recipes using local ingredients or local products that have the potential to work in the cafeteria. Then, they offer a bite to every student. “We go around and poll the kids,” explains Steve. “We ask, ‘Is this something you’d want again?’ So far, all the comments are very positive.”
Left: The Harvest of the Month taste test table was set up in the center of the cafeteria for students to grab a roll (or two!) on their way to their seats. Right: the votes are in — Hannah's whole wheat rolls are an overwhelming "Yay"!
Taste tests are one way to prove that students will eat these dishes, and efforts won't (literally) go to waste. “Their approval today shows our district, the state, and the grain growers that there is a market here. And that’s exactly what we want to do, grow Vermont’s local food market, keep all those tax dollars in the state, and increase employment.”
Steve’s work in the schools is to be the connector between the classroom, cafeteria, and community. He’s helping to build farmer-school relationships and to bring food systems education into the classroom, all of which support the local purchasing ethos of the school meal program. “I'm a former teacher, and I've seen a lot of the disconnect. I'm trying to find ways that we could really bridge the cafeteria to the curriculum without asking for more work.”
Food Connects Farm to School Manager Adelaide Petrov-Yoo gathers student votes and feedback throughout the lunch services.
The role is new to the district, and he’s been making those inroads. One class assigns students to interview people in the community and create stories. Steve invited them to interview Hannah and NOFA-VT Farm to School Local Procurement Specialist Becca Perrin as part of that classwork (see the final video below!). “With a lot of their school work, kids are never necessarily told the why behind it. They think, ‘So big deal that we're eating local food. Why? What's important about it?’ When I can help explain that to kids, I think there's a lot more buy-in.”
Watch the Brattleboro High School students' documentary, Vermont Bread for Vermont Schools
The school nutrition team sees that buy-in, too. “When kids grow vegetables in farm to school programs, they're more likely to eat them,” shares Kelsey. “And I think the same is true for meeting a producer, because it's not just a piece of anonymous food. Students know who made that and know it's safe.”
The appreciation for all the work in the kitchen makes the difference, “This is why I got into food. I love that transfer of love from what you're making to someone eating it, someone feeling it.” Harley and Kelsey make sure their team knows how their work is making a difference in the lives of their neighbors: the farmers and local producers they've worked so hard to bring to the table. “In order to serve good food every day you have to build a team, a culture. We’re invested, bringing the love, and giving everyone the space to be their best selves.”
