Spring & Early Summer Recap: Our Programs for Strengthening Food Systems Education
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Making pesto with bike-powered food processors, dreaming up onsite programming with Vermont farmers at a picnic table, standing inside a student-built greenhouse on a high school campus — our spring and early summer was packed with inspiring moments and people. Read on to learn more.
Cohort members work collaboratively to explore their vision and underlying WHY of creating more on-site education opportunities on their farms. Photos by Sarah Webb.
Ten Vermont farmers convened at Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center for the first in-person meeting of the Agricultural Educators Cohort. The cohort is a group of farmers looking to share their farm more intentionally through agritourism and educational experiences. We offer technical assistance, resources, and the structure for peer learning as we dive into everything from building relationships with schools to best on-farm safety practices.
The day created a space for the group to do some high-level thinking and goal setting about the ‘why’ behind sharing their farm in new ways. Some of the farmers’ goals and ideas: working with nearby elementary schools to grow produce and teach children where their food comes from, hosting “aging and saging” workshops for multigenerational audiences so all people feel and safe and welcome in agriculture settings, teaching their customers about carbon sequestration through farm tours, and supporting ELL students creating an outdoor retreat to integrate students better into Vermont school systems.
“Organizing this cohort has felt so valuable to support farmers who are interested in growing the movement,” shares Farm to School Coordinator Kayla Strom. “This is the first year of the cohort and I've been amazed by how many farms reached out wanting to build more skills and connect with other farmers around farm based education.” The group is currently focused on setting goals and determining how they can each share their own special skills and gifts with their communities. “It's exciting to support these farms and offer the tools they need to advance their goals in the next year. I can't wait to see them in action!”
Visit the Agricultural Educators Cohort program page to see the participating farms. Interested in learning more? Contact Kayla Strom at [email protected].
This project is funded by a USDA Farm to School Grant.
May 10: Northeast Farm to School Institute 2022–23 Closing
Online
During the virtual closing, Farm to School Institute participants shared images from the year showcasing how they connected the classroom, cafeteria, and communities. Photos courtesy Rivendell Interstate School District in Fairlee, Vershire, and West Fairlee, VT & Orford, NH.
The 12th cohort of the Northeast Farm to School Institute closed out their year with a virtual gathering to share how they carried through on their action plans created last summer. They shared stories of accomplishments, obstacles, proud moments, and concluded with a Shark Tank-style pitch of their dream projects for the future (one idea included a whole lot of blueberry bushes!) .
A common theme around community came up in many stories: an appreciation for being able to open up the schools more after years of isolation during the pandemic. Teams found deep meaning in reinstating harvest dinners and feeding families, organizing cafeteria taste tests, and visiting local farms once again. “I was so impressed with how the teams built stronger communities back at their schools,” commented Betsy Rosenbluth. “They grew their teams during the school year, and created really inventive ways of welcoming more people into their farm to school work. This resilience is what will make the difference, long term.”
June 5–9: Montezuma, CO Teachers Tour Vermont Farm to School
All over the state
Montpelier High School educators Tom Sabo and Sam Bromley invite the Montezuma guests into the school's greenhouse, a space that students have the opportunity to use and learn in throughout the year and across the curriculum. Photo by Sarah Webb.
We hosted the Montezuma School District during a week-long visit of farm to school programs across the state. Eight educators from the Montezuma School to Farm Project explored Shelburne Farms and schools around the state, gleaning ideas and best practices to bring back to their schools in Southwestern Colorado.
Their time at Montpelier High School began with a walk to the school gardens, just as a Spanish class was harvesting sweet potatoes as part of their recent unit on papas. Educators Tom Sabo and Sam Bromley opened the doors to their student-built and designed greenhouse to show the Montezuma team how farm to school can be deeply integrated across the campus and curricula. “The greenhouse was built from wood harvested from trees that fell in City Park,” Tom explains. “It was milled on site, and students worked with a local carpenter to build the structure for a math credit.” The greenhouse and gardens serve as living classrooms for science classes to study plant biology and water systems, offer summer opportunities for students interested in agriculture, and the French teacher has even created a student-run crepe cart using produce from the school gardens, which vends at the local farmers’ market to sustain a scholarship fund.
The Montezuma team also met with educators in Burlington, Sharon, and Roxbury. They left Vermont inspired and equipped with concrete ideas for deepening connections between the classroom, cafeteria, and community and building buy-in and support from decision makers back home in Colorado.
Students created and led a day-long agenda exploring food systems. Workshops included a wildcrafting workshop, pesto making on a smoothie bike with microgreens they harvested, and more. Photos by Sarah Webb.
Vermont high school students from Woodstock, Harwood Union, Leland & Gray, Montpelier, North Country Union, and Pacem gathered at Knoll Farm for the first annual Youth F.E.A.S.T. Summit (Food Education and Sustainability/Systems Thinking). The students self-organized and created a day of workshops and conversations for themselves and their fellow students passionate about food systems. They taught and attended workshops on microgreens, wildcrafting, advocating in the state house, cooking, and nutrition.
As one student said, designing and facilitating the Summit was "a cool way to take on a leadership role, learn how to teach workshops, and meet with other kids our age across the state who are interested in sustainability." The June event marked the first of what the planning team hopes to be a yearly event.
“We often hear about an academic achievement gap in schools,” shares Director of Professional Learning Jen Cirillo, one of the adult partners supporting the student planning, “but I think there has been a realization over the last several years that there is actually an engagement gap. We have to stop blaming young people for not being engaged and recognize the strategies that we can use as educators for learning to flourish. Co-creating programming and putting students in the position of decision-maker in their own education is one way toward this deeper learning schools are looking for.”
Save the date: May 22, 2024! Are you an educator interested in supporting the next youth summit, or have students who would like to get involved? Join us for the second annual F.E.A.S.T. Summit at Shelburne Farms. Learn more.
The 2023–24 Northeast Farm to School Institute and Adaptation Program is underway! The year-long programs kicked off with a retreat at Shelburne Farms in late June. Photo by Andy Duback.
We’re excited to announce that nine school and district teams were selected for our 2023–24 Northeast Farm to School Institute, along with five state teams (Kansas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Rhode Island) who will be adapting the model in their own regions to strengthen food systems education and local purchasing across the country. We kicked off the year-long program at Shelburne Farms, where teams spent three days building relationships, skills, and a collaborative action plan to put into place back at their schools and early childhood programs. Check out stories about the kickoff from Vermont Business Magazine and WCAX.
Learn more about the Northeast and Adaptation programs. Applications for the 2024–25 Institute will open in early 2024.
