Farm to Preschool in Addison County

The Vermont Community Foundation recently awarded Shelburne Farms an Innovations & Collaboration grant to support a VT FEED project to pilot Farm to Preschool with partners in Addison County. We’re excited to be working with ACORN (Addison County Revitalization Network), Mary Johnson Children’s Center, Head Start at Mary Hogan Elementary School, Hunger Free Vermont, Building Bright Futures Vermont, and the Greater Burlington YMCA “Eat Well Play More Initiative” to extend the health and learning benefits of Farm to School to our youngest eaters in the birth to five community. 

These partners are working together for a year to shape a model for Farm to Preschool that works for Addison County. Each brings unique skills to the collaboration. VT FEED contributes years of farm to school experience and Shelburne Farms offers expertise supporting educator-driven programs and peer-to-peer learning. Local partners root this knowledge in their communities, sparking authentic learning that connects young children to the food they eat and the places where they live. Statewide and national partners will help take the promising practices that emerge and scale these so they transfer to other regions.

Components of successful Farm to Preschool initiatives may include local sourcing of snacks and meals, food preparation and taste testing; garden-based curricula; field trips to farms or farmers' markets; parent workshops and more. We look forward to keeping you posted as the pilot project emerges.

For more information, contact Jed Norris: jnorris [@] shelburnefarms [.] org