Everyone Eats! Brattleboro Extended
Meet Our New Farm to School Coordinator
The Lunch Monitor: It Pays to Buy Local
Who Feeds Our Kids?
Who Grows Our Food?
The Lunch Monitor: It Pays to Buy Local
Local Purchasing Incentive (Vermont) | S.273
What it does
Creates a tiered local purchasing incentive for Vermont schools and correctional facilities.
Reimburses schools annually for local purchasing. Reimbursements would start at 15 cents per plate when at least 15% of ingredients are purchased locally. This would go up to 20 cents per plate at 20% and top out at 25 cents per plate at 25% and above.
Defines the broadest definition of local as grown or produced in Vermont or within 30 miles of Vermont. Processed foods would need to be made in Vermont and contain at least 75% locally sourced ingredients.
Provides an additional full-time position in the Child Nutrition Programs at the Vermont Agency of Education to assist schools in purchasing more local foods.
Why we think it’s important
Schools in Vermont have a lot of buying power. $15.5 million was spent on food by School Nutrition Programs in 2018 and over half that money comes from outside the state via federal funding. If we’re able to create a stronger incentive to purchase food locally, we can keep more of that $15.5 million within our communities. This translates to higher quality meals and a stronger economy. The case for local food was apparent during the pandemic when shocks to national food chains demonstrated the resilience of local food. Leveraging schools to buy more local can help farms grow and develop a more robust local food system to protect our community against future uncertainty.
Local purchasing incentives are gaining traction regionally as well. New York currently has the most generous program in operation—any district that spends at least 30% of their food dollars within the state gets their state reimbursement quadrupled, from 6 to 25 cents per meal. A similar proposal is currently being crafted by a working group in New Hampshire. Nationally, the Small Farm to School Act was introduced in July and would take the incentivized local purchasing model nationwide.
Senator Balint and Sheila Humphreys of Food Connects chat with kindergarteners during breakfast after the bell at Green Street School.
Who supports it
In the Vermont Senate, there are 12 co-sponsors of the bill, including Senator Becca Balint from Windham County, Senators Dick McCormack and Alison Clarkson from Windsor County, and Senator Brian Campion from Bennington County.
Current status
The bill passed the Senate Committee on Agriculture with a favorable report and is now being reviewed by the Committee on Appropriations. Last action was taken on March 12th, 2020, and as normal Senate procedures resume we hope to see more action.
Interested in more?
To learn more about how money is currently spent on school nutrition and what the impact could be if redirected locally, check out this info booklet from VT FEED and VT FTS Network.
Want to talk with your local representative? Easily look up your local Senators and Representatives here!
Everyone Eats! Brattleboro Receives Boost in Funding
Everyone Eats! Brattleboro (EE!B)—a restaurant stimulus and community food program—will continue through the end of 2020 thanks to a $654,210 grant from the state. The program brings nutritional relief, care, and comfort to the community and vital financial support to local restaurants.
To date, the program—which served as the pilot for a statewide rollout—has distributed over 11,950 meals to over 3,000 households while directly paying local businesses $120,000. These strong numbers enabled EE!B to ramp up to 850 meals per day for September through December 10, broadening the reach of the program.
The initial 4-week pilot worked with 9 Brattleboro restaurants to prepare meals four days a week. With the extension of the program, Shin-La and Echo Restaurant have been added to the line-up and its Program Director, Stephanie Bonin, is working to add others.
Residents in Brattleboro, Putney, Dummerston, Guilford, and Vernon can continue to pick up meals at 80 Flat Street in Brattleboro, Monday through Thursday until December 10th. Pick up is from 4 - 6 pm daily. Meals are free for everyone and no registration is required. Local social service organizations can also sign up directly for meals to provide to their clients. Please see https://www.brattleboro.com/EveryoneEats for more information.
New Everyone Eats! programs are cropping up statewide, with 10 “hubs” already created. As new programs get started, organizers look to Everyone Eats! Brattleboro for best practices. The program gained national recognition with coverage from NBC shining a spotlight on Vermont’s successful community response to the pandemic.
Restaurants involved: Dosa Kitchen, Yalla, duo Restaurant, Echo, A Vermont Table, The Porch, Masala House, Hazel, Shin-La, Mama Sezz, and The Works.
Downtown Brattleboro Alliance (DBA) is a non-profit whose mission is to promote the vitality of downtown, the primary center of commerce, culture, and community life for Brattleboro and the surrounding area. DBA is the official non-profit Designated Downtown Organization for the Town of Brattleboro, providing access to grants, technical assistance, and networking opportunities.
Food Connects is an entrepreneurial non-profit that delivers locally produced food as well as educational and consulting services aimed at transforming local food systems.
The Hunger Council of the Windham Region is a group of community leaders and organizations dedicated to ending hunger and malnutrition in the Windham Region. The Hunger Council of the Windham Region is part of the Hunger Councils of Vermont, which are coordinated by Hunger Free Vermont.
Vermont Foodbank is the state’s largest hunger-relief organization, providing nutritious food through a network of more than 300 community partners. The mission of the Vermont Foodbank is to gather and share quality food and nurture partnerships so that no one in Vermont will go hungry.
Who Feeds Our Kids: Steve Napoli
Welcome to Food Connects’ series highlighting the amazing essential workers in our community who work hard every day to keep our children fed. Read on to learn more!
Steve Napoli
Steve is the head custodian at Putney Central School, where he has worked for 10 years. When schools closed in March, Steve rolled up his sleeves and went to work helping get meals out to students. We sat down in June and had a chat about his work and how things have changed for him. Here are some highlights from that conversation:
Sheila Humphreys (SH): How has your work changed due to COVID-19?
““In the beginning, it was an eerie feeling but we knew we had to get the meals out because this is what we do, we take care of the community.””
Steve Napoli (SN): In normal times, I work during the school day and usually the kitchen is pretty set unless someone is sick, then I’ll jump in and do dishes or something, but usually I just clean the cafeteria, put tables away and stuff like that. Ever since the first day we started serving meals after schools closed, I’ve been involved with it. Now we’re numb to it, but in the beginning it was an eerie feeling, but we knew we had to get the meals out because this is what we do, we take care of the community. It’s been a long road, preparing about 100 bags every day with 2 meals in them.
SH: What has kept you going during these unusual times?
SN: My faith is #1, and #2 is the appreciation that the community has shown. They really appreciate it. They are out there getting their lunches every day, and sometimes they drop off surprises here for us, it feels good. It’s a great, great community, unlike any other in this country. For example, we do the lantern supper every year and it’s magnificent. No where else do you see that, it’s pretty unique.
SH: Do you have children at home?
SN: I have an 18 year old who just graduated from high school in Keene. He enlisted in the Navy and is shipping out August 4, so I have 2 weeks to spend good time with him before he has to quarantine. He will be stationed in Florida. He is excited.
SH: What has been your biggest challenge during this time?
SN: I don’t feel like anything is challenging here at work. It’s been going pretty smoothly. We get here every day, we get it done, and we go home. After I get home sometimes I actually have to take a nap because it’s kind of stressful to think of the big picture, but other than that, I stay pretty busy and that’s helpful.
SH: How can the community support you and other food service workers during this time?
SN: This community is supportive because they show their appreciation. When I see someone in the general store or something, the first thing they say to me is thank you. And that’s because of this community. I’ve seen communities where you don’t get that, but we do, so we are very fortunate.
SH: What advice would you give to someone who is interested in this career?
SN: We are very fortunate at Putney Central. The meals, the food, the freshness, you won’t see this anywhere else. It’s not frozen, it’s all fresh and our cooks are #1. It’s unbelievable to taste the product that comes out of this kitchen. It could be a quinoa salad or a homemade mac and cheese or a beet salad, things you don’t see anywhere else. It’s top grade, good food, and you don’t see that in many schools across the country where it’s more commercialized. We’re one of very few schools that run our own kitchen and it makes a difference. During the year when school is open, we serve 3-4 meals a day, with breakfast, healthy snack, lunch, and after school meals. This kitchen is unreal. A lot of people don’t realize what their kids are getting.
SH: What brings you joy? What are some things that you do outside of work that bring you joy?
SN: People. Life in general.
SH: What are you grateful for?
SN: My job. I’m very grateful for this work. I have a wonderful girlfriend that I’m grateful for, and I’m grateful for my son. I’m very fortunate. I’ve been working here for 10 years and it seems like yesterday. I think about how many kids I’ve seen come through here in 10 years. With 200 kids in the building, there are some kids that I don’t even know their names, and other kids who won’t leave my side. They want to learn, learn, learn from me. Everyday normally during school I have a group of kids who work with me after lunch, they help wipe tables and help sweep, so I miss that. These kids are amazing. It’s like one big family. It’s weird not having them here, and I’m happy to know that we are opening up in September. I can’t wait!
Meet Our New Farm to School Coordinator—Michelle Pinter-Petrillo
Food Connects is excited to introduce Michelle Pinter-Petrillo as the newest member of the Farm to School team.
Michelle joins the team as the newest Farm to School Coordinator. Michelle comes to Food Connects with a variety of experience teaching and getting people excited about cooking food. She will support Farm to School teams in the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union and Windsor Central Supervisory Union. Most recently, she designed and taught garden, nutrition, and food justice education in public schools in Oakland, CA. She has also served as a private chef, culinary school instructor, and teaches online under her brand, That Vegetable Lady.
Michelle took some time to answer some of our questions, so you could get to know her better!
What interested you most about Food Connects and why are you excited to start working here?
I am really excited about the opportunity to serve as part of a network to support schools, farmers, and local organizations working in communities around this region. Food Connects works alongside so many incredible people and I am excited to expand my own knowledge and understanding of the local food system through this network.
I grew up in Springfield, VT, and was looking to get involved in local school food. I had been following projects in southern Vermont for a few years and I was really drawn to the way that Food Connects brings together different community groups, partners, and individuals to share resources and collaborate. I’m excited to be here!
What do you see for the future of Food Connects and what you will do here? What are your hopes and dreams for this position?
The future of Food Connects will ebb and flow with the future of our food system and that is one of the main reasons that I am excited about being part of this team. Right now everyone is rapidly learning how to best support families in our community through the COVID-19 pandemic and I am sure our work will continue to change.
Growing up in a small town in southern Vermont, food was a way that I learned about different parts of the world and people who didn’t look like me. Food was a way that I learned about what healed my body and how to love and nurture my family. My hope is during my time here at Food Connects, I can continue to push our team to think about how the topic of food can be used to teach anti-racism, body positivity, team building, and connect youth with community service.
Tell us a little bit more about your online brand, That Vegetable Lady.
I created That Vegetable Lady initially to share my work teaching garden and food education in Oakland schools. During that time, I was diagnosed with celiac disease and even though I had been working in public health education for 8 years, my personal health struggles drastically changed my understanding of food as medicine. It was at that point that I got a certification in holistic nutrition and started to develop online educational programming to share with others.
One common thread that I have found in different states, different schools, and different families is that many Americans are intimidated by cooking veggies. So through my brand, I address that by serving as what I call a Vegetable Promoter. I share my enthusiasm for vegetables, efficient prep techniques, and strategies to get the most flavor out of each bite. I create videos, teach online classes, and design E-books to share ways to increase self-esteem and efficiency in the kitchen. I currently only work with a few private clients but I look forward to creating more videos soon.
What are some of your hobbies?
I love to play soccer, spend time in the sunshine, and read with my dog, Roxy, at my feet. This winter I am hoping to take my sewing to the next level and start making clothes!
If you had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island, but all your human needs—such as food and water—were taken care of, what two items would you want to have with you?
As a millennial, I would have to say an e-reader so I can read thousands of books while I wait to be saved and then a ball of some sort. Soccer? Basketball? Bouncy? It depends on the type of surface we’re working with.
What is your favorite or least favorite food?
Vegetable Lady Confession: Celery is not my cup of tea.
I don’t have a favorite food, but after many years away and I so excited for my first macintosh apple right off the tree.
When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I bounced around from wanting to be a firefighter to astronaut to a math professor but after reading my first book by Ruth Reichl, I knew I wanted to eat, cook, and write about food. I went on to write articles critiquing the school nutrition policy in my high school paper and I taught my first cooking class in my freshman college dorm so I like to think I am still pursuing that dream.
August 2020 Farm To School Newsletter
Making Reopening Easier with Farm to School
School Meal Enrollment
Indigenous NH Harvest Calendar Curriculum
Who Feeds Our Kids?
USDA Grants Awarded to Food Connects
School Meal Enrollment Opens Ahead of Upcoming School Year
School nutrition programs are an essential part of students’ lives, local Farm to School programs, and school success. One of the easiest ways to support your school’s nutrition program is by enrolling in free and reduced meals. The 2020-21 form is available here and this tip sheet from Hunger Free Vermont helps walk you through the short, one-page application.
Many families may be newly eligible for the program due to COVID-19 related changes to their family income. Even if you’ve never applied before, this year is a crucial time for schools looking to balance budgets and maintain progress—submitting the application helps your entire community!
Food Connects has compiled a School Meals Enrollment hub to help you easily find additional information and know where to send your application once it’s completed. Specific questions should be directed to your school but our team is always happy to help get you connected as well.
Introducing the Indigenous NH Harvest Calendar Curriculum
This year, New Hampshire Farm to School and the Indigenous NH Collaborative Collective are highlighting local, indigenous crops with the Indigenous NH Harvest Calendar curriculum. The curriculum is divided up into four seasons and also follows the Abenaki method of measuring time, the 13 Moon calendar. For each season, different ingenious food sources are highlighted as well as recipes and activities.
Some of these may already be a familiar sight in your school garden or around campus—others, a new learning opportunity for your students. We love the book’s background on each harvest, the inclusion of nutritional information, as well as the crop’s historical context. We also
Farm to School programming is rooted in the land, yet too often the history and stories of those who have lived here (wherever “here” may be) for millennia are overlooked. By teaching their history and elevating their work, we remind students of a Native American culture that is still thriving today. This naturally leads to larger lessons of history and modern-day social justice issues. This deepens the curriculum and, by using indigenous foods as a vehicle for talking about these more difficult topics, gives students the opportunity to connect on an individual level.
We’d love to hear from you if you try out any of the recipes or activities with your students! Send stories and pictures to farmtoschool@foodconnects.org.
Making Reopening Easier with Farm to School
Vermont is caught in a catch-22. While some families and teachers have serious health concerns about students going back to school, other parents don’t know how to make work work without the essential child care school provides.
Days ago, Governor Scott announced that school reopenings will be delayed until September 8. Across the state, districts are creating reopening plans in a patchwork response—ensuring that going back to school will look very different for families, students, and teachers. At Food Connects, the Farm to School (FTS) program is continuing to support schools and thinking of creative solutions to the realities brought on by COVID-19.
We’re always wary of adding more to teachers' plates, preferring to find areas of overlap or lessons that can be enhanced through an experiential, FTS lens. This is true now more than ever for our team. It’s going to take a whole-community response to successfully reopen our schools and ensure the safety of our students and school staff. We see a part of that response as leveraging the work done by Food Connects and the VT FTS Network in integrating outdoor, place-based instruction into the school day.
Interest in gardens nationwide spiked this past spring and our FTS teams across the region worked diligently to ensure that their school-based gardens would be bountiful and in bloom this fall. These spaces provide countless opportunities for classes to get outside, spread out, and dive into cross-disciplinary lessons.
The need for more outdoor learning is bringing new schools and classrooms into the word of Farm to School, which has already established curriculums, lessons, and activities that are ready to be implemented. Forest schools and long-standing FTS programs have experience bringing students outside in different weather conditions and know how to adapt spaces cheaply to create weather-protected outdoor classrooms.
In addition to questions over logistics, there are concerns regarding the social and emotional effects the pandemic has on students—whether that is from decreased stability at home, heightened food insecurity, or generalized anxiety of the moment. Food Connects continues to champion the connection between FTS and trauma-sensitive responses in schools. Increased sensitivity to food-related trauma, the therapeutic nature of gardening with students, and the opportunities FTS programming provides students to build greater resilience will all be crucial in this coming year.
School meals haven’t stopped since the pandemic started. From meal delivery via buses straight into an adapted summer food service program, school nutrition professionals continue to work tirelessly to feed their communities. Farm to School organizations like Food Connects help make that work easier by helping Food Service Directors (FSDs) submit equipment grants, create new food relief programs in partnership with schools and food shelves, and collaborating on meal enrollment campaigns and implementing new engagement strategies. We see our unique role as the regional support organization for school nutrition programs as crucial for this coming year.
School is going to be different this coming year and difficult for every community. It’s going to require a truly collaborative effort to make the experience safe and engaging for students—who have been without the social and emotional support schools and peers provide for over six months. Food Connects is grateful to be in the position to support schools as they navigate these trying times.
Who Feeds Our Kids: Jessica Boucher
Food Connects is launching a new series highlighting the amazing essential workers in our community who work hard every day to keep our children fed. Read on to learn more!
Jessica Boucher
Introducing Jessica Boucher! As a school food service professional, Jessica has fed students in our community for the past two years. She worked at Green Street School during the 2018-2019 school year and at Dummerston School this past school year, until schools closed in March when she joined the team that prepares meals for all the schools at the Academy School kitchen. We sat down recently and had a chat about her work and how things have changed for her this spring. Here are some highlights from that conversation:
“If I could change what people think about ‘lunch ladies,’ I would want them to know that we really care about the kids and that we are here to help the students.”
Sheila Humphreys (SH): How has your work changed due to COVID-19?
Jessica Boucher (JB): It’s very different. I’m working in a different school, and we’re working out of both the kitchen and the gym—cooking and bagging breakfasts, lunches, and dinners every day. I’m working a few more hours than I used to. There is a lot more food going out every day. In Dummerston, I would usually make lunch for about 70 kids. Now we’re feeding over 500 every day! There are a lot of special dietary needs, and I have some new co-workers from other schools.
SH: What has kept you going during these unusual times?
JB: What keeps me going is knowing that there are kids out there that are getting food that they wouldn’t get otherwise. I can’t sit home all day, I need to be busy working, so my work helps keep me sane.
SH: Do you have children at home?
JB: Yes, I have three children, ages 16, 10, and 11.
SH: How are you managing with child care?
JB: My kids have been home on their own during the day. It’s not going so well, they aren’t doing their work like they should be doing, especially my high schooler. They have figured out how to do chores, though! It’s been a blessing and a curse.
SH: What has been your biggest challenge during this time?
JB: Remote learning. I come home from work and I go right into getting dinner ready and making sure the kids have done at least some school work and their chores. My stepdaughter is there sometimes too, so that’s 4 kids and they know how to make a mess!
SH: How can the community support you and other food service workers during this time?
JB: They can support us by recognizing us for doing a good job. We’ve always kind of been looked down on as “lunch ladies.” Our age range goes from 22 up into the 60s. When you think about your school lunch lady, you think of an old grouchy lady, and that lunch ladies don’t do a lot but we do a lot of hard work and a lot of what we cook is made from scratch. We have a large amount of cooking and packing to do in such a short amount of time. Everything we cook has to be packed and ready to go by 9:30 am each morning, which takes a lot! If I could change what people think about “lunch ladies,” I would want them to know that we really care about the kids and that we are here to help the students. It’s been hard not having the kids around, we’re used to seeing them all the time and we miss them! I’ve gotten to know a lot of kids. I know some of them come from difficult backgrounds and I’m worried about them. As a lunch lady, sometimes I feel like I’m a counselor too. The kids open up to me sometimes and tell me about being bullied by other kids or problems they have at home. I tell kids that if they don’t feel safe, they need to tell someone. When a kid tells me about a problem, I let the office know. I feel like we’re easier to talk to because we’re not teachers, we’re the lunch ladies and we sneak them extra tater tots and stuff and they like that. We’re part of the team of people that helps kids feel safe in the school.
SH: What advice would you give to someone who is interested in this career?
JB: If you’re interested, go for it! It’s not a job that’s going to pay all your bills, so if you are struggling and it’s your only source of income it’s probably not the best job for you. It’s a rewarding job with little pay, much like many other jobs. I myself have been nicer to my kids just seeing how hard it is for some of the kids in the schools where I work. I like the schedule, but all the vacations can be hard because you aren’t paid during that time. You can get unemployment during the vacations, but it’s a lot of hassle to get that set up.
SH: What brings you joy?
JB: Seeing smiling kids, happy kids, and when the kids tell me they like the food and how good of a job I’m doing.
SH: What is one thing you are grateful for?
JB: I’m grateful that I have a job, that I wasn’t laid off. I’m grateful for my community for stepping up and helping out and volunteering to help us get the food out to these kids.