Students throughout Vermont, from Windham County to Newport, are celebrating Farm to School Month in October and National School Lunch Week (October 10-14) with special menus and community feasts, themed events including a Locailvore Challenge in Windham County and Sprout’s Farmer’s Market in Sharon. For a statewide listing of Farm to School events throughout Vermont visit the VT FEED calendar.
Vermont, as a rural state with a long and successful history of linking agriculture and education, has a lot to celebrate. USDA Youth Risk Behavior Data indicates Vermont students eat more fresh fruits and vegetables than youth from other states. An estimated two-thirds of the elementary schools in the Vermont are engaging in Farm to School programming. According to a recent evaluation funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC #1H75DP002293-01), 68% of the students surveyed from active Vermont Farm to School programs report meeting or exceeding Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) for fruit and vegetable; 79% have met a farmer; 80% have planted, picked or prepared food at home or school; and 82% have test-tested new food at school. Activities and dietary patterns developed during childhood through Farm to School are getting the attention of health professionals around the country hoping to reverse the epidemic tend of childhood obesity.
Vermont is eager to share the success of more than decade of Farm to School programming. VT FEED (Food Education Every Day – a collaborative project of three Vermont nonprofit organizations: Shelburne Farms, NOFA-VT and Food Works at Two Rivers Center) has made a video “Building a Healthy Food System: One Bite at a Time” documenting what’s working in Vermont. Click here to view this film or for a copy of the CDC-funded evaluation contact: Sue Dixon, (802)985-8686 sdixon@shelburnefarms.org
