North Central Vermont 

Barre Town Middle and Elementary School

CLASSROOM
Barre Town had the Farmer's Diner owner come and spend a day at school talking to our Family Consumers Science classes, a major soup contest with eight graders with fifth graders as the judges, and a new Cooking for Life class for sixth graders after school.

CAFETERIA
Barre's Crops By Kids garden produced swiss chard and lettuce for use in the cafeteria to make a great white bean and swiss chard soup. A local chef volunteered his time to look at how Barre's kitchen set up and gave a detailed report on how to redesign the kitchen.

COMMUNITY
The eighth grade winners of the soup cooking contest will go on television and be broadcast to over a million people! In addition, a Service Learning Project engaged students to visit farms and they will report back to our community with large posters for display in our dining room.

Rumney School 

CLASSROOM
Rumney School in Middlesex is offering a weekly snack featuring local produce, and creating the snack in a different classroom each week.

CAFETERIA
The school food director is purchasing greens from a local farmer and serving fresh salads and local vegetables in the cafeteria every day.

Jay/Westfield Elementary School, the Lowell Graded School, and the Holland Elementary School

CLASSROOM
VT FEED worked with Orleans-Essex SU schools during multiple years between 1999 and 2008.  On farm field trips students have harvested onions and corn, milked cows, picked apples and blueberries, and connected to their local food sources. Students at the schools have built and maintained school gardens and participated in hands-on cooking activities through the Planting Seeds of Change after-school program.

CAFETERIA
The three schools have spent over $3,000 on local food purchased from 18 different local producers. The local foods have been integrated into the regular school food program and in over 18 local food recipes developed by the school food staff. Monthly taste tests conducted by the food service, teachers, and students, have gauged the student response to the new foods.

COMMUNITY
Each school celebrated local food, farming, and community at Fall Harvest Festivals. Activities at the festivals included: apple cider pressing, local food taste testing, tractor parades, produce competitiions, games, and music. A Farm-to-School Calendar highlighting farm-to-school activities, local food recipes and farm sources was sold at each school as a fundraiser to support local food purchasing in the school food program.