MONTPELIER, Vt.—A farm-to-school program championed by Senator Patrick Leahy is investing $100,000 in bringing locally grown food to cafeteria tables and classrooms in Vermont. Leahy, who has led the national farm-to-school efforts in the Senate, commended VT FEED, a partnership of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont and Shelburne Farms, which Tuesday received a federal grant to support farm-to-school initiatives across the Green Mountain State.
Leahy said: "Vermont has long been a pace-setter in the farm-to-school movement. By bringing local food to the cafeteria table and into the classroom, we improve nutrition, promote healthy eating choices, and help all children understand where their food comes from. It's a winning strategy for our farmers and our students and Vermont is proving how well this program works."
Leahy championed the creation of the program in the child nutrition bill of 2010, the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act, assuring $5 million a year for the United States Department of Agriculture's Farm-to-School program. Since the program began awarding grants two years ago, Vermont has received $291,712 in total grant funding, supporting more than 200 schools across the state that participate in the program. Leahy, the most senior member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrtion, and Forestry, is currently working on a reauthorization of the program ahead of consideration of child nutrition programs in the Senate next year.
Leahy said this project will allow VT FEED to support and expand farm-to-school programs across the state and will help schools incorporate nutrition, farm, and hands-on-learning curriculum in their classrooms. Betsy Rosenbluth, Project Director for Vermont FEED and Northeast Regional Lead for the National Farm to School Network said, "Farm to School programs help create thriving local economies, healthier kids, stronger schools, and vibrant communities. VT FEED is proud to have helped over a third of Vermont schools develop groundbreaking programs. We are now thrilled to receive a USDA Farm to School Support Service grant to continue this great work and to also help spread those best practices throughout the Northeast."