Winter 2016 - Highlights In This Issue:
Celebrate with Us!
 
Farm to School Awareness Day will be upon us on February 10. Meet us at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier to celebrate!

Learn more 
VT FARM TO SCHOOL NETWORK UPDATE

After an Action Team gathering in December to share progress, challenges, and plans, it looks like we are moving in the right direction! 

Learn more
2016 NORTHEAST FTS INSTITUTE

The Northeast Farm to School Institute is now accepting applications from schools in New England and New York. The Kickoff Summer Retreat will be June 28-30, 2016. Applications are due by March 11.

Learn more and download the application
CULINARY PD WORKSHOPS COMING SOON!

Now We're Cooking: Culinary Professional Development Workshops for Child Nutrition Professionals are coming in April and May!
VT FEED is collaborating with the New England Culinary Institute, the Vermont Department of Health, and the School Nutrition Association of Vermont to host 6 state-wide workshops for school nutrition professionals. Topics will include school breakfast, cooking and baking with whole grains, and sodium reduction. 
Stay tuned for more information on a workshop near you! 

Sponsored by the Vermont Department of Health, School Nutrition Association of Vermont, and USDA.
WELCOME, ANN!

Ann Cowley is an AmeriCorps member who has joined NOFA-VT to help with Jr Iron Chef. She's a past JIC volunteer and FEED intern working with children in NOFA's teaching garden. 

Ann is a recent UVM graduate in Nutrition and Dietetics and is the P resident of Slow Food Vermont.  She advocates for a world with universal free lunch and believes healthy and nutritious food is a right, not a privilege. At JIC, she hopes to instill an excitement and passion in students for teamwork and sharing the joys of food and cooking. 

O riginally from Pennsylvania, Ann has found her forever home in Vermont. She balances her foodie life with running half marathons and swimming.

JR IRON CHEF UPDATE

Registration ends TOMORROW! It's not too late and we'd love to see you and your students there, cooking up a storm! jrironchefvt.org

Read about the Whitcomb Junior/Senior High School teams from last year. As they prepared for JIC  they picked up more than just great recipes and cooking skills; they also gained enduring friendships and connections with local farmers.  

Learn more
RESTAURANT CHEF TO SCHOOL CHEF

Chef James MacPherson has worked at our parent organization Shelburne Farms as a chef, and this past fall changed gears to work at Richmond Elementary, a former Farm to School Institute participant. We wanted to know why he made the switch and  what he's doing there!

Read the blog
ORGANIZATIONS TO CHECK OUT

T here are some amazing organization out there that we follow on Facebook, so we'd thought we'd spread the word. They share out good ideas and informative articles related to farm
 to school, general food systems issues, among other topics. Check them out! 

TASTE OF THE SEASON
FROM NEW SCHOOL CUISINE
Three Sisters Soup

 

It's winter. And that means it's the season for hearty soups! This is made with three traditional Native American crops that are grown together because of the benefits provided to each other in terms of soil, sunlight, and nutrients. Science fun with food! 

 

Get the recipe!
News from our Parent Organizations
 
SHELBURNE FARMS' WORK IN CHINA
Blog by Ryan Morra
 
Educator Ryan Morra shares his experiences and reflects back on his recent trip to China to share the Farm's Education for Sustainability practices with middle-school students in Yunnan Province.

Read more
NOFA-VT VALUES-BASED TIERED BUYING
Resources for Farm to Institution  
 
We have created the resources below for all institutions (adjusted for all states) that are working to develop their local food buying programs and to market these programs to their customers, administrators, or other staff. 
 
  Learn more
UPCOMING EVENTS

Get more upcoming events and post your own on www.vermontfarmtoschool.org   

  • January 15 - Deadline for all Jr Iron Chef registration
  • January 20 - FEED Upper Valley course starts
  • January 28 - Legislative Action Day
  • February 10 - Farm to School Awareness Day

Vermont FEED
www.vtfeed.org

Increasing access to fresh, healthy food for all children through education and outreach in schools and communities.