Dear Friends,
As we gather the last of the harvest from our school gardens, I write to introduce our new staff, share our results from 2008-2009, highlight GMFTS events and media coverage from this fall, and send news of our growth for the year ahead.
Best wishes,
Katherine Sims and the GMFTS Team
Welcome, New Staff!
We are excited to welcome three AmeriCorps members to GMFTS for the 2009-2010 school year. Emily Mehr, Julie Jack and Sarah Vecci are working as Nutrition and Agriculture Educators for the Sprouts after-school programs at our 15 partner schools. Joanna Dillon has joined us as our new Farm-to-School Coordinator to provide on-going coordination of farm-to-school activities at partner schools and senior meal sites. View bios.
2008-2009 Annual Report Released
We are pleased to share the remarkable results from our first full year of programming. Adding to our 5 gardens from 2008, we built 10 new school gardens, tripling our impact and reaching over 2,000 students across Northern Vermont. Take a look at the report to learn more about the success of our gardens, after-school programs, taste tests, farm partnerships and more. View report.
Farm-to-School Harvest Festivals
GMFTS partnered with local schools this fall to host six harvest festivals. Over 650 parents, community members and students gathered together to celebrate food, farming and community. The festivals featured: delicious local food prepared by the kids, cider pressing, music and displays from local farms and organizations.
GMFTS Launches Farm Direct
Thanks to generous support from the Vermont Community Foundation and Area Agency on Aging for Northeastern Vermont, we have recently launched our new local food ordering system called Green Mountain Farm Direct. Schools and senior meal sites now have easy access to local foods from 10 diverse farms and producers in our region. We look forward to serving more local foods to children and seniors in the coming year.
GMFTS Benefit Dinner A Success
Our fall benefit dinner - Healthy Kids, Healthy Farms - was held on October 4th, celebrating our first year as a non-profit. Over 90 friends of GMFTS, including a visit from the cast of an Italian travel show, enjoyed a feast of local foods featuring over 17 farms and raised over $1,800 in support of GMFTS! Thanks to everyone who attended and helped out at the event! View photos.
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