What's Happening with the Farm to School Movement in Vermont?

A 2017 survey indicated that more than half of the state’s K-12 schools are integrating Farm to School programming into their cafeterias, classrooms, and communities! Especially in Vermont, schools are part of an interconnected system involving children, families, businesses, farms, distributors, and the broader community. Farm to School is not an add-on, but a mechanism for achieving school goals while improving the health and wellness of students, schools, and communities. This case study serves as tangible inspiration in recognizing there is not only one path to integrating a farm to school program at a school or early care site.

Bellows Free Academy (BFA) Fairfax sits on 15 acres within the agricultural Franklin County. A vibrant school farm flourishes with two bountiful vegetable gardens, an apple orchard, berry bushes, a greenhouse, a pollinator garden, plus two newly added honeybee hives. Students move about the farm tilling, weeding, and planting with a strong sense of place. The creative integration of agriculture into the school’s K-12 curriculum fosters deep connections with neighbors, with the local agricultural community, and among members of the school community itself. The Abbey Group Food Service Management Company (FSMC) runs the school meal program and supports school-wide efforts by serving fresh foods harvested from the school garden and purchased through the Green Mountain Farm Direct food hub (when available).

This series of case studies is a project of the Vermont Farm to School Network, University of Vermont Extension, and Vermont FEED.

We invite you to read the full report below, and/or download the report by filling out the fields further below.