In Vermont, there are many farm and food projects taking place - from Farmers' Markets and upscale restaurants serving local food, to Food Hubs and CSA's. They're in the news every day, but here are three initiatives that you don't often hear much about.
A new food security initiative called Huertas, which means gardens in Spanish, helps Latino migrant workers on dairy farms develop their own kitchen gardens where they can grow vegetables and herbs that are familiar to them. The project works with over a hundred migrant farm workers in Franklin and Addison counties. Teresa Mares, assistant professor of Anthropology at the University of Vermont, says that within many Latin American communities, a tradition of having a kitchen garden close to one's home is common. So far, the project has helped to start 24 kitchen gardens where Mexican farm workers grow everything from jalapenos to tomatoes, corn and herbs - like epazote that's used in cooking in Mexico and Guatemala. The project also studies ways that refugees maintain cultural ties from here in Vermont.
For the last decade, the mission of Salvation Farms has been to collect and distribute surplus fruits and vegetables that farmers can't sell and which would be unused. It's called gleaning. Earlier this year, Theresa Snow, the director, worked alongside inmates at the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury. They harvested 4,500 pounds of acorn squash from High Mowing Organic Seeds in Wolcott. Salvation Farms has also set up its own 1,800 square-foot facility within Windsor Prison where the inmates clean and pack tons of fruits and vegetables including winter squash, apples, potatoes, onions and carrots.
The fruits and vegetables are distributed to Black River Produce and the Vermont Food Bank. Theresa Snow has formed links with Green Mountain College and Rutland Area Farm and Food. According to Snow, thousands more pounds of additional fruits and vegetables could be gathered with sufficient staff, infrastructure and investment. Snow says, "It's not just about feeding hungry people, it's about managing resources."
And finally, Living Well is a non-profit Residential Care and Assisted Living program in Bristol and Burlington. But these are not your typical community care facilities. What's different is that Living Well emphasizes good nutrition with organic food and whole life care. An important part of being holistic is to start with good food. Living Well has an arrangement with a CSA and a food coop to provide local food at a fair price. Mass produced bread and soda are not on the menu. In addition, the Living Well facilities have put in organic gardens to help supply vegetables in season. The food is prepared by a chef committed to healthy meals.
Huertas, the Food Security project for migrant farm workers, the gleaning project of Salvation Farms and Living Well's Farm to Food program make it possible for healthy food to be supplied to "all the people."
