Writing a letter? Having a pen pal? These may seem a little old-fashioned but both are alive and well thanks to NOFA-VT (The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont). They've come up with a program that connects young students with local farmers through correspondence and field trips.
NOFA's Farmer Correspondence Program allows kids to get to know the folks who grow their food and vice-versa. Children write letters to farmers, farmers reply and share photos, members of the farming community visit schools, and students travel to the farms.
In this podcast, Seven Days contributor, Melissa Passanen, explains why farmers believe it's important to participate, what the students get out of it, how teachers customize the program to fit their lessons and how it's funded. Read more about this topic in Passanen's article, "NOFA-VT Cultivates Farmer-To-Student Connections."
