We joyously welcome the Upper Valley Farm to School Network to Vital Communities. UVFTS has joined our Valley Food & Farm program, bringing a big boost of community, cafeteria, and classroom to our farm work. We are excited to work with all the wonderful farm to school projects across the Upper Valley!
The Network is all the schools, parents, staff, community members and farmers working together to connect our children to our farms, healthy foods, and amazing educational opportunities. Led by founder Peter Allison since 2008, the Network has been a regional and national model for community-based Farm to School initiatives. Many thanks and congratulations to Peter, who has created a wonderful, collaborative and effective program for our region. Peter will advise us through the transition and beyond, while he focuses on his work coordinating Farm to Institution New England.
Now housed in Vital Communities’ Valley Food & Farm program, the Network will continue to serve farm to school programs around our Valley. Valley Food & Farm staff will lead the project, including our new Farm to School Coordinator, Beth Roy. Beth has spent the last 15 years working in the environmental and place-based education fields in various positions around New England including the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and most recently as the Director of Education at The Nature Museum in Grafton, Vermont. Beth is also a certified classroom teacher. Beth’s heart lies in education, but her roots are planted firmly in the homesteading skills and ethics that she learned from her family while growing up in New Hampshire. Ms. Roy is very excited to be joining the Vital Communities family and start on this new Farm to School adventure with us.
Farm to School Coordinator Beth Roy
Stay tuned for a merger celebration at the start of the school year and until then, keep in touch and enjoy summer! You can reach us at uvfts@vitalcommunities.org, or visit our website to sign up for the Farm To School newsletter!