Farm to School Mini-Grants

Funds to Support your Farm To School Project

We are thrilled to offer annual mini-grants of up to $500 to support farm to school projects in the Upper Valley. These grants will help your school, afterschool program, or school-related wellness program launch (or continue) projects related to farms, our agricultural heritage, farm products, food production, or local food consumption at the school.

Our 2018 Upper Valley Farm to School Network mini-grants are awarded to eight schools and eight wonderful projects. Congratulations to all!

Funds to Support your Farm To School Project

We are thrilled to offer our 2019 mini-grants of up to $500 to support farm to school projects in the Upper Valley. These grants will help your school, afterschool program, or school-related wellness program launch (or continue) projects related to farms, our agricultural heritage, farm products, food production, or local food consumption at the school.

All schools in the Vital Communities service area are welcome to apply! Reach out to Beth Roy with any questions or for assistance. We are excited to support your farm to school projects.

The maximum mini-grant award is $500. Both New Hampshire and Vermont schools are eligible to apply for funds. Recipients in both states are required to present their project at Trek to Taste in Woodstock, Vermont, on June 1 (in addition to other grant requirements, below). We encourage schools to include costs related to project presentations and attending Trek to Taste in their grant budget.

Eligible Schools

All public and private schools in the Vital Communities service area are eligible to apply. Lead applicants must be directly affiliated with school programs. School staff, including teachers, administrators, food service, facilities, and/or garden/farm to school coordinators, are ideal candidates. Only one grant will be provided per project, but schools can propose multiple projects for funding. We encourage collaborative projects with multiple grades.

How to Apply

Applicants must fill out a simple application (and submit it electronically to Beth Roy at Beth@VitalCommunities.org. Download the application here, or apply on-line.

We strongly encourage you to call Beth at 802.291.9100 x105 and discuss your project if you have any questions. Applications received by March 29 will get first consideration, and thereafter applications will be considered on a rolling basis. We have 10 grants of $500 to distribute, and eligible applications will be awarded on merit and geographical representation around the Upper Valley.

2018 Farm to School Mini-Grant Recipients and Projects

Juice Me on Veggies, Bethel Elementary and Whitcomb Jr/Sr High School, Bethel, VT

Culinary Kids – Healthy Cooking Class for Preschoolers,Children’s Center of the Upper Valley, Lebanon, NH

Perennial Garden, Creative Lives After School Program, White River Junction, VT

Building Our Garden Classroom, Hartford Memorial Middle School, White River Junction, VT

FTS Taste Tests, Newton School, South Strafford, VT

Growing Potatoes, Carrots and Squash, Raven’s Wood Outdoor School for Renegades, Thetford Center, VT

3rd-Grade Farm Field Trips, Upper Valley Waldorf School, Quechee, VT

Cultivating Community, Woodstock Union Middle and High School, Woodstock, VT

New Farmer
Advising

Learn More

Valley Food & Farm staff are able help with your specific situation or question. We work with farmers who are in the dreaming/planning stage, just starting out, and/or growing their farm business.

Nancy LaRowe, our Valley Food & Farm Coordinator, is our farmer-in-residence.
Give her a call at 802.291.9100 x106 or email, she is happy to help with:

  • Individual consultation, focused on making an action plan to start or enhance your farm business
  • Directing you to resources if you are having trouble figuring out who to call for help in a specific area
  • Linking you to technical assistance within our New Farmer Network for business planning, production assistance, land access, access to capital, legal concerns, and many other topics.

Search Our Valley Food & Farm Guide

Join our Farmer Discussion

Learn More

Link in to the Upper Valley’s farming community with The Upper Valley Farmer Community Discussion List. To subscribe send a blank message to uvfarming-subscribe@lists.valley.net Subscribers can post a message to this list by simply emailing a message to uvfarming@lists.valley.net

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Calendar

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Vital Communities Program News

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Invest in your community and contribute to campaigns today! Visit the TLC Upper Valley campaign page The Local Crowd (TLC) Upper Valley is a community-based crowdfunding platform that empowers individuals to support the businesses, organizations, and initiatives ...more

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Nov. 19 Green Real Estate Crash Course

Vital Communities is offering its popular Green Real Estate Crash Course again on Tuesday, November 19, at Service Credit Union, just off I-89 in Lebanon, NH. Earn 3 elective credits in VT and NH. Register online at vitalcommunities.org/greenrealestate This is NOT your average CE ...more

Nov. 19 Green Real Estate Crash Course

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Fall Guided Quest: Trees of Dartmouth Quest

  Join Vital Communities' Valley Quest Coordinator Beth Roy on a guided treasure hunt of the trees of Dartmouth. Celebrate fall as we discover many exotic trees around the Dartmouth College Campus and learn about their ...more

A New Quest to Celebrate the Mascoma River Greenway!

Have you been on the Mascoma River Greenway yet? If not, it is time to check it out. I had a fantastic time follwing the new Quest of the Mascoma River Greenway. I took my ...more

A New Quest in Pomfret, Vermont

Earlier this summer I had the fortune of working with the amazing staff of the Artistree Community Arts Center in Pomfret, Vermont on offering a Questing Camp. Over the week the campers learned about the ...more

Welcome Norwich Solar Technologies!

We are proud to welcome Norwich Solar Technologies as a Local First Promoter Sponsor!  The White River Junction-based renewable energy company provides end-to-end solar solutions to businesses in Vermont, New Hampshire, and throughout New England. ...more

Stand in Your Circle of Strength and Lead

Ed. Note: On May 30, Vital Communities honored 12 community leaders who’ve added immeasurably to the vitality of the Upper Valley at its annual Heroes & Leaders Celebration. The following are the event’s keynote remarks ...more

Heroes & Leaders: Creating a Vital Upper Valley

Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts the annual Heroes & Leaders Celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the Upper Valley. In 2019, we are pleased to honor ...more

2nd Annual Curb The Car Day - Friday, May 17!

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12th Annual Roundtable - May 7

You're Invited! The 12th Annual Upper Valley Energy Committee Roundtable is Tuesday, May 7, 5-8 pm in West Lebanon! This annual gathering of local energy volunteers is open to all, whether you serve on an energy committee, wish to ...more

Dazzlingly Reflective, 80's Style

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Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready!

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Seeking Bids from Solar Installers by Nov. 30

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Staff

Becka Warren

Food & Farm Coordinator

Food & Farm

 802-291-9100 x112

Food & Farm

— Becka Warren, Food & Farm Coordinator

Part of Vital Communities' Food & Farm team since 2012, Becka fosters relationships that keep agriculture a daily part of community life in the Upper Valley. She works with current and future farmers, businesses, schools, and partners across Vermont and New Hampshire to build connections that support farm viability and keep our landscapes working. Becka lived in Seattle for many years, where she worked for the Washington State University Small Farms Program, Cascade Harvest Coalition, Seattle Tilth, and area vegetable farms. Becka is also a writer, founding and writing Ask Umbra at gristmagazine.com until 2009. She holds a BA from Brown University and lives in Hartland, Vermont, with her family.



Beth Roy

Food & Farm Manager

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

 802-291-9100 x105

Valley Quest, Food & Farm

— Beth Roy, Food & Farm Manager

Beth leads Vital Communities' Food & Farm team, including its Upper Valley Farm to School programming, and also oversees Valley Quest. Before joining Vital Communities, Beth Roy worked in the environmental and place-based education fields for 17 years in various positions around New England including at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and as the Director of Education at the Nature Museum in Grafton, Vt. Beth is also on the boards of the Vermont Science Teacher Association (VSTA) and the Vermont State-Wide Environmental Education Programs (SWEEP), a coalition of dozens of individuals and organizations promoting sustainability and environmental education in Vermont. Beth is a New Hampshire native and lives in Hartland, Vt., with her husband and two children. When Beth is not working you will find her exploring the woods around her home with her family or cooking up a new taste test (made of local foods, of course!) for her children.



Nancy LaRowe

Food & Farm and Local First Coordinator

Local First, Food & Farm

 802-291-9100 x106

Local First, Food & Farm

— Nancy LaRowe, Food & Farm and Local First Coordinator

Nancy joined Vital Communities as the Food & Farm Coordinator in 2014. She works to support and grow our local food system and economy. Nancy has lived, worked, and farmed in the Upper Valley for more than 25 years and believes our community is healthier and stronger when our connections to food and the farms that produce it stay vital.

Nancy's informal job title is Farmer-in-Residence: she also runs a pasture-based cattle farm in Norwich. Nancy is on the Board of the Norwich Farmers' Market and a retired Norwich volunteer firefighter and EMT. She loves puttering in the garden, hiking with her dog, and visiting farmers' markets.