Potato Project Launch

News Round-Up from Our Potato Project Launch

This week we’ve been testing our potato packing line at the Windsor Correctional facility. This project is the culmination of months of work with many partners pitching in – from Tuberville supplying the potatoes to Black River Produce moving them from the farm to the Vermont Foodbank. In between, the work crew at the Windsor facility cleaned, sorted, and packed the potatoes into consumer-sized bags for easy distribution to Vermonters who need a little help over the holiday season. We were thrilled that Governor Shumlin stopped by to tour the new packing line on Monday. Below are some of the press clips from the launch day with the Governor.

We look forward to filling more bags of potatoes and also to process other types of produce as this program grows in the future. We’d like to thank all of our partners including the New England Grassroots Environment Fund and all of the terrific staff at the Windsor facility who have made this project possible.

And we also want to thank YOU, our supporters, for helping us to take this important step towards building a more resilient Vermont food system through better management of our agricultural surplus.

Equal Time Radio (interview)

Rutland Herald - Prisoners Bring Potatoes to Vermont’s Hungry

by Christian Avard

According to Vermont Corrections Commissioner Andrew Palitto, the Department of Corrections sought to improve its Offender Work Program at Windsor Prison and also save Vermont foods from going to waste. He also said the Vermont Foodbank, the state’s largest food distribution program, experienced a shortage of food this holiday season.

Corrections officials met with a Morrisville nonprofit specializing in food distribution to find a solution. Salvation Farms takes surplus food and redistributes it throughout the state.

The organization secured potatoes from Vermont potato farmer Bob Chappelle and a Milton food distribution program run by Ralph Perkins of Tuberville.

WCAX – TV - Corrections Program No Small Potatoes for All Involved

by Susie Steimle (video)

The program has been Theresa Snow's dream since 2004. Monday it became a reality. "It's kind of like, whew it's about time," Snow said. Thirty-thousand pounds of potatoes were donated for this pilot project. Snow and her organization, Salvation Farms, want the next round to be surplus produce from farms across the state.

Governor Peter Shumlin stopped by to guarantee an investment in this idea. “put ‘em to work, get some value for Vermont taxpayers and get food to people who would otherwise go hungry, so it’s a great program,” he said.

Valley News – Prisoners Bag Potatoes for Needy Residents

by Tris Wykes

“Many of the (prisoners) are here because of drugs and alcohol and other nonviolent offenses,’’ he said. “We can give these folks a sense of purpose, a sense of getting things done for Vermonters. We’re taking people, prisoners and potatoes and putting them together.’’

“This job gives you a sense of purpose,’’ said Williams, who has had several previous stints in prison — totaling about a year — and who estimates he has roughly that much time remaining on his current sentence. “You know you’re helping needy people.

VTDigger - Prisoners Package Potatoes for Vermont Foodbank

by Alicia Freese

“We’ve never been contacted before about this type of project.” Commissioner of Corrections Andy Pallito said during a press conference he held with Gov. Peter Shumlin at the Windsor Facility on Monday.

In his speech, Shumlin credited “the innovation of the private sector folks” and pointed to two benefits of the program: it allows Vermont taxpayers to recoup a small part of the money they spend on corrections by putting inmates to productive use, and, for the inmates themselves, it “gives these folks a sense of purpose.”

NECN-TV & WPTZ-TV- Vt. Prisoners Process Thanksgiving Food

by Jack Thurston (video)

Just in time for Thanksgiving, inmates were packing spuds for the Vermont Foodbank’s Brattleboro facility to distribute to needy families in the southern part of the state.

Theresa Snow developed the project through her group, Salvation Farms. The non-profit's mission is to reduce food insecurity by forming partnerships to maximize Vermont's agriculture bounty, Snow explained.

Press Herald - Vermont Prison Inmates Process Holiday Potatoes

by Wilson Ring (Associated Press)

The project was conceived by the Morrisville-based nonprofit Salvation Farms that is working to “manage Vermont’s farm surplus,” said Executive Director Theresa Snow, who was helping process the potatoes on Monday.

On Monday during a visit by Gov. Peter Shumlin, Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito and others, the potatoes that were run through the processing machinery and bagged had already received a preliminary cleaning, to lower the dust level during the demonstration.