The Benefits of Community Webs

This solstice, we take stock of and highlight just a few collaborations that make our work real in the world. We are grateful to share our partner’s perspectives on how engaging with Salvation Farms has offered hope and built connection within their community.

In fields and in wash/pack-houses, we are grateful to serve farms and farmers, collecting the wholesome fruits and veggies

they won’t be harvesting or don’t have a market for. A longtime partner of Salvation Farms, the Tisbert family of Valley Dream Farm in Cambridge offers reflection on their work with us: “Valley Dream Farm is extremely appreciative to Salvation Farms and how they help distribute perfectly good, second quality produce from our farm to those in need. Please support their efforts to share what is good and stop wasting what is not compost.”

We are honored to serve Vermont farms and farm families, like the Tisberts. Help sustain our work supporting farmers with a donation today. Your donation will also further the blossoming partnerships noted in our last blog post, each having witnessed fruitful developments.

The United Way of Lamoille County met the funding goal to renovate its downtown Morrisville building. The first floor will include a walk-in cooler and produce handling space, increasing our Lamoille Valley Gleaning program’s capacity and upstairs will house office and meeting space. Construction is underway and we couldn’t be more excited about this project! Watch our Facebook page for updates.

Late this fall, we received funding from the Vermont Community Foundation’s Northeast Kingdom Fund to extend our gleaned produce

distribution to community meal sites and home-delivered meal programs of the Northeast Kingdom Council on Aging. These deliveries have allowed site staff and kitchen managers to connect and share tips and recipes for the produce they receive.

The Bounty Share – developed by Salvation Farms in partnership with Community Health Services of Lamoille Valley - is a weekly supply of gleaned produce for eligible patient families experiencing food insecurity and chronic disease. This fall, twelve families received locally-grown fruits and vegetables, recipes, crop information, and support from Community Health Team Members and UVM’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. Taste tests, cooking classes, and opportunities to join Salvation Farms at area farms to glean will enrich the Bounty Share in 2020.

Sara Brooks, the kitchen manager of Drop-In at Spectrum Youth and Family Services, a partner based in Burlington shares:

“Salvation Farms’ Vermont Commodity Program has been a major player in our cohort of local vendors supplying Drop-In at Spectrum Youth and Family Services. Our partnership with Salvation Farms has allowed us to expand our food programming. Pictured is spicy Thai chili and coconut shrimp soup, made with tomatoes from the Vermont Commodity Program, as well as jalapenos from the Peoples Garden in the Intervale.

Utilizing the frozen, pre-processed foods from [Salvation Farms’] program, like precut frozen potatoes or preprocessed butternut squash, allowed our program to save time on prep work, and still include healthy local produce on peoples’ plates. Their products are always high quality and their staff is even better!”

While serving charitable food programs and community meal sites with produce donations, Salvation Farms also purchased surplus fruits and vegetables from farms and sold these crops to Vermont correctional facilities to feed our state’s inmate population. Additionally, we provided some frozen produce for testing and received this feedback on our apple sauce: “great flavor and texture!”

Most recently, our Vermont Commodity Program saw the training completion of its eighth cohort. Our workforce development trainees come from all different backgrounds: some are single parents, some have experienced homelessness, some have left abusive relationships, others have been previously incarcerated, some no longer like the work they do, and for many, it may be a combination of these lived realities which have affected their ability to find employment. Read this story of a former trainee and the role Salvation Farms and the Vermont Commodity Program has had in their life:

Before she enrolled in Salvation Farms’ 16-week post-harvest handling and

light manufacturing training, Bonnie, pictured right, was a cab driver. She wanted to do something different with her time, and she especially wanted to be more active.

Bonnie joined the Vermont Commodity Program to change up what she was doing day to day. Bonnie reflects, “My experience at Salvation Farms and the Vermont Commodity Program will always be something that I won't forget. It was a truly unique experience. I learned a lot about the massive amount of waste that goes on and it has changed my food experience forever.” The summer after she completed our program, Bonnie was hired at Shelburne Farms as a seasonal farm employee, helping visitors navigate through the estate on a tractor! Way to go, Bonnie!

Engaging volunteers provides new connections to be formed, for days to be filled with discussions of vegetables and recipes, and for hands-on-learning to occur from farm to pack room to plate. Joan, one of our volunteers, has been gleaning and delivering produce with us since the summer of 2018. “Volunteering is giving back to the community, but it’s also giving back to me. Being in the fields gleaning the bountiful harvest is joyful. Delivering the bounty to Saplings Day Care, seeing the little ones eating veggies and asking what I am bringing is pure joy,” says Joan. Her current route covers three Greensboro area food programs.

In our surplus crop food hub, volunteers join us for quality assessing, cleaning,

and packing of bulk quantities of surplus crops – tons, literally. Thad, a volunteer transitioning from high school to employment, has joined us in the pack room and in the fields gleaning, summer through fall every Tuesday and Thursday. Thad reflects, “It has been great volunteering at Salvation Farms. It has been a good experience learning new skills in the food industry. It makes me feel good helping others.” Thad has joined Salvation Farms in the Vermont Commodity Program food hub and in the fields gleaning, contributing more than 45 hours this year. Thanks, Thad!

While it may seem like the season is over, it’s always a good time to sign up to volunteer with us! Visit Salvation Farms today.

In our on-going effort to implement our newest strategic plan, our staff and board have been fortunate to collaborate with two wonderful consultants.

Claire Wheeler of ReWork, working with our staff to create cohesion within and solidify our organizational systems, puts forward the following: “It has been a treat working alongside the amazing team at Salvation on year one of the 2019-2021 strategic plan! One highlight was facilitating a retreat for board and staff members with Jane Van Buren of Noonmark Services to dig into the heart of Salvation Farm’s vision that Vermont can – and must – feed itself. The newly formed leadership team has been busy shaping organizational culture and streamlining internal business systems to bring Salvation Farms up to the next level of efficiency and professionalization. I’m thrilled to be continuing to support organizational development next year, which will kick off with a staff retreat at Metta Earth Institute in January. Working with Salvation Farms feels like a true partnership – together we take time to do things right, learning and growing as we go!”

Concurrently, Jane Van Buren of Noonmark Services has assisted with developing increased effectiveness among our Board of Directors. Jane reflects: “It has been my pleasure over the past 12 months to help guide the [Salvation Farms] Board in implementing the organization’s strategic plan. I worked with a smart and committed Board that keeps the best interests of Salvation Farms in everything they do. In January, the Board was struggling with how to best serve the organization and by December much of the structural supports necessary to promote the successful development of the Board were in place. They now operate with an effective and efficient committee structure, the three new members recruited in 2019 have been orientated, and the communication between the Executive Director and Board leadership is open and honest.”

We are deeply grateful for Jane and Claire’s contributions to further our organization’s professional development and for their incredible dedication to furthering our mission.

Last but not least, the first ever Salvation Farms Aid benefit concert (inspired by Farm Aid) took place at ArtsRiot in Burlington on November 1st with friends new to Salvation Farms and friends we’ve had for years. It was a night of dancing, singing, community building, and celebrating as we heard from many why they believe in our mission.

Partnering with ArtsRiot and Mr. Charlie of WIZN & Blues for Breakfast made the logistics of the night smooth as could be. When asked about ArtsRiot's choice to host the event, General Manager Paddy Regan said, "ArtsRiot supports Salvation Farms because a food system, like a music scene, when supported at all levels, is more likely to thrive and benefit all in the community." We couldn't have said it better ourselves!

Front man John Fusco of John Fusco and the X-Road Riders offered these thoughts: “I live on preserved farmland in

Morrisville and I am 100% behind the important and resourceful work Salvation Farms does. On behalf of the X-Road Riders, we are thrilled to help support our farms, farmers, and the American music traditions of Farm Aid.” Thanks to John and all of Salvation Farms Aid’s musicians!

We send special thanks to our presenting sponsors Vermont Coffee Company, WIZN, and Ben & Jerry’s. When asked about sponsorship, Vermont Coffee Company jumped at the opportunity, responding within hours. Additionally, free coffee was offered to keep concert goers energized all night. “COFFEE ROASTED FOR FRIENDS^® is more than a slogan, it is our mission and how we do business. Supporting the efforts of Salvation Farms is how we can be a Friend to our community and support our neighbors in need.” Early in planning, WIZN committed radio spots leading up to the evening, spreading the word of Salvation Farms Aid over the airwaves and drawing the Burlington music scene to us.

Ben & Jerry’s - a committed collaborator and dynamic supporter of Salvation Farms - also excitedly joined our list of presenting sponsors. Ben & Jerry’s is a company founded on and dedicated to a sustainable corporate concept of linked prosperity with the belief that business has a responsibility to give back to the community. They are more than just ice cream and see that the uniqueness of Vermont ideas and communities can flourish with their help.

Thank you to everyone who came out to this inaugural event, who donated an item for our silent auction, and to our additional sponsors: City Market, Rock Art Brewery, The Alchemist, WBTV-LP, Turtle Fur, Sterling College, Citizen Cider, and Great Big Graphics. Additionally, thanks to Lieutenant Governor Zuckerman (a farmer himself) for taking the stage to offer his thoughts on the work of Salvation Farms and the importance of supporting local farms as the landscape around us changes due to extreme weather caused by climate change. This work would be nothing without the farms and farmers we serve. Lastly, Salvation Farms Aid would not have been possible without the creative energy and collaboration of Mr. Charlie Frazier, who we are grateful to call a dear friend.