Reflections of the Past in this Moment from Theresa

Many of you read how I came to start Salvation Farms in the letter Dani sent out this summer. Out of my experience, serving with the American Red Cross after the collapse of the World Trade Center, the stark reality of how vulnerable we all are to disruption became glaringly evident to me. During my service, I helped people who lost the financial means to provide for their most essential needs: food and shelter. These basic needs we all share regardless of our perceived differences.

Stepping back a little, I grew up in Vermont. In my childhood, my grandparents operated a small dairy and my parents were modest homesteaders. My first memories include raspberries, fresh peas, loose pigs, jersey cows, haying, and firewood. While not intending to go to college, I decided to apply to and enroll in a small environmental college in Northern Vermont—Sterling College. Here I reconnected with values present in my earliest years of life, finding purpose in farming and in advocating for environmental and social justice. In this time I also started working at Pete’s Greens’ farm. It was here that I returned after my experience in Manhattan and where Pete offered me an opportunity to harness power from the trauma and learning that came out my experience in New York City. With his offer, I created something beautiful through leveraging diverse partnerships that would ultimately serve to reduce the vulnerability of my home community.

Theresa commanding the fields back in the day (2005). There was lots of heavy lifting going on then, just as there is now!

Theresa and Salvation Farms co-founder Jen O'Donnell in 2005 with the new Salvation Farms' logo.

In 2004, I piloted gleaning at Pete’s Greens with Sterling College students, providing our first gleanings to the Vermont Foodbank. In 2005, Jen O’Donnell helped me, as co-founder, establish Salvation Farms under the fiscal umbrella of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont. We built a replicable model for gleaning that provides experiential education, fostering awareness of and appreciation for local farms. This increased our community’s comfort using local, seasonally available foods. We have helped many gleaning efforts get started in Vermont and nationally. In early 2012, we received our federal non-profit status.

Gleaning Coordinator, Emma, now carries the torch (or cabbage).

Since our start, we’ve wanted to undermine the large, multi-national, corporate control of our food supply by reconnecting people with farms through hands-on, farm and food-based experiences. Over the years our work has evolved, partnerships explored, collaborations established, concepts tested, research conducted, training provided, networks built—all in service to help Vermont be better prepared to use all of the wholesome food it produces to feed the people who live here AND to offer a model for others who aspire to create regional food systems that are resilient and rooted in eating what is grown nearest to you. I feel privileged and excited to continue working with and in service to all of you, our partners—farmers and eaters, volunteers, donors, state agencies, for-profit and non-profit businesses, colleagues and co-workers, educators and legislators, and so many more. 

-Theresa Snow, Founder & Executive Director

In a few short weeks, we'll be sending out our yearend appeal letter, asking for your support. Help us end this year and begin the next strong by making your tax deductible contribution now. Send checks payable to Salvation Farms PO Box 1174 Morrisville, VT 05661 or give online here, today.