During April vacation, our Farm to School team went on a road trip with Brattleboro Town Food Service Director Ali West to Steiger Supply, a family-owned kitchen supply store in Rutland, VT. Ali was like a kid in a candy store, filling her cart with everything from small items like measuring cups and tongs to a commercial immersion blender for making soups and smoothies for the more than 700 students that she cooks for every day. Brattleboro Union High School and Brattleboro Area Middles School (BUHS/BAMS) Food Service Director, Justin Mcardle, also made a trip to Steigers and his purchases included a 40-quart stockpot and a food processor to help him make more soups, sauces, and spreads from fresh, local fruits and vegetables.

These shopping trips were funded by a generous Community Health Rankings and Roadmaps grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation applied for in partnership with the Vermont Department of Health. The goal of this project is to foster health improvement efforts in our community. As a result of this funding, Food Connects was able to provide funds for the Brattleboro Town School District, Brattleboro Area Middle School, and Brattleboro Union High School to buy some much-needed equipment to help them process more fresh, local produce.

Many thanks to our friends at the Vermont Department of Health for collaborating with us on this grant and supporting healthy, fresh, local food in our schools!