Vermont’s Harvest of the Month program debuted this year at Winston Prouty’s Early Learning Center. Thanks to a dynamic, newly formed Farm to School team that is currently enrolled in the Northeast Farm to School Institute, it’s been a wonderful success! From kale to sweet potatoes to beets, all students from 6 weeks through 5 years of age are getting repeated exposure to healthy, Vermont grown produce which supports our local farms and encourages students to develop lifelong healthy eating habits.

At Winston Prouty, the snack menu repeats weekly for a month and Harvest of the Month has been incorporated into that monthly menu. This allows students to have repeated exposure to new foods. By the end of the month, they have encountered the food at least four times, likely watching adults and other children eat and enjoy it. Many foods are repeated over several months, further building familiarity. Some creative snacks this year included sweet pepper and kale quesadillas, sweet potato and apple mash, and beet hummus!

Participating in the Vermont Harvest of the Month has been a great opportunity for children to explore locally grown vegetables, not just through the snack program, but in classroom activities as well. Teachers set up stations to explore raw vegetables through their five senses and talk about what they notice about color, shape, smell, size, texture, etc. Students have also helped with cooking projects, strengthening fine motor skills by washing, peeling, chopping, mashing, and mixing. Harvest of the Month also gets featured in literacy through reading aloud and in hands-on art activities where children are encouraged to draw what they see, draw directly on the vegetable, or use the vegetable itself as a paintbrush!

During all these activities, as children wait their turn, work in close proximity to others, share common tools, and express what they liked and did not like (especially when it comes to particular textures), they practice their social-emotional skills.

Harvest of the Month continues in many of our local elementary schools, so Winston Prouty is building a foundation for their students that will carry forward into elementary school.

A recent partnership between Food Connects and RiseVT, the primary prevention program of OneCare Vermont, increases accessibility for Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) to attend the upcoming our Farm to School Conference. Funding through RiseVT’s Amplify Grant has made it possible for 15 ECEs to attend Food Connects’ Conference on April 8 at no cost.

“Food Connects provides a wide array of support services to area elementary and high schools. These include meeting facilitation, local purchasing and procurement support in cafeterias, grant writing support, and curriculum development,” says Farm to School Program Manager, Conor Floyd. “Food Connects’ work encourages healthier lifestyles for students by getting kids outside, growing their own food, and improving the quality of food served in cafeterias.”

As the Farm to Early Childhood Education movement grows nationwide, we are excited to partner with local child care centers to promote health, wellness, and high-quality educational opportunities. The scholarships provided through the Amplify Grant will help create a cohort of energized Farm to School champions at the early childhood level. These educators will bring their learning from the conference back to their respective organizations, incorporating Farm to School programming in early education settings and developing students' healthy lifestyle habits from an earlier age.

ECEs working with students from birth to pre-K in the towns of Brattleboro, Guilford, Vernon, Newfane, and Townshend are eligible for the scholarship and encouraged to apply. The scholarship application deadline is February 18 with applicant notifications going out on February 21. Registration for the conference closes on March 18.

Interested applicants can learn more about the conference at foodconnects.org/farm-to-school-conference or directly apply for the scholarship at bit.ly/ftsscholarship. Questions about the scholarship or conference can be directed to Conor at conor@foodconnects.org.