The Lunch Monitor: Increased 3SquaresVT Benefits and the Continued Importance of Universal School Meals

In October 2021, 3SquaresVT benefits increased in Vermont and around the country thanks to important changes made by the federal government to the food stamp program. This is the largest increase in benefits since the program began, which seems like good news for food-insecure families in our community, but there is more to the story.

Unfortunately, recent inflation rates in the US have also climbed to their highest in more than 30 years, which puts increased pressure on low-income families. The new maximum 3SquaresVT benefit per person for a family of 4 is now $6.86 per day. The average meal cost in Vermont is $3.60 per meal, so these benefits cover just 64% of their food costs for a family who is receiving the maximum benefit.

Veggie Van Go pickup

How do families in our community make up the difference? Many families rely on local food pantries like Foodworks and programs like the Vermont Foodbank’s Veggie Van Go Program for meals at home. For families with school-aged children, the fact that school breakfast and lunch are free again this year thanks to a temporary pandemic waiver from the USDA reduces financial stress for families.

School meals looks different than when we were kids!

There is currently a statewide effort to bring universal school meals to every public school in Vermont, to make breakfast and lunch free for all students permanently. 38.6% of families in Windham Southeast Supervisory Union (WSESU) receive 3SquaresVT benefits; therefore if universal meals were to become permanent in WSESU, that would directly benefit approximately 423 students in our district who might not otherwise have adequate nutrition to help them succeed in school. Additionally, 54% of eligible Vermonters are reluctant to apply for 3SquaresVT due to stigma, making programs like universal school meals even more crucial to the health of children and families in our community who are not receiving benefits. Multiple studies have confirmed that universal meals improve student learning, behavior, and health, reducing stigma in schools, and fostering a positive learning environment. Click here to show your support for universal meals.

The Farm to School Year in Review

Mixing bowls full of tropical fruits and veggies, hot plates frying up potatoes, and new foods abound (think tamarind, hibiscus, and cassava). This past June, Green Street School’s sixth-grade French class prepped mango and avocado salad from Seychelles alongside a hearty Haitian riz colle, in addition to 9 other dishes and drinks to celebrate six years of learning about French language and culture.

Back in October of 2020, this would have seemed impossible. Thanks to dedicated educators throughout the region and Food Connects support, Farm to School scenes like this cooking experience continued throughout the year and helped provide normalcy to an otherwise challenging year.

Many educators saw Farm to School as a means to get students out of the classroom. “Gardening time was an absolute highlight of the day for me and my students,” reflected Molly Stoner, a 4th-grade teacher at Dummerston School. “Students would run out and check for sprouting/growth in their milk jug greenhouses the second they got to school. Later in the spring, adding compost to beds, planting and watering the seed they sown, taking home sprouts enriched us all and kept us grounded in all the potential of our beautiful Vermont land."

This spring, Dummerston planted 12 apple trees donated by Scott Farm Orchard. Many other school gardens expanded as well. For example, Grafton Elementary School added a pumpkin patch to their school garden. Central Elementary School in Bellows Falls expanded its urban growing space and plans to develop a more robust Farm to School program that emphasizes community connections. 

For those feeding our students, the year never let up. Born out of the pandemic, our Who Feeds Our Kids series celebrated the school nutrition professionals who remain the backbone of the school community. Responding to rising food insecurity, they sent out weekend and school break food boxes. With local food from the Food Connects Food Hub highlighted, the food boxes provided another layer of support for families experiencing food insecurity. We’re excited to see the expanded service stay for years to come. 

Food Connects’ flexible support helped schools maintain their programs and respond quickly to new obstacles; when our network schools couldn’t find COVID-19 cooking guidelines, we researched CDC recommendations to create a protocol for educators to follow. We put together 800 sprouting kits for students during the doldrums of late winter, adding some greenery to classrooms and anticipation for more planting come spring. 

“It’s the creativity and flexibility that we saw throughout the pandemic that is going to help us spring forward next year,” says Conor Floyd, Food Connects Farm to School Program Manager.  “We’re excited to continue working alongside our school partners to develop new programming opportunities.”

Bringing Families Together Around the Dinner Table

A new program has cropped up in Townshend serving families in the West River Education District. Lead by RiseVT, Dinner Together provides meal kits to families to encourage healthy eating and more time spent together as a family. The recipes are simple, the kits have everything you need, and it’s available to everyone—no registration needed!  

From 2 to 4 PM on the last Friday of the month, swing by the West Townshend Country Store to pick up three different meal kits. We’ve tested many of the recipes ourselves here at Food Connects and can confirm that they’re incredibly simple and also easily adaptable, whether you want to spice things up or clear out a few extra ingredients from your kitchen. This makes the kits a great opportunity to get kids involved in the cooking process as well. 

“We eat everything so there are no limits. Having all the ingredients is the best part … Simple is better as we complete these together, generally. My 10 year old handled all of the January recipes on her own.” - West River Education District Parent

Most supplies for the program come from the Townshend Food Shelf and the VT Foodbank. Additional funding from RiseVT means local ingredients from the Food Connects Food Hub are also included every month. 

Swing by the West Townshend Country Store from 2 to 4 PM this March 26th to pick up some meal kits and give it a try! Check out this flyer for more info.

Everyone Eats! Returns for the New Year

[BRATTLEBORO, VT, January 13, 2021-] Thanks to a combination of funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the state of Vermont the short hiatus for Everyone Eats! Brattleboro (EE!B) is over.  EE!B is resuming operations on January 18th.

For Brattleboro area eaters, the program is going to feel very similar. Starting on January 18th, meal distributions will continue to be at 80 Flat St in Brattleboro from 4 - 6 pm Monday through Thursday and be open to everyone negatively affected by the pandemic. There is no registration or any paperwork required to participate; just come by car or on foot to the distribution site to receive meals for your family, including vegetarian, gluten-free, and vegan options. Partner organizations will also continue to reserve meals that they deliver directly to their clients. 

Restaurants and EE!B are working together to increase the variety and consistency of meals served. We will be welcoming new restaurants, such as Whetstone Brewery, Four Columns, and the Putney Food Coop. Additionally, the program has expanded, and residents of Marlboro and the West River Valley are now also eligible to participate in the program—that’s in addition to the five towns already participating in the EE!B hub: Brattleboro, Dummerston, Guilford, Putney, and Vernon.  

Everyone Eats purchases to-go meals from local restaurants to feed our community. The program supports the local economy while supporting those in need who have been negatively impacted by COVID by food insecurity or those looking for the nourishment of prepared meals because of this crisis we are living through. 

The first phase of the program—August to December 2020—brought a much-needed injection of relief funding to the local economy and greatly increased our region’s ability to support our community. Over the course of 22 weeks, 80,387 meals were distributed to community members, Everyone Eats accounted for an average of 37% of participating restaurants’ sales, and $41,818.54 worth of Vermont products and produce were purchased as ingredients for meals. 

“As we continue to live with this health pandemic and economic crisis, we know the need is great,” says Stephanie Bonin, EE!B Program Director. “We’re grateful to be able to resume operations so quickly and continue to support our restaurants, farmers, and community.”

During the course of the COVID health pandemic, 1 in 3 people in Vermont have experienced hunger. While Everyone Eats does not solve food insecurity and the economic crisis it has become an important part of the relief offered. For more information about EE!B, to donate or to volunteer, visit its website (https://www.brattleboro.com/everyoneeats) or try it out for yourself by visiting 80 Flat St from 4-6 pm, Monday through Thursday. 

Everyone Eats! Brattleboro (EE!B)

EE!B is a project of Vermont Everyone Eats (VEE), a statewide program funded by Federal and State funds made possible through a grant provided by Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA). The Brattleboro coalition consists of representatives from the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, Vermont Foodbank, Foodworks, Food Connects, The Putney Foodshelf, Putney Mutual Aid, and the Agency of Human Services for the state of Vermont.

Contact: Stephanie Bonin, Executive Director, Downtown Brattleboro Alliance stephanie@brattleboro.com

Everyone Eats! Delivered to Schools

Five months ago, Everyone Eats! Brattleboro, a program that pays restaurants to make meals for those in the community negatively impacted by the pandemic, first piloted in Brattleboro. The program has had such a large impact on the entire Vermont community, it will continue into 2021 through a combination of federal, state, and philanthropic funding. In addition to distribution at the 80 Flat St location, organizations get meals out to the community via their networks. The Farm to School team helped by ensuring teachers at all of the Windham Southeast School District, WSESD, schools got a chance to try the meals and learn more about the program. Not only was it another way for meals funded by the CARES Act to get into the community but it brought a welcome break to busy teachers who could skip a night of cooking. 

While passing out the meals, our team was reminded once again of the importance food plays in our sense of community. The joy that comes from shared food, even in physically distanced circumstances, is near-universal and a source of strength for many. We were grateful to have the opportunity to be the last leg of a long chain of community members working to make this program possible. Starting with our local farmers (meals contained, on average, over 25% local ingredients), Mama Sezz then managed all of the pick-up logistics and dedicated volunteers who made distribution a weekly part of their lives were the backbone of the operation. Everyone Eats! has brought hundreds of new people into the world of charitable food and created new connections within the community. We’re excited to bring these new connections and perspectives with us as we continue to strengthen our local food system. 

WNESU Feeds Families During Thanksgiving

A week off from school didn’t stop the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union (WNESU) Farm to School Cafe team from feeding their community local, delicious food.

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Food Service Director, Harley Sterling and his team distributed 523 food boxes filled with local ingredients like Grafton Village Cheese, The Bread Shed bread, Plainville Farm squash, and organic Mi Tierra tortillas. Each family also received an activity about the origin of tortillas and the ingredients to make a quesadilla as a family. 

There will be a second holiday food box distribution in December on the 23rd and 30th. Follow the WNESU Farm to School website for updates on sign-ups and pick-up times.

The Lunch Monitor: Pandemic EBT

Since we kicked off this series this last winter, a lot has changed! To keep up, we want to spread the word about a great program that is already in place—but it’s not too late to join. 

Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) is a new benefit for families with students who are eligible for free and reduced meals at school or attend a school with universal free meals. If you’re currently eligible, you should have received a mailing with more information. If you’d like to enroll, all you need to do is sign up for 3SquaresVT or free and reduced school meals. Doing either of these will make you eligible for this program as well.

How does it work?

Families receive up to $386.70 per student in benefits. More benefits may also be released. For families already enrolled in 3SquaresVT, the benefits are loaded directly onto your card. If you don’t participate in 3SquaresVT but are eligible for P-EBT, a card is mailed to you. You can use this card to purchase foods at supermarkets, co-ops, general stores, and farmers’ markets.  

P-EBT does not replace the school meals currently distributed throughout the state. Even if your family is still receiving school meals, you may be eligible for P-EBT. Looking for more information? Check out Vermont 2-1-1 and Hunger Free VT for more resources. 

If you think you should have received a P-EBT card, please call the DCF service desk at 1-800-479-6151.

Keep on the lookout for our next part in The Lunch Monitor series where we’ll examine a local purchasing incentive currently under consideration in the VT Statehouse and the emergency response being advocated to accompany it. 

The Lunch Monitor: An Incomplete and Ongoing Guide to Farm to School Policy

There’s a lot going on at the state and national level when it comes to Farm to School policies. So much so that it can be overwhelming and confusing when you’re trying to sort out what’s happening, when it’s happening, and what the impact could be. The Food Connects team wants to invite you along as we follow the latest news and encourage our lawmakers to take action.

We plan to stay up-to-date on important legislation affecting Farm to School programming. We’ll also do the work of figuring out its impact, who’s supporting it, its stage in the legislative process, and why we think it’s important. We’d love to hear from you! Share with us the effect one of these bills would have on you and your community or let us know about something important we may have missed.

Your local legislator would love to hear from you too. We’ll be sure to include contact info with each of our updates. It’s important to remind our representatives that the work they’re doing is important and that their constituents care about these issues.

First up, we’re taking a look at the Universal School Meals Bill that has recently been introduced into the Vermont legislature.  

Universal School Meals Bill (Vermont) | S.223 and H.812

What it does

1. Requires all public schools in Vermont to serve breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost to the student or their family.

2. Reallocates school meals as an education expense to be included with the rest of the school budget. Schools would be required to fund the portion of school meals not reimbursed through federal funds or other revenue sources.

3. Maximizes federal reimbursement for meals at all schools through existing programs.

4. Defines the time spent by students eating school meals during class as instructional time.

5. Provides a five-year transition period and funding to help schools make the move to universal meals.

6. Provides an additional full-time position in the Child Nutrition Programs at the Vermont Agency of Education.

Why we think it’s important

We see the positive impact Universal Meals makes in our region. The Brattleboro Town School and the Windham Central Supervisory Union both offer free meals to their students. Both districts have seen dramatic increases in meal participation after implementation. This means more students have a reliable source of healthy, nutritious food and the Food Service Programs have more money through federal and state reimbursements to further improve the quality of their food. This is a virtuous cycle that we’d be excited to see expanded to all districts throughout the state. 

Who supports it

In the Vermont House of Representatives, there are 27 co-sponsors of the bill, including Representatives Mollie Burke and Emilie Kornheiser from Brattleboro. The Vermont Senate version of the bill has four co-sponsors. Currently, the bill doesn’t have any co-sponsors from southern Vermont. Reach out to your state senator and encourage them to join this bill! 

Current status

Both the House and Senate versions of the bill are currently in committee (sub-groups of the House and Senate that focus on specific areas of governance, like education, health care, and transportation). The Senate Committee on Education and the House Committee on Education are both currently discussing the bill. Most recently, the House Committee on Education met to discuss the bill on February 5th. 

Interested in more?

Our friends over at Hunger Free VT are leading the charge. They’ve created a website specifically for the Universal Meals bill. They’ve also made a factsheet with more detailed info on what the bill proposes. 

Want to talk with your local representative? Easily look up your local Senators and Representatives here!

Kickoff for Summer Meal Programs

Students across Vermont rely on school meals throughout the school year for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks. But when school is out of session nearly 37,000 students lose access to these services. Luckily, programs and organizations throughout southern Vermont offer summer meals programs.

Brattleboro

Brattleboro will host a Summer Meals Kickoff event at Retreat Farm on Friday, June 28 from noon to 4 pm. Lunch will be served from noon to 12:45 pm and will be free for kids, and adults who come with a child that day! Attendees may enjoy the farm for free until 4 pm, including the calf barn, trails, and learning garden.

There are 9 Free Summer Meal sites this year, 5 of which are open to the public. You can find more details here.

Bellows Falls

Bellows Falls will host a Summer Meals Kickoff event at Bellows Falls Middle School on Monday, June 24 from 11 am to 1 pm. Kids and adults alike may eat for free that day—lunch will include homemade pizza, salad, and more! Garden Coordinator, Marylous Massucco, will be leading garden tours and giving away her boxes that day! Learn more about the event here.

Newfane

A new initiative that is underway and community lead is in the Windham Central Community. They will host summer meals at the UCC church in Newfane, Vermont throughout the summer.

These events are great opportunities to learn about programs available to students throughout the entire summer. Check out this list of more summer meal sites throughout Vermont.

Breakfast at Elm Hill Elementary

I arrived at Elm Hill School in Springfield, VT early on Wednesday morning. Children and families were beginning to trickle inside, some headed to early morning recess, and others headed to the cafeteria for breakfast. My mission? Learn more about the school’s efforts to increase food access by moving breakfast after the bell!

Elm Hill hosts children from kindergarten through second grade, after which time they head across town to Union Street School for grades three through five. Elm Hill sits at what appears to be the top of Springfield, overlooking the city. The building is full of light and adorned with colorful student art. Principal Dr. Christine Pereira and her staff greet students with a warm welcome as they arrive for the day.

This year, the school has implemented new strategies to support positive student behavior. Classrooms have adopted the practice of being “responsive,” working with students to create and uphold classroom expectations throughout the day. Another aspect of this new programming has been to increase the time period during which students can get breakfast in the morning.

In the past, students chose between recess and breakfast before the start of the school day. When you’re 6 years old, you may deem playing with your friends more important than having breakfast. Fair enough. But, as we know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A student who hasn’t eaten is much more likely to be distracted or distracting to their peers. Christine and her staff understand breakfast to be an essential part of their students’ ability to focus, participate and learn. Christine emphasized, “I didn’t want there to be a barrier for my students to access food.”

So, this school year, breakfast has been extended into the first part of the school day. Teachers may choose to send students to the cafeteria for breakfast or host the meal in the classroom as they give announcements and begin the day. In this way, teachers are able to make the new practice work for their classroom. Christine mentioned that while there was some initial hesitation based on previous challenges with breakfast after the bell, the school is now really embracing the new system. More students are participating in breakfast, and students are connecting with each other in new ways.

My visit finished with a tour of the school, including the cafeteria, which was full of light, hanging plants, and happy students. The food program is managed by Anna Tewksbury, of Cafe Services, with two additional full-time staff supporting her. Kids selected from a variety of breakfast options—including scrambled eggs, muffins, fruit, orange juice, and milk. Many students were eating together at round tables, while others trekked back to the classroom with full trays.

While we can’t necessarily attribute it to changes in breakfast programming, student behavior has generally improved this school year. It’s likely that increased access to breakfast has contributed to that in some way. Elm Hill staff has been proactive in their efforts to support student success and their efforts are paying off.

On my way out of town, I happened to run into a few Elm Hill parents at a coffee shop and we got to talking about school breakfast. They expressed support and gratitude for the extended breakfast period this school year, noting that it “feels much more inclusive!” This program helps to relieve the stress that busy parents feel in the morning and promotes community building within the school. In Springfield, food service has embraced these changes and we hope to see this type of programming continue to expand throughout the district.

By: Kate Venne, Farm to School Manager