Blue Cross and Blue Shield Mini-Grants Support FTS Programming in Area Schools

Several area schools, including Academy School, Towsend Elementary, and Newbrook Elementary, were awarded grants by the Windham County Community Advisory Board of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont. This is a volunteer board of dedicated Windham County residents who are local champions of healthy activity and programming of all kinds. Several proposals were submitted for this round of funding to strengthen Farm to School (FTS) programming, and Food Connects is thrilled to celebrate this vital support for FTS-related wellness projects in some of our member schools!

At Academy School, 4th-6th grade classes are excited to receive funding to purchase a grow lab and humidity tent that they will use to grow plants for their garden beds. The grow lab will provide approximately 180 students the opportunity to become more involved in starting seeds in their classrooms. The seedlings grown will stock their school garden beds with vegetables, herbs, and flowers that can be used for cooking activities in their classrooms.

Townshend Elementary School launched a brand new FTS program in March. This grant will provide vital funding for purchasing ingredients and materials for Harvest of the Month taste tests and seed money for starting a small garden at the school. Taste tests are being given in each school classroom, reaching all 110 students. Students enjoyed the first Harvest of the Month activity in March, which focused on maple syrup. Teachers have already utilized funds from the grant to purchase a variety of whole grains for students to see, touch, and make art with, as well as some whole-grain bread and plain, refined flour white bread for April’s taste test. Garden planning is underway!

Just down the road at Newbrook Elementary School, the grant will fund multiple FTS-related projects. A woodfired pizza oven is central to Newbrook’s school culture and FTS program. This grant will fund the purchase of firewood to fuel the oven for six months and ingredients for pizza dough and sauce. The FTS team is also building two new raised beds next to the pizza oven so that students will be able to enjoy or work in the garden during recess time, if they choose, and will be able to harvest herbs and pizza toppings moments before their pie goes in the oven! The remainder of the grant will be used to restock the school’s cooking cart so that Amy Duffy, the school’s Garden Coordinator and FTS Educator, can continue to cook with students during her weekly visits to each classroom.

Many thanks to the Windham County Community Advisory Board of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont for supplying these grants and providing essential funding for activities and green spaces at our local schools.

Raised Beds Return to BAMS

Brattleboro Area Middle School (BAMS) teachers Jess Montenieri and Elyse Wadsworth wanted to see more opportunities for students to engage in outdoor learning. Reflecting on the past year, Elyse noted that “it's been difficult to see students spending so much time on Zoom with very little opportunity to move around, go outside and just be kids. We saw the raised beds as a great way to get students outside, even if it's just for a daily watering and check-in.” 

Jess and Elyse found energetic partners on the newly formed BAMS Leadership Team. Parents Amit Sharma and Sheila Humphreys were thrilled to see some of the strong Farm to School programming present in the elementary schools make its way into the middle school. 

More BAMS parents, Jacob Leach and Sam Schneski, offered to pitch in with some carpentry know-how, connections with local sawmills, and some donated supplies. Quickly, this team formed a plan to build new raised beds on the campus, the first step towards a more robust outdoor education program for the school.  

Parents, staff, and a few students gathered on a cool spring day, ready to get to work. Over the next couple of hours, they built four new raised beds, filled each with compost donated from Windham Solid Waste Management District (WSWMD) and Renaud's Tree Care, and planted starts donated from Walker Farm. A couple weeks later, 7th-grade students decorated the beds with their artwork. The beds now feature kale, brussels sprouts, beets, carrots, and many different types of herbs. 

The team planted primarily fall harvest crops—meaning easy summer maintenance and a bountiful garden ready to welcome students back in September. Jill Kelley, the Brattleboro Enrichment Activities for Middle School (BEAMS) Director, also joined in the build day and plans to incorporate maintaining the beds into student activities during summer camp. Next year, students will try to prepare the vegetables a few different ways, experimenting with the new foods and finding the dish that is just right. 

BAMS Principal, Keith Lyman, helped construct the beds and is excited to see more opportunities to get kids learning outdoors in the coming years. 

“We are always looking for new ways to engage students and families in our school community, and I am so proud of the work everyone has done to begin this work,” Keith said. “The more we can get kids outside learning through the world around them, the more likely we will have happy and engaged students. The gardens are beautiful, and the student artwork made the plain wooden walls come to life! I look forward to the fruits (or vegetables) of our labor!”

In the meantime, keep an eye out for the new raised beds next time you're driving by BAMS. They’re a hopeful sign of more to come!