Posted February 25, 2021 at 06:11am by Theresa Snow
AmeriCorps VISTA Needed to Help Launch Northeast Kingdom Gleaning Program
Gleaning Comes to the Northeast Kingdom
An AmeriCorps VISTA to bolster food security, helping farmers feed the Northeast Kingdom
The Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District and Salvation Farms partner to build Vermont’s newest gleaning program to serve the Northeast Kingdom. An effort coming out of the Northeast Kingdom Food Cycle Coalition, this local partnership brings in a national partner, Harvest Against Hunger, to place an AmeriCorps VISTA service member to help seed the Northeast Kingdom gleaning program.
The Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District will host the AmeriCorps member in their Lyndonville office, while Salvation Farms commits to provide technical assistance to the Waste Management District and VISTA member over the course of next three years to develop and anchor Vermont’s newest gleaning program to serve Northeast Kingdom farms and residents.
A major piece to successfully launch this new gleaning program will be filling the AmeriCorps VISTA position. The Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District seeks to fill this Harvest Against Hunger VISTA position for a start date in April and is accepting applications now. For more information visit, www.harvestagainsthunger.org/harvest-vista-program-positions.
“The Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District is honored to have the opportunity to partner with Salvation Farms to co-supervise an AmeriCorps VISTA member. The NEK Gleaning Coordinator AmeriCorps VISTA member will play a critical role in establishing this new gleaning program to bridge the gap between agricultural surplus and food insecurity in our region. With numerous successful gleaning organizations in other regions of Vermont, such as Salvation Farms, we know a regional gleaning program will have many benefits for NEK communities.” – Shannon Choquette, NEK Waste Management District.
For more information on NEKWMD, visit www.nekwmd.org
“Salvation Farms is eager to support the launch of the Northeast Kingdom Gleaning program. This is exciting for the region and for Vermont as it fills a critical gap in the capacity of the state to move surplus crops from farms to those in need of nourishment. What an honor it is for our organization to partner with the Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District and Harvest Against Hunger to achieve this goal.” – Theresa Snow, Salvation Farms
For more information on Salvation Farms, visit www.salvationfarms.org
AmeriCorps, a federal agency, brings people together to tackle the country’s most pressing challenges, through national service and volunteering. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities. AmeriCorps helps make service to others a cornerstone of our national culture. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.
Gleaning is the act of reaping after the harvest. In Vermont, this typically involves community-based organizations working closely with farms, organizing and managing volunteers, collecting unharvest or harvest but unsold crops, and coordinating the distribution of gleaned crops to community food programs like food shelves and senior meal programs.