New Cooking Program Teaches Middle School Students Community Service and Life Skills

Newport, VT – Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) has launched a new cooking program that engages 6th-8th graders in community service, gleaning, and hands-on learning. The program prepares meals for seniors and community members facing food insecurity, donating 20-30 meals each week to local food shelves and senior centers in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. 

Inspired by community-based models like the Recipe for Human Connection program at Hazen Union High School and the Afterschool Cooking Club at Newark Elementary, the GMFTS program is unique in its focus on locally gleaned produce. In partnership with Salvation Farms, students work with surplus vegetables that might otherwise go to waste, incorporating them into weekly recipes. The program also includes a gleaning field trip, where students assist at local farms and reflect on how to maximize the use of gleaned produce.

Led by GMFTS Food Access Coordinator Hilary Rosa, the program is designed to teach essential life skills such as knife safety, cooking techniques, and food budgeting. Students also explore the broader cultural and social significance of food. At the end of the program, participants receive a personal recipe book, a Certificate of Community Service, and a small stipend. 

Supported by two-year funding from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, the program has been implemented at three schools so far: Orleans, Brighton, and Troy. To date, the program has donated over 460 meals to local community organizations:

• Spring 2024: Orleans Elementary students donated 160 meals to the Orleans Food Shelf.

• Fall 2024: Brighton Elementary students donated 132 meals to seniors at Sunrise Manor in Island Pond.

• Winter 2025: Troy School students donated 174 meals to community members through Revitalizing Troy, a new initiative engaging local teens in community-building activities.

One student participating in the program at Troy School said “I didn’t expect the class to be like this- I don’t know what I expected, but this is actually super cool!” and later asked, “Can we use tofu again?!” 

With 23 students having participated so far, the program has received positive feedback and will be expanded to two additional Northeast Kingdom K-8 schools in the 2025-2026 school year. GMFTS is still searching for a catchy title for the program and is open to suggestions!

About Green Mountain Farm-to-School

Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) is a nonprofit organization based in Newport, VT that strengthens the local food system by promoting positive economic and educational relationships between schools, farms, and communities in the Northeast Kingdom and throughout Vermont. GMFTS distributes local food, provides nutrition and food system education, and increases food security through their farm-to-school program, regional food hub, mobile summer meal service, and other food access initiatives. For more information, visit our website or call 802-334-2044.

Green Mountain Farm-to-School | 115 2nd Street, Newport, VT 05855