Salvation Farms and partners receive $77,550

Salvation Farms is a federally recognized non-profit with a mission to build increased resilience in Vermont's food system through agricultural surplus management. As the fiscal agent of this SEP, Salvation Farms will distribute the funds and oversee implementation of cold storage infrastructure at four partner organizations serving communities across Vermont and will invest $23,000 of the funds in a large walk-in freezer in Johnson for storage of minimally processed, frozen food products for distribution throughout the Lamoille Valley.

"The opportunity to work with CSWD in presenting a proposal to increase the capacity of organizations for better storage and distribution of rescued food from Vermont farms was a privilege. To have the proposal approved and be awarded these funds is an honor and we are pleased to be able to serve our collaborations and partner organizations in this way," said Theresa Snow, Executive Director of Salvation Farms. "Additionally, Salvation Farms is excited to be able to increase our own organizational capacity to store frozen products that we create from Vermont surplus farm foods."

These four partner organizations will benefit from the funding:
Healthy Roots Collaborative will receive $10,000 to construct food storage space in St. Albans. Equipped with CoolBot Technology, the storage will help ensure that more fresh produce gleaned from Northwest VT farms can be distributed to 25 recipient sites in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties at an expected savings of thousands of dollars compared with current operations. Healthy Roots collected and distributed more than 29,000 pounds of local surplus produce in 2020.

NEK Gleaners, a community-based collaboration between Salvation Farms and Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District (NEKWMD), will receive $15,000 to establish cold storage capacity to efficiently store and distribute produce gleaned from a dozen local farms for distribution to 24 community food sites serving Orleans, Essex, and Caledonia counties.

Helping Overcome Poverty's Effects (HOPE) in Addison County will receive $18,000 to expand fresh produce storage and purchase a refrigerated trailer for enhanced preservation and distribution of gleaned produce. In 2020, HOPE's gleaning program collected and distributed more than 36,000 pounds of surplus produce from 29 farms to 21 food access sites throughout Addison County.

Vermont Studio Center, a nonprofit arts organization in Johnson, will receive $4,500 to install a freezer in their existing kitchen space. Vermont Studio Center is partnering with Salvation Farms to coordinate minimal processing of gleaned produce, and this on-site storage will support that work.

“Waste prevention is a cornerstone of CSWD's mission," said Sarah Reeves, Executive Director of CSWD. “Salvation Farms is an ideal partner in rescuing food that would go uneaten and ensuring it is efficiently delivered to our neighbors in need," she added. "It's a wonderful synergy of food systems enhancement, community building, and waste prevention."

 

About CSWD
The Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) is a municipality created by our member Towns and Cities to manage the solid waste generated within Chittenden County in an environmentally sound, efficient, effective and economical manner.

About Salvation Farms
Salvation Farms is a federally recognized non-profit with a mission to build increased resilience in Vermont's food system through agricultural surplus management. For more information, contact info@salvationfarms.org.