October National Farm to School Month

The Vermont Farm to School and Early Childhood Network is celebrating National Farm to School Month this October. The Network has begun distributing lawn signs around the state to participating farms to increase public support and awareness around the Farm to School and Early Childhood campaign here in Vermont. 

When you see one of the signs, please considering taking a photo of yourself with the sign and sending it to the Network. They will be turning the photos into a video that will be shown to Vermont legislators to show how much the community values the inclusion of healthy, local food in schools and early childhood programs.

For more information and to download the Farm to School social media toolkit, click here.

Full Story School Launches Podcast

The Full Story School, a platform that offers information and practices that are meant to be an entryway into discussion techniques and reflection on how grown-ups can do effective collaborative anti-racist education with young people, has started a podcast called “Freedom Means.” Hosted by storyteller and mother Grace Aldrich and preschool teacher Emma Redden, each episode models what conversations related to race, racial violence, and colonialism could sound like. The first episode was published last week and focuses on Indigenous People's Day.

To listen to the podcast, and for more for more information about the Full Story School, click here.

ARPA Listening Tour Continues

Legislative leaders continue to seek input from Vermonters to inform their decisions on how the state of Vermont should spend the unallocated federal funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA). Thanks to federal stimulus funds, a surge in state revenues, and more potential federal funds on the way, the Vermont Legislature is positioned to make large one-time investments in Vermont's pandemic recovery and to address critical infrastructure needs. Public input will help shape the decisions about how to allocate those funds.

The “Investing in Vermont’s Future Community” conversations are taking place regionally, and an online questionnaire has been created to include voices not typically heard in the legislative process. All the events are virtual, and are hosted by Senate President Pro Tem Balint and House Speaker Krowinski. This is the last week of currently scheduled community forums, with events focused on Franklin, Caledonia, and Essex Counties.

Click here to register for the event in your community. You can fill out the online questionnaire here.

If you are interested in helping set up a conversation with a community or group not typically heard in the legislative process, send an email request to cwesley@leg.state.vt.us or ckennedy@leg.state.vt.us.