Barnard Academy

Farm to School Program

Last year, Congress designated October Farm to School Month, and the Barnard Academy celebrates this by continuing to build its Farm to School program. We are blessed to live in a region where the agricultural life is still vibrant and growing–and as we celebrate the 250 years of our official townships, we celebrate the agriculture history of Vermonters before us, both transplants and Natives.  The 2010-11 school year was the first year with an official Farm to School Program, and many changes have taken place to help the health of our children and the planet.

Recycling and Composting

The amount of waste being brought to the landfill has drastically decreased, as the school has begun recycling and composting in all the classrooms.

Local Foods in the School

The Barnard Academy has no Cafeteria, so connecting local foods to the cafeteria is somewhat different. The Barnard General Store caters a hot lunch once a week and seeks to work with local farmers to purchase locally when possible.  Currently the hot lunches feature beef from Barnard farms Bowman Road Beef and Eastman Farm, and the vegetables are sourced from our own community garden on Silver Lake and our neighboring partners at Fable Farm.

Because we have no hot lunch program, on days when there is no hot lunch, children bring lunches from home. In order to increase access to fresh foods on days when children have packed lunches, Farm-to-School has put a fruit bowl in every classroom, which is filled by parent volunteers. The teachers report that this program is a success, and that children proudly make healthy choices. Children can snack on a piece of fruit in the morning, and fruit can be eaten during lunch and snack-time.

Curriculum

Getting more hands on food and nutrition into the classroom is a goal of FTS, as well as engaging parents and community members in programming. This year, the Barnard Academy is involved in a very exciting Pilot Project which meets those two needs. With funding through the Ottauquechee Health Foundation, the Upper Valley Farm to School Network is working with a team of educators and FTS coordinators to develop a program modeled after the ELF/Four Winds program. We are developing 6 hands-on curriculum units, and training volunteer parents and community members to bring them into the classroom. This year will be the year of the squash, and we will delve into the botany, history, and of course the delicious taste of this versatile fruit (yes it has seeds, so it’s a fruit!) Five Schools are participating in this program in some way, however Barnard is the only school in which all classes are participating. In addition to supporting this FTS initiative, the Ottauquechee Health Foundation has also provided a grant to support a coordinator of the Barnard program. While some schools Farm to school programs get some State funding, we are reliant on our local non-profits partners and private donations. Thank you!

Special Events

BARNARD BEES ANNUAL FOLIAGE BREAKFAST

The Barnard BEES (our PTA) Annual Foliage Breakfast Fundraiser, on Sunday October 9th from 8-11 at the Barnard Town Hall was a big success.  This year, thanks to a mini-grant supplied by UVFTS, we purchased more local foods–the spread included pancakes with donated Wards Maple Syrup, local sausage from On the Edge Farm in Pomfret, eggs from Hawkes Hill in East Barnard, and Maple Meadows, cider, baked goods donated by local parents and volunteers and more! Home fries were prepared by Barnard Inn’s Will Dodson featuring locally grown potatoes, and onions.

TASTE OF BARNARD- LOCAL FOOD EVENT/FUNDRAISER

Camp Red Clover, a summer day camp in Barnard, maintains the Barnard Community Learning Gardens, which are used by the school in the spring and fall.  They held a fundraiser for their financial aid fund May 20^th , 2011 at the Barnard town Hall.  Guests purchased samples of “tasting plates” from different local producers.

For more information on Camp Red Clover, email campredclover@gmail.com

COLLABORATION WITH BOSTON SCHOOL

In April 2011, Barnard enjoyed a special visit from the 5^th grade class at the Conservatory Lab Charter School of Boston,  a school devoted to music education where the school day goes until 5:00, and all children participate in an orchestra.   The children were hosted at Fable Farm by volunteers from Fable Farm,  Camp Red Clover, and Barnard Farm-to-School. They got to participate in hands on food education, and even got the chance for one of the maple season’s late boils.  In thanks for their visit, the children gave a performance of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” and songs from their unit on social justice.  We were so charmed by the group, and view this as just the beginning of long friendships.  We hope to help them address food and environmental issues in their school, and in exchange they will inspire us with their music.

For more information on the Barnard Academy Farm to School Program, please contact the Farm to School Coordinator, Chloe Powell at clovermont@gmail.com.