Poultney
posted
Jul 18, 2012
Green Mountain College Farm and Food Project and Salvation Farm
team up to research quick-frozen produce
Green Mountain College's Farm and Food Project is partnering
with Salvation Farms, a not-for profit based in Morrisville, Vt.,
to expand research on producing and integrating quick-frozen
produce into the local food system.
Throughout the summer and fall months, this partnership will
develop a line of minimally-processed frozen local produce for use
in food access points in the Rutland region that serve vulnerable
populations; the young, elderly and hungry. This work will serve as
a pilot for the Vermont Commodities Program which is being
spearheaded by Salvation Farms and will expand to serve emergency
food organizations, nursing homes, schools and other
institutional-type kitchens in the future.
The partnership makes use of a flash-freeze unit at GMC provided
by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and the College's expanded
commercial kitchen. The mobile flash-freeze unit can be used
to preserve produce grown by local farmers. The research is funded
by the Jane's Trust. Produce processing will take place in the
Solar Harvest Center Commercial Kitchen, funded by grants from the
Duke Energy Foundation and the Windham Foundation.
Surplus farm produce will be collected through the Rutland Area
Farm and Food Link (RAFFL) Grow-a-Row program, a food access and
gleaning program now in its fourth year. Grow-a-Row distributes
fresh locally grown produce to meal sites and emergency food
shelves weekly during the growing season. Salvation Farms is
working directly with the Grow-a-Row coordinators to refine the
programs operational systems, increase the efficiency and ability
to rescue more surplus farm produce from the regions farmers. This
is in line with the organizations history as one of the oldest
organizers and advocates for gleaning in Vermont.
"We are honored and excited to work in partnership with Green
Mountain College and RAFFL's Grow-a-Row program," said Theresa
Snow, executive director of Salvation Farms. "The work we are doing
together this season is a vital step in ensuring that Vermont grown
food is available to everyone."
Salvation Farms' mission is to build increased resilience in
Vermont's food system through agricultural surplus
management.
Through this partnership Green Mountain College seeks to provide
both resources and knowledge that will promote the health, welfare,
and education of underserved populations in our region by providing
them with nutritious food and by building a secure and affordable
food system.
Tagged:
Green Mountain College, Salvation Farm
