This document summarizes Vermont FEED's farm to school collaboration efforts in Vermont. It discusses the creation of the Community of Inquiry Learning and Practice (CLIP) network to provide outreach, create a learning community, develop resources, and strengthen the statewide farm to school network. The CLIP helped inform the first Vermont State Farm to School Institute which included a summer workshop focusing on building partnerships, connecting with farmers, program sustainability, and curriculum integration. Topics at the workshop included evaluation methods, program models, challenges, and promising evidence from initial evaluations.

1. Maple Apple Gumbo:
Farm to School Collaboration in Vermont
Erica Curry, Shelburne Farms/VT FEED
Abbie Nelson, NOFA-VT/VT FEED
Danielle Pipher, Shelburne Farms/VT FEED
Andrew Powers, PEER Associates, Inc.
Community Food Security Coalition Conference
New Orleans, LA – October 2010

4. Vermont FEED’s 3 C Model

5. Provide Outreach
Create a Community of Learning, Inquiry & Practice
Strengthen Statewide Network
Develop Resources

6. CLIP Participants Include:
•Burlington School Food Project
•Food Works Farm to Table
•Green Mountain Farm to School
•Upper Valley Farm to School Network
Vermont Farm to School Network
Community of Inquiry Learning & Practice (CLIP)
•Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and
Markets
•Vermont Department of Education
•Vermont Department of Health

7. Topics discussed:
Sharing our Programs- learning unique elements of FTS programs across the state
Evaluation- share current knowledge about FTS evaluation and identify gaps
Telling Our Story- How to capture all of the great Farm to School work happening
across the state
Group Communication Trainings & Professional Development
Planning a Summer Workshop
Community of Inquiry Learning & Practice (CLIP)

8.
The CLIP helped inform the first Vermont State Farm to School Institute…
Farm to School Summer Workshop
•Collaboration and Community of Learning Expanded to Schools
•Workshop Offered for Credit
• Action Planning Time and Resource Specialist Support
• Focus on the 3 C’s as structure for each day
• Teams including: teachers, principals, FTS coordinators, food service,
community members, farmers
•Highlighting FTS practitioners- having them share their stories

9. Summer Workshops Focused
On:
Building Effective Partnerships
Connecting with Farmers
Assessing Sustainability of your program
Facilitation, planning meetings and
effective group process
Garden based curriculum
Integrating Food, Farm and Nutrition
Curriculum into K-12 schools
Recipes and Cost Effective Buying
The National FTS Scene

10. Evaluation?

11. Evaluation!

12. The Big Question
Cafeteria
Classroom
Community
Fruits
Vegetables

13. Challenges

14. Challenges

15. Challenges

16. Challenges

17. Challenges

18. Promising Evidence

19. Place-based

20. Evaluation Framework
• Availability
• Access
• Utilization

21. Data
• 12 Schools
• 43 Teachers
• 655 students
• Menus
• FSD interviews
• Rubrics

22. Products
• Technical report for
CDC
• Practical report
recommending best
practices
• Evaluation
recommendations

23. Process Outcome
VT positioned to expand F2S research, evaluation, and
scale up.

24. Findings (kids eating)

25. Findings

26. Preliminary Findings
• Eating F&V picked with family
• Taste test participation
• Useful measures for future evaluation

27. Discussion Groups
Farm to School Evaluation
Building a Farm to School Learning
Community/Farm to School Network
Strengthening and Developing Public/Private
Partnerships and Collaboration