NMC Receives Grant from the Vermont Community Foundation’s Food and Farm Initiative to Connect More Vermonters with Healthy, Local Food

Northwestern Medical Center recently received a $36,000 grant from the Vermont Community Foundation’s Food and Farm Initiative. The grant will help further NMC’s mission of providing exceptional healthcare by supporting Farm to School programming and local food access at six schools in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties. This is the first grant NMC has received from the Food and Farm Initiative, the Vermont Community Foundation’s effort to provide healthy food to all Vermonters while increasing the viability of our local farms.

“We are proud to be part of the Vermont Community Foundation Food and Farm Initiative. This award will allow us to support our Healthy Roots program in building a more sustainable and equitable local food system in Franklin and Grand Isle counties,” said Jill Berry Bowen, NMC’s CEO.  

NMC joins a group of 14 organizations across Vermont funded by the Food and Farm Initiative. As part of this group, NMC will collaborate with and learn from other grantees, in the hopes of creating ongoing programs and relationships that will connect more Vermonters with healthy local food.

With the support of this grant, NMC’s Healthy Roots program will collaborate with Northwest Farm to School to provide direct service to six schools in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties. Over the next 18 months this work will build a solid foundation for the development or expansion of Farm to School at each school by building farm partnerships and community engagement.

“When we connect farms to schools directly, we can provide the freshest, healthiest food possible for our children and at the same time build viable markets for our local farmers,” said Kristen Hughes, Healthy Roots Coordinator.

“We are happy to see NMC joining a very impressive group of grantees,” says Janet McLaughlin, special projects director at the Community Foundation. “Grantees of the initiative benefit from the opportunity to build close partnerships with and learn from one another. We’re excited to see NMC joining this growing network of nonprofits working to fight hunger while supporting Vermont’s farmers.”

The Vermont Community Foundation is a family of hundreds of funds and foundations established by Vermonters to serve their charitable goals. It provides the advice, investment vehicles, and back-office expertise to make giving easy and effective. The Foundation also provides leadership in giving by responding to community needs, mobilizing and connecting philanthropists to multiply their impact, and by keeping Vermont’s nonprofit sector vital with grants and other investments in the community. Visit www.vermontcf.org or call 802-388-3355 for more information.