Farm-to-School is the nationwide movement to connect classrooms and cafeterias with communities and farms in order to improve school nutrition and foster students’ ability to make healthy, environmentally-conscious food choices.

Vermont’s Champlain Valley is a national leader in Farm to School programming, and ACORN is proud to be part of this ongoing legacy.

ACORN continues to serve four local school districts: Addison Northwest School District, Mt. Abraham Unified School District, Addison Central School District, and Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union with fresh, delicious fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat. These districts purchase diverse local food products through the ACORN Food Hub, and we make weekly deliveries to our local schools using refrigerated delivery vans.

If you are a school district employee, school board member, parent or student looking to add more local food in your cafeteria, please get in touch with us!

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2026 Farm to School

In early 2026, we installed a refrigeration unit for the second cargo van thanks to a mix of funding from the New England Food Vision Prize and the Vermont Community Foundation.

This additional delivery van has allowed our team to pursue more distant and larger buyers for local food products, including local school districts while keeping the supply chain safe and secure.

Additionally in 2026, through two state-funded Local Food for Schools and Child Care (LFSCC) grants, we are facilitating the purchasing and movement of more local food:

  • ACORN is assisting with the distribution of free CSA shares for 13 Addison County early childhood centers from 6 different local farms totaling over $13,000 in local food.

  • The ACORN Food Hub is also the designated hub to serve five eligible School Food Authorities (SFAs), providing schools with just under $20,000 in credits to purchase fresh, local foods from the hub's catalog.

Abby Keslo, ACORN’s Account Manager,  also serves on the Mary Hogan Farm to School team and is part of NOFA-VT’s SCALES team.

Our communities and networks are continue to build momentum and excitement about local food in schools.

Big thanks to the Kendall Foundation New England Food Vision Prize, which has continued to help fund a large chunk of our Farm to School work since 2023.

2025 Farm to School

In 2025, thanks to funding from the Kendall Foundation’s New England Food Vision Prize, the Addison Central School District is able to enhance their ongoing Farm to School efforts by building out processing capacity for local foods.

NEFVP funding allowed ACSD to purchase equipment they needed to begin to build a commissary kitchen that would process local food at one school (Mary Hogan Elementary) and distribute that food to the other schools in the district. ACSD purchased equipment such as industrial food processors, blenders and salad spinners.

We were also able to purchase a second delivery vehicle, a new 2025 Ford Transit cargo van, using a mix of federal and NEFVP funds

2024 Farm to School

The acorn food hub deliveries fresh seasonal apples to lothrop elementary school in october 2024.

In 2024, we served four local school districts: Addison Northwest School District, Mt. Abraham Unified School District, Addison Central School District, and Rutland Northeast SU with fresh, delicious vegetables. These districts purchased diverse local food products through the ACORN Food Hub, and using a refrigerated delivery van we purchased with support from the Kendall Foundation, we were able to serve the growing demand from our school districts.

In April 2024, ACORN and VT FEED hosted the Addison County Farm to School Regional Gathering. It was an evening of peer-to-peer learning and digging into opportunities to strengthen the farm to school movement in Addison County. Local students shared their food systems inspired projects, we learned about upcoming opportunities to deepen our farm to school connections, and took a tour of the Middlebury Union High School cafeteria and greenhouse.

2023 Farm to School

This year, we are pleased to announce that local produce will be purchased from the ACORN Food Hub to supply four local school districts: Addison Northwest School District, Mt. Abraham Unified School District, Addison Central School District, and Rutland Northeast SU with fresh, delicious vegetables.

Thank you to the generous support of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. This exciting cross-sector partnership will facilitate the movement of tons of fresh local food into more schools!

ACORN Food Hub manager deliveries a load of local food to the slate valley unfied school district in 2023.

2022 Farm to School

In 2022, as part of a Farm to School Nutrition grant, we are partnering with the Addison Central School District to help create a sense of place for students through farms and local food. A Middlebury Union High School science class will work with ACSD dining services, ACORN and Shelburne Farms to create a visual map of the farms the school district sources from. The map will be printed, laminated and displayed in school cafeterias across the district. As part of this project, students will interview farmers, learn about the meal budgeting process and engage with their peers to discuss the importance of a strong local food community.

The map will also be featured in the 2023 Champlain Valley Local Food and Farms Guide.

What does Farm-to-School Mean to you?

Produced by VT FEED

Our previous major Farm to School initiatives were the Stone Soup Summit and Harvest of the Month. In 2019 we launched the Farm to Preschool Farmacy shares (see below).

Additionally, we have hosted numerous training workshops for farm-to-preschool educators, food service workers, teachers and school nurses, partnered with Middlebury College's FoodWorks program to support school gardens over the summer months, are members of the Addison County Hunger Council, and have organized meetings with Addison County administrators and school boards regarding Farm to School programming.

Farm to Preschool

In 2019, ACORN partnered with five area preschools to:

  • Receive Farmacy CSA boxes for 12 weeks

  • Provide food education for children and outreach to their families

  • Encourage local food purchasing and understanding how to prepare seasonal produce

  • Collect data on how nutritious food is linked to improved behavior

  • Build a 260 square foot storage facility for year-round use

  • Organize a fall celebration around food

Jr Iron Chef VT

ACORN values and supports Junior Iron Chef!  Jr Iron Chef VT, a statewide culinary competition, empowers Vermont middle and high school students to develop healthy eating habits through a hands-on approach with whole, local foods. 

Jr Iron Chef VT is an annual event, but its influence and impact is seen throughout the seasons. Teams gather in the fall to develop recipes, learn basic cooking techniques, and explore new foods. Once a recipe is chosen, students practice cooking their dish an average of six times, increasing their skills and confidence with each trial run. 

Every year, ACORN, on behalf of our greater community, provides each participating chef with a high-quality pan. The pans are distributed at the schools, often when the students are showcasing their cooking skills or when their recipes are being served at lunch, as recognition of their hard work and dedication. Students who participate multiple years in a row are acquiring quite the collection of kitchen tools that will reflect their collaboration, teamwork, leadership, creativity and personal growth. We thank our generous co-sponsors and community members for helping us support our own Junior Iron Chefs, regardless of whether or not they took home the gold.