Green Mountain Farm-to-School in Newport awarded $102,000 USDA grant

NEWPORT — Green Mountain Farm-to-School in Newport picked up a $102,000 grant from the USDA on Friday. The grant was part of a larger $2.3 million that was given to Vermont from the USDA, aimed at creating jobs in rural Vermont.

The $102,000 awarded to Green Mountain Farm-to-School will be used to increase marketing and distribution opportunities to schools for agricultural-related businesses.

“At Green Mountain Farm-to-School, we believe that if we can change the way kids eat and think about food, we can have a positive impact on their health and the health of our farms,” said Katherine Sims, Founder and Executive Director of GMFTS.

Sims founded Green Mountain Farm-to-School in 2008 to improve childhood nutrition and support Vermont farms by connecting schools and farms through food and education.

The money in other projects will help farmers and small-business-owners with buying equipment, gaining access to capital and developing markets for their products.