MONTPELIER, VT – During National Farm to School Month and to celebrate Vermont’s farms and local food systems, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) visited Montpelier High School with local farmers and Vermont agriculture leaders to meet with students and talk about the impact of Farm to School programming on education and wellness. While at MHS, he joined the students for a nutritious and locally-sourced meal prepared by students, and saw the school’s greenhouse, gardens and hoop house, where students grow greens in biology class for the cafeteria and study genetics through growing hot peppers which are then processed into a hot sauce sold to the cafeteria and community.

“Our State’s farmers have fed and inspired our kids for generations in Vermont. This incredible program at Montpelier High School, and so many other Farm to School programs at schools across Vermont, are showing students how complex agriculture is—with science, math, entrepreneurship and creativity deeply rooted in the curriculum. Learning can happen behind a desk, but it can also happen in the garden and greenhouse as you study the genetics of peppers, and as you make a fresh batch of delicious hot sauce,” said Sen. Welch. “I am thankful Montpelier High School students met with me today and shared a locally-grown meal, and am glad we were joined by Vermont’s fantastic farmers and agriculture leaders. Schools across America should replicate Vermont’s great success and celebrate Farm to School Month every month like we do.”

See photos from the tour below:

Senator Welch was joined by students, local farmers; educators, staff and administrators from Montpelier High School; the Vermont Farm to School & Early Childhood Network; The Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools; and Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets Anson Tebbetts.

“Students are engaged in this work, and they enjoy cooking and being a part of their regional food system. I want to continue to foster those learning experiences for students,” said Sam Bromley, Educator at Montpelier High School.

“Montpelier High School is such a good example of engaging students with their community and their food system, encouraging entrepreneurial ventures, and integrating farm to school learning into existing curriculum. When students are in the cafeteria, they are seeing the food they grew and the food they know is from their local farms. Those connections stay with them into adulthood,” said Betsy Rosenbluth, Farm to School Director, Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools.

Senator Welch is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Rural Development. The Senate’s draft Farm Bill, the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act, supports programming that distributes fresh fruits and vegetables to schools. Farm-fresh school meals for all are a reality in Vermont, and Sen. Welch is a cosponsor of federal legislation—the Universal School Meals Program Act, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—to permanently end child hunger in schools. Senator Welch is also an original sponsor of the School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act, which would cancel student lunch debt nationwide.

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