PETE’S IN THE COMMUNITY

We believe strongly that local, organic food should be available to everyone in Vermont. To that end, we have partnered with a number of other local, like-minded organizations to share our harvest. Here are just some of the organizations we have partnered with in Vermont. 

NORTHEAST ORGANIC FARMING ASSOCIATION (NOFA) OF VERMONT – FARM SHARE PROGRAM

 NOFA Vermonts Farm Share Program assists low-income Vermonters in obtaining farm fresh vegetables through partially subsidized CSA shares.  The program will match each dollar that our CSA raises to offer reduced rates to income eligible individuals and families. If you are in need of financial assistance, please ask us about the Vermont Farm Share Program. You may be eligible for a partially subsidized Good Eats CSA share. To find out more about donating, visit our NOFA Farmshare page.

VERMONT FARM FUND

The Vermont Farm Fund (VFF) was inspired by the outpouring of support Pete’s Greens received after a devastating fire in 2011 destroyed the barn that was the heart of our farm and which contained all our coolers, storage areas and vegetable processing equipment as well as all our produce and frozen meats.  In the wake of this fire, we received overwhelming support statewide from community efforts and individual donations.  This support was essential to helping us get back on our feet again. We decided early on that we wanted to eventually repay our community, and pay the donations forward. With the help of an advisory committee, and the partnership of the Center for an Agricultural Economy the non profit Vermont Farm Fund was created later that year with the intent that the money that was so generously given to us would eventually circulate again to support other sustainable VT farms. Though still a bit cash strapped ourselves in 2011, we paid forward $40,000 of the donations we received into the fund in 2011.  Over the next few years we paid all the remaining donations we received back into the Vermont Farm Fund.  This money has been loaned again and again. To date the Vermont Farm Fund has loaned over 2 MILLION dollars to farms and food producers who have needed help after suffering disasters and hardship and to new farmers looking to get their start.

SALVATION FARMS

We often have a surplus of unmarketable but still-great-for-eating produce in our fields and in our washhouse. In 2004, Theresa Snow, a then Petes Greens employee, started gleaning on our farm. With the help of local volunteers, our excess crops were harvested and distributed to local sites like food shelves and senior meal programs. The following year Theresa founded Salvation Farms and began gleaning at many farms located in northern Vermont.

For more than twelve years Pete’s Greens has welcomed gleaners into our fields and donated tons of produce to sites that serve the nutritionally insecure in our community and beyond. During the recent winter storage season, we donated more than 34,000 pounds of edible crops that we had no market for. These crops moved through Salvation Farms’ Vermont Commodity Program – Vermont’s first surplus crop food hub that operates by running a workforce development program.

Pete’s Greens is excited to be engaged in conversations with Salvation Farms about reestablishing gleaning work on our farm. If you’re interested in being a Pete’s Greens Gleaner, please contact us!

THE CENTER FOR AN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY

The Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE) is a 501(c)3 non-profit food system organization located in Hardwick, Vermont. Their mission is to bring together community resources and programs needed to develop a locally based food system that supports the desire of rural communities to rebuild their economic and ecological health. Through community involvement, integrated and responsible agri-business, and a commitment to economic, ecologic and nutritional health, the Center for an Agricultural Economy supports a vibrant regional food system. We are proud to join forces with The Center and other local businesses to realize a vision for a healthy 21st century Vermont food system in the Hardwick community. The Board of Directors for the Center includes individuals from Sterling College, the Cellars at Jasper Hill, the Craftsbury General Store, Vermont Soy, Black Dirt Farm, Vermont Community Loan Fund, Vermont Land Trust, and the Vermont Council on Rural Development.

GREEN MOUNTAIN FARM TO SCHOOL PROGRAM

Green Mountain Farm To School (GMFTS) promotes the health and wellbeing of Vermont’s children, farms and communities by providing programs to connect schools and farms through food and education. Pete’s Greens has partnered with GMFTS through sales and produce donations in order to provide local organic vegetables to schoolchildren in our area. We believe that introducing whole foods to children will help them make good food choices in the future.

SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS

Pete’s Greens donates vegetables to schools in our community and participates in a program to send food home with students who are food insecure. We wish to help in the effort to provide children with well rounded, healthy, local meals, and perhaps more importantly we hope to broaden their appreciation for whole foods so that they are encouraged to make good food choices in the future. We also want kids to consider where this good food comes from so they can develop an appreciation of their community and local environment. We strongly believe that the key to a healthy community begins with healthy food choices, and that early introduction is key to the mission. If we can change how people eat and encourage local healthy food choices, we can improve the health of our children, invigorate our local economy, and create strong environmental stewards..

VERMONT FRESH NETWORK

Pete’s Greens is a proud member of the Vermont Fresh Network (VFN).  The Vermont Fresh Network encourages farmers, food producers and chefs to work directly with each other to build partnerships. Building these regional connections contributes to stronger local communities and their economies. We collaborate with many restaurant members to provide the freshest top quality produce and products available in the state. For a map of participating restaurants that we are partnered with click here.

CAPITAL CITY FARMERS MARKET

Pete’s Greens has been a particpating member of the Capital City Farmers Market since 2002. This market serves the greater Montpelier area and hosts over 100 vendors, demonstrators, and performers weekly. We offer a wide range of the freshest produce from our farm in various colors, sizes and flavors. Whether grocery shopping or looking for something interesting, there is sure to be something for everyone! Pete’s is there every Saturday from May to October, 9-1pm and the Saturday before Thanksgiving at the Montpelier High School Gym.