March News

Underhill Town Meeting met in person on March 3rd, and the Food Hub information table was a sight to behold. Chantal O’Connor created a wonderful, automated slide show featuring photos of projects, farms and people. The table was an active stop and talk point for many residents. It was heartwarming to see the interest. 

The 2026 workshop season has begun. Last Saturday's workshop kicked off the season with tool sharpening with John Connell. Rusty tools were rubbed clean, pruning shears dismantled and sharpened, and axes sharpened to a point. Don’t miss other workshop offerings coming up: a lambing open house, apple pruning, backyard sugaring, fermenting foods and growing blueberries. Come and bring a friend! 

At our monthly meetings we've been discussing how to encourage more youth involvement in agriculture and local foods. One idea that will be pursued is to offer some workshops for youth. Wouldn't it be yummy to do an ice cream making workshop using local milk. A sweet deal. Another avenue being pursued by John Connell is an upcoming meeting with scouts to encourage projects related to agriculture, either existing projects such as involvement with our Food Sharing Sheds, participation with our potato patch harvest, squash gleaning, or assisting with the kids' garden contest set up. 

Food Hub members Marj Wainright and Sandy Wilmot met with the EJU Food Shelf to explore opportunities for connecting local foods with food shelf offerings. The Food Shelf currently purchases much of their vegetable staples from Reinhart Foods. In addition, they actively seek out local produce and have been working with Jericho Settlers farm among others. They receive a grant from the Vermont Food Bank that supports purchasing local foods, so we are looking for ways to coordinate with local farms where possible. Jason Crooks, who serves on the Food Shelf board, will be our contact for coordination.

A grant proposal through City Market was submitted that would help fund promotional materials for an open house tour of farms, possibly this fall. We named the project “Passport to Your Local Farms”. The passport booklet would be stamped at each farm with the possibility of winning a prize for participation. This would be a way for residents to connect with local farms and add an element of fun to the event. If funded, you’ll be hearing more about this. Thank you to Rose Rochford, Sandy Wilmot and Dave Clift