Students at Charleston Elementary School Cooking Club are taking their skills to the next level, learning all sorts of culinary techniques! Last week, we made scalloped potatoes and maple-glazed ham featuring local potatoes gleaned by @salvationfarmsvt and ham from Brault’s Meat Market in Troy.

Students practiced using a mandolin to slice the potatoes into perfectly even, thin slices. They also learned how to make a roux out of butter and flour to thicken sauces, and a couple of different techniques for basting.

30 meals were donated to Vermont Department of Health - Newport and @nekca_vt for community members in need. The students also got to take some home to their families. 💛

The @vtharvestofthemonth for May is EGGS! Farm Direct is proud to work with Maple Meadow Farm to provide Vermont-raised eggs to our food hub customers this month and every month. Located in Salisbury, Maple Meadow Farm is our go-to source for large quantities of Vermont cage-free eggs and large white eggs. Their hens are treated with extra-special care and fed the highest-quality feed, and their eggs are available in bulk, making them a perfect choice for schools, retailers, bakeries, and more.

In addition to eggs, Farm Direct is featuring another seasonally relevant crop this May: mixed greens. Greens are some of the first fresh veggies to be ready to harvest in Vermont’s growing season, and with so many varieties to choose from, spring/early summer brings salad options galore. This month, we’ll be distributing fresh greens from @joesbrookfarm in Barnet, and Finn & Roots and Stone Creek Farm in Enosburg Falls, to 22 schools throughout Vermont.

We’re grateful to partner with these wonderful local producers!

Pro tip: Cook up a frittata with some Vermont-raised eggs and local greens! 🥚🥬

Farmer portraits by @vermontcorey 📷

Last Tuesday at Coventry Village School, our Taste Test featured May’s Vermont Harvest of the Month - Egg! 🥚🍅6th grade helped chop tomatoes and crack eggs to make mini frittatas for the whole school. We experimented with different ingredients to put inside and they turned out delicious with overwhelming ‘I loved it’ votes! ✅

Last month, GMFTS was invited to the school’s showcase where students displayed what they’ve been learning to their families. It was so lovely to connect with families and give people seeds to take home! 🌱

Charleston Elementary School Cooking Club is on a roll!

Last week, we covered some techniques for cooking rice and dicing an onion - there were lots of tears involved, but our dish turned out awesome in the end! A rich vegetable curry featuring potatoes gleaned by @salvationfarmsvt , served with Basmati rice. Many of the students had never tried curry, so this was also an exposure to new flavors!

30 meals were donated to the Vermont Dept. of Health and @nekca_vt Newport for community members in need.

Vermont’s Harvest of the Month for April was Whole Grains. 🌾 Troy School kindergarteners prepared whole grain blueberry muffins and created a poster highlighting the ingredients used. Blueberries were a particularly popular ingredient to draw! 🫐

We are thrilled to announce a generous donation of fruit trees from @branchoutburlington !🌳Arriving at the Branch Out Burlington tree farm, we were warmly welcomed by a dedicated group of volunteers. We delivered the trees to Lake Region High School, Barton Graded School, Derby Elementary, Coventry Village School, Charleston Elementary, North Country Career Center, Newport Town School, Troy School, and Jay/Westfield Joint School.

A heartfelt thank you to Peoples Bank for funding the Branch Out Burlington project, which makes it possible to bring these fruit trees to our NEK schools! 💛

“Turn out” on Saturday, May 2nd for the most exciting day of the year for our friends at The Larson Farm and Creamery: Turn Out Day! After a long, cold winter, this joyous occasion marks the day that the grass has grown tall enough to let the cows out of the barn and into their pasture to graze for the next six months or so.

Rich Larson paints a vivid picture: “They are a sight to see, running awkwardly down the road, but once in the field, all attention is given to eating as much and as quickly as they can. They are so happy to be outside eating fresh grass. We give them relatively small sections of pasture, and move them to fresh grass 2 or 3 times a day.”

The Larson family invites you to join them on their farm in Wells, VT on Saturday, May 2nd at 1:00pm (rain or shine!) to spectate these bounding bovines as they are released from the barn and reunited with their beloved fresh grass. They encourage guests to “bring a picnic lunch, sit on the hill, and enjoy the sight.” To round out a spectacular day, there will also be a tour of the barn and creamery after the turn out.

If you can’t make it, you can find delicious Larson Creamery products at Bread and Butter Farm in Shelburne, Rutland Co-op, and more locations throughout Vermont.

Our middle school cooking program has found its way to Charleston Elementary School, where students are cooking up a storm for their school community and beyond! Our first couple of weeks together have focused on cultivating knife skills and different techniques for cutting vegetables. 🥕🥔🥦

Using local produce gleaned by @salvationfarmsvt , students have made mashed potatoes and gravy, maple-glazed carrots, and chicken & broccoli pasta alfredo. To date, this group has donated 60 meals to fellow students, teachers, and the Vermont Department of Health - Newport.