One rainy October night a
few weeks ago, I attended a reception at Sterling College. As I got out of the car, the rain
increased to a downpour and I moved quickly toward the porch of Housten House,
formerly known as the Old Inn on the Common. The scene inside contrasted sharply with the dismal weather
outside- that is to say, the light was warm, the people smiling and the smell
of fall harvest food wafted through the air. The purpose of the event was to celebrate the publication of
Vermont Fresh: A Fruit and Vegetable
Handbook. The handbook is a
collaborative effort between the college, Salvation Farms and Vermont Foodbank and
focuses on providing information about vegetables suitable to Vermont including
growing tips, storage, nutritional benefits and recipes. What followed was a
reflection by each of the contributors and dinner prepared by Sterling students
with donations from local farms. Listening to these reflections and talking
with the people present left me with the feeling that as important as the other
contributors were to this publication, the evening also felt like a celebration
of the re-launch of Salvation Farms, an organization whose conception and
development began here, at Sterling College. Following her study in sustainable
agricultural and natural resource management at Sterling College, Director
Theresa Snow was inspired to simultaneously address farm fresh food waste and
food inequality in her community. Consequently, she spent her time gathering volunteers to
“glean” or gather that surplus produce to give to needy folks. Snow’s work
clearly fell in line with the college’s mission and she found abundant support
to help her develop her program. From there, Salvation Farms was born.
The organization is one
that is in the same constant motion as its creator. It evolved from having an impact on a local scale to a
statewide scale as Snow was eventually hired on at the Vermont Foodbank as
Director of Agricultural Resources to institute a gleaning program into their
operations, build food donor relationships with
farmers and increase the organizations capacity to handle fresh foods. But as
Snow dug in deeper to the complexities of her evolving vision- a systemic
change in the way we depend on food sources and how to feed vulnerable
populations- she couldn’t help but evolve herself, searching out new ideas and
after almost four years she left Vermont Foodbank to reinvent Salvation Farms.
In reflecting on Snow and her ultimate decision to leave the Foodbank, CEO John
Sayles said with a smile, “We just couldn’t contain her and now Salvation Farms
has burst out again!” And if you have ever met Theresa Snow, you could see why
he said that. Snow is a fix it girl.
In her professional and personal life she has been moved to action by
injustices she sees- globally and locally.
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| Theresa Snow, Director of Salvation Farms |
Snow’s ‘bursting out’ took
on a physical motion as well as a philosophical one. She struck out on a road trip across the country to meet
others with similar visions as hers and learn from their strategies. What struck
her most is how the different scale of agriculture in many other parts of the
country differs from Vermont’s. Much of the country’s large-scale agriculture is
automated and mechanized contrasting with Vermont’s smaller scale version, based
more on human labor. This lead Snow to the practical realization that depending
on people power helps strengthen appreciation, understanding of farmers and creates
community through ownership. She realized that what is most important to
succeeding is collaboration and the cultivation of relationships. For Salvation Farms, that meant more
than just a focus on picking surplus vegetables. Instead it became one that
combines- at the very least- advocacy, education, resource management, diverse
and cross-sector partnerships and lots of logistical coordination.
When Snow returned home she
began to redesign and restructure Salvation Farms to support these new goals in
an effort to return to its original philosophies- a movement back toward
creative engagement of more Vermonters in managing food resources to provide
our state’s own needs. Snow
remained dedicated to education, as evidenced by the Vermont Fresh publication,
but now took things one step further by teaching others how to set up these
types of initiatives and working as a vocal representative of these
ideals. One project she is
currently working on includes fostering the conversation and partnership to
bring an agricultural industry component to Vermont’s correctional facilities.
Another project involves working with Green Mountain College’s Farm and Food
Project to research the production and integration of frozen food into
Vermont’s food charity system. And in addition to all this, Snow is constantly
sharing the story of the organization’s development, its vision, and her
observations from the road trip. Salvation Farms has become, in essence, one collaborator
establishing and maintaining a comprehensive web of connections in an effort to
manage statewide agriculture surplus.
The reception at Sterling
College symbolizes that spirit of collaboration. The folks who came to
celebrate had a broad interest and connection to these groups- they were coworkers,
former coworkers, volunteers, board members, former steering committee members,
Sterling College students and alumni and they were all united by one thing:
connecting through food.
You can learn more about
Salvation Farms and Theresa Snow by visiting her blog at http://salvationfarms.wordpress.com/ or emailing
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| Allison VanAkkeren of Sterling College and her students that prepared the celebratory meal with local produce. |
