Thanks to a grant awarded to Willing Hands from the VT Agency of Agriculture that provides CSA shares to Early Childhood Education programs, a bunch of the kids at Little Feet Children’s Center in East Thetford have been eagerly trying and enjoying fresh fruits and veggies from their local farm: Cedar Circle Farm and Education Center.
Little Feet Director, Christine Tullgren, reports that their CSA has “been a huge hit with kids and parents alike. Parents have been so appreciative as food is so expensive they all stress how much this has helped.”
With so many amazing foods from Cedar Circle Farm to try, Christine reports that the kids have “especially loved the blueberries and strawberries.” Here is some of what they had to say about the Cedar Circle blueberries: 🫐
- “They are blue and that’s my favorite color”
- “I love them when they are sweet and not sour”
- “I love to eat them”
- “I’m the Monster for eating blueberries”
- “I like they are little small round and blue”
And even Quackers the duck said “I love them cuz they are round like my eyes.”
Beyond the fruits, the children get to learn more about where their food comes from, and have even taken walks to the farmstand to help select the fresh foods themselves with their CSA card.
Their reflections on visits to the farm include:
- “Things from our farm are fresh and yummy and grown by the farmers and I like farms” 🧑🌾
- “It’s better than a store” 😋
- “It smells good at the farm stand” ♥️
- “There’s so much to look at and I love their cookies and donuts in the cafe.” (oh, kiddos!)
- “I love tractors at the farm” 🚜
Willing Hands is committed to helping more families and children access fresh local foods. In addition to Little Feet Children’s Center, this grant has enabled Willing Hands to purchase CSA shares for eleven other early childhood education programs in Vermont this season. That means 249 more children have had similar opportunities to enjoy farm fresh foods and learn about where they grow.