14Free Pilot Episode—Addison County

Hungry children can’t learn. There are 25,400 children in Vermont that live in food insecure households. This means that 1 in 5 Vermont children regularly experience skipped meals or insufficient quality or quantity of meals. This recurring and involuntary lack of access to food can lead to malnutrition over time—which can be detrimental to children’s health and development.

Imagine being a child who isn’t fed enough food at home on nights, weekends, and school vacations. These children rely on meal programs in their schools. Knowing that each school day they can at least count on breakfast and lunch is a huge relief to the stressful existence of not being sure there will be enough food at home. This is why it is imperative that each school in Vermont not only has a breakfast and lunch program—and 15 Vermont schools still don’t have one or the other or both—but that the food offered in those programs is nutritious.

1 in 6 children in Addison County are food insecure. Kathy Alexander, Food Service Director at Mt. Abraham Union High School and Bristol and Monkton Elementary, understands the importance of meal programs as part of the overall school curriculum. Hailing from Ferrisburgh Central School where Kathy transformed their meal program and the food culture, Kathy has brought the same mission and expertise to her new job. Kathy not only works to incorporate whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, local foods, etc, but she uses the meal program as an opportunity to teach kids about healthy eating. Not only does Kathy teach kids about nutritious food simply by offering healthy meals each day in the cafeteria, but she also has a Healthy Food Educator on staff who goes into the classrooms to conduct taste tests and offer nutrition and cooking lessons to the students.

Our visit to Kathy’s schools in Addison County was the first of our 14 visits—one in each county in Vermont—that we will do throughout 2011. Through the 14Free video project we will illustrate the innovative and successful meal programs in Vermont that do more than just provide calories for kids but that inform their eating habits for the better and inspire them to embrace a wholesome food culture.

Watch our pilot episode of 14Free and stay tuned for an episode in your county.