14Free, episode 4 in Windsor County highlights a unique meal program at one of the Community High School of Vermont sites in Springfield. With over 17 sites across the state, the Community High School of Vermont—part of the Vermont Department of Corrections—provides accredited education to help students meet high school graduation requirements. Susan Chiefsky is the instructor at this site and she recognized that her students needed school lunches in order to help them learn. Susan worked with us at Hunger Free Vermont to navigate the school meal reimbursement program and work around CHS’s lack of facilities in order to provide a daily balanced meal. Susan also applied for a Project Healthy Start grant through Hunger Free Vermont which we awarded to the site so that they could purchase a small refrigerator, microwave, and hot/cold bags in which to transport meals from the local high school.
This meal program adds yet another dimension to the spectrum of meal programs that are making a difference for students across our state. For these particularly vulnerable students, these meals do more than offer a source of nutrition, but also express a level of caring that is crucial to their success. I was impressed by each students’ plans and vision for their future and was honored to, as Susan calls it, “break bread” with each of them.
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