14Free Episode 6 - Randolph Summer Program, Boys & Girls Club of White River Valley

14Free, episode 6 in Orange County highlights a summer meal program in Randolph. The food for this site is provided by Sandy Gilderdale of Bethel Schools in Windsor County. Sandy loves to prepare homemade meals in her school and summer program and gave us a long list of the meals her kids love including her mother’s homemade meatloaf, sautéed broccolini, baked sweet potato fries, root vegetable chowder—and she loves to sneak grated carrots or zucchini in to baked goods.

In addition to the meals that Sandy makes for the summer meal site at her school, each day Sandy packs meals to be picked up for two Boys and Girls camps in Randolph. With over 30,000 students relying on school meals as a consistent source of nutrition during the school year, it is important that these same kids have access to meals and enriching activities during the summer. While Hunger Free Vermont’s advocacy has increased access to summer meals for children from 802 kids in 1993 to over 5,100 today, there are still 24,900 kids who may not be receiving the nutrition they need to grow and thrive.

We are grateful for the innovative and collaborative program we saw during our visit to Randolph. Sandy and the Boys and Girls staff provide a dynamic program that keeps the kids active, learning, and receiving important nutrition while school isn’t in session.