Vermont Maple Sugar Makers’ Association (VMSMA) members said “thank you” to essential workers in hospitals throughout Vermont with a tasty donation as part of their new Maple Essential Gratitude Program.
VMSMA collected and delivered over 60 gallons of 2020 maple syrup from sugar makers statewide to hospitals in each corner of Vermont, including, but not limited to:
Gifford Medical Center in Randolph;
Grace Cottage Hospital in Townshend;
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in Brattleboro;
Southwestern Medical Center in Bennington;
Vermont Veterans’ Home in Bennington;
Bethel Health Center in Bethel;
Copley Hospital in Morristown;
Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin.
The maple syrup was delivered to each of the hospital’s food services at the end of May will be used to locally sweeten the meals that hospital workers consume as they continue their fight against Coivd-19, according to a news release June 15.
Vermont sugar makers produce over 2 million gallons of maple syrup (about one half of the production in the United States).
“We chose hospital food service programs as a way to share Vermont maple syrup donations among the hospital staff – by using it in their recipes and as table syrup throughout the day,” wrote Dave Mance, Bennington County director. “Our local hospital staff have been working tirelessly, often at risk to themselves and their families, to ensure that we’re all taken care of during the pandemic. In order to show our gratitude, we started a program to donate maple syrup to local hospitals through their food service programs. Local food is an important way that Vermonters connect and show appreciation and maple syrup is as local as it gets!”
For more information visit vermontmaple.org.
