RUTLAND — Vermont Farmers Food Center (VFFC) in partnership with the Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging (SVCOA) are finishing up the last few weeks of a new meal kit program, Eat At Home (EAH), with older adults in Rutland County.
Over 15 participants, identified and referred by SVCOA, are older adults, living at home and interested in cooking, but in need of some support with recipes and meal prep. Since mid-October, participants receive weekly meal kits with chopped and packaged local ingredients, and easy-to- follow recipes that highlight local farmers and producers. Over 90% of the food in each meal kit has been produced locally.
VFFC Community Engagement Coordinator Grace Davy crafted suitable and delicious weekly recipes from one-on-one intake conversations with participants. Kits included beet and chevre frittata and whole wheat pancakes; corn and bacon chowder and cucumber salad; chicken and biscuits; and vegetable minestrone soup with biscuits.
Each week local vegetables, meat, and dairy products have been purchased through VFFC’s bulk wholesale food program for the meal kits. All ingredients have been processed and portioned out in the commercial kitchen of chef and community partner Jane Costello of The Stevens Farmstead in Sudbury. “I am so grateful to be a part of Eat At Home and Vermont Everyone Eats. These programs have become such an asset to the community, farms, small business and folks in need. I am honored to play a part in such terrific programs for this great state,” said Costello. Additional basic staple ingredients were made available through partnership with the Rutland Area Food Co-op.
Participants have enjoyed in their meal kits root veggies from from Yoder Farm in Danby, delicata squash and beets from Boardman Hill Farm in West Rutland, garlic from Tell a Tale Farm in Poultney, basil from VFFC’s Rotary Greenhouse, chicken from Misty Knoll Farm in New Haven, turkey from Stonewood Farm in Orwell, whole milk from Larson’s Dairy in Wells, and dried herbs from Quill Hill Farm in Poultney. Additionally, value added products have also been a highlight for participants such as pancake mix from Naga Bakehouse in Middletown Springs and Hubbardton’s Frog Hollow Farm’s ready-to-bake buttermilk biscuits; one EAH participant remarked that they were the “best biscuits we ever ate.”
All products highlighted and enjoyed are available for purchase on VFFC’s online market.
Through conversations with participants, SVCOA Assistant Community Services Director Madelyn Gardner reported, “Due to the fact that the meal kits established a connection between the people and the local cuisine, they were an effective tool in creating a sense of community through food. According to participants, the program was dignified, and the food was of high quality. They were confident that the food provided was not influenced by the amount available in their bank accounts. The participants felt that this program did not place them in the category of ‘poverty,’ rather, it allowed them to be empowered and capable of contributing to their community. One person noted, it was an empowering program; she felt a sense of accomplishment as a result of participating.”
EAH delivery driver Betsy Bauer has also taken the opportunity to have one-on-one time with each participant to create meaningful connections every Thursday during the weekly drop-off, another example of community that has been created during the 12 weeks of the program. As a locally-sourced food program, Eat At Home combines VFFC Farmacy Project’s concept of distributing fresh local produce to improve health and wellness with VFFC Everyone Eats food preparation and area distribution. Eat At Home serves as a model program for older, nutritionally at-risk Vermonters in Rutland county who can still cook but may need a little more assistance with meeting their nutritional needs with healthy food access and food preparation. As a result, a program such as Eat At Home can help older people stay healthier, independent and in their homes longer.
