Boost Healthy Food Access in NH and VT

Everyone has a right to nutritious, healthy food.

Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH) and Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) both run successful Farm Share Programs that continue to grow and serve more and more people each year.  These two programs support organic farmers while making high-quality local food more accessible to community members in need. A WIN-WIN!

"In 2013, my husband and I started Good Heart Farmstead with the mission to make local food more accessible. Not only did we aspire to make it easier for people to find local food, but we wanted to make it easier for them to afford it... So, how to meet [the farm's] financial needs and work to increase local food access at the same time? The answer for us came in the form of the NOFA-VT Farm Share Program."

 

~ Kate Spring, Good Heart Farmstead

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“Our main goal at Work Song Farm is to sustainably grow food for our immediate community. Sustainability includes making a living wage for ourselves, while also doing our part to supply those who might not otherwise be able to afford fresh, nutritious food. We hope to form long-lasting bonds with the people who live nearby, people of all backgrounds, and believe that doing so will help us all.  NOFA-NH's Farm Share Program makes it possible for us to include some of our fellow low-income neighbors. We are able to contribute a modest portion, but it's the generosity of others, mostly, that expands access to local food.”

~ Abigail and Dan Kilrain, Work Song Farm, Hopkinton, NH

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"The quality and quantity of food we get through our CSA is incredible. There is just no way we’d be able to afford to eat this well without NOFA-VT’s Farm Share Program. It makes being healthy possible for my family."

 

~Farm Share Program participant

 

 

Support Vital Communities and The Local Crowd Monadnock's crowdfunding campaign to benefit the growth of these two Farm Share Programs.  We will split the funds raised evenly between NOFA-NH and NOFA-VT -- allowing more children, families, seniors, and other low-income individuals to receive a season’s worth of farm-fresh, organic produce at a reduced cost.

NOFA-NH Farm Share Impacts

• NOFA-NH's Farm Share Program launched in 2017 with a spring/summer application cycle (applications will open again in spring 2023).
• This year, NOFA-NH subsidized 50 shares (160+ individuals served). This is their greatest impact to date, and the program has been growing annually.
• 49% of 2022 farm share recipients are children or seniors.
• Farm share recipients received 75% off their farm shares in 2022 and each share provides 12 - 26 weeks of food.
• The total share value (what participants + NOFA-NH + farms contributed) this year is over $26,000.
• NOFA-NH worked with 10 farms across New Hampshire to provide shares to Farm Share participants.

NOFA-VT Farm Share Impacts

• NOFA-VT's Farm Share Program has a spring/summer application cycle and a fall/winter cycle. This summer season alone they funded nearly 300 shares (835 individuals), which is more than they funded for both summer and winter in 2021.
• The total share value (what participants + NOFA-VT + farms contributed) this summer is over $146,000.
• NOFA-VT worked with 59 farms across Vermont (up from 44 in 2021; 34 in 2020) to provide shares to Farm Share participants. This included several new farm businesses.
• The NOFA-VT fall/winter application cycle for 2022 opens July 1st, and they expect to fund more shares than ever before.

About NOFA-NH

NOFA-NH actively promotes organic, regenerative, ecologically sound farming, gardening, eating, and land care practices for healthy communities. We help people build local, just, and sustainable food systems.

About NOFA-VT

NOFA-VT promotes organic practices to build an economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially just Vermont agricultural system that benefits all living things.

Campaign Champions

Prefer to support this campaign offline? Please make a check out to Vital Communities (with NOFA Farm Share in the memo) and mail it to Vital Communities, 195 North Main Street White River Junction, VT 05001.