The Monadnock Food Co-op will launch a month-long Round It Up Donation Drive to benefit Food Connects on August 1, 2022. The Co-op’s Round It Up program empowers shoppers to make positive changes in their community by donating their change to local community organizations.

Funds raised will support Food Connects’ Farm to School program and their work in the Monadnock Region. This will take shape in specific Farm to School-related professional development for school professionals, grant support for schools (in the shape of helping them apply for large grants, as well as a mini-grant program we are developing for small Farm to School equipment), and Farm to School print materials, including Harvest of the Month calendars, posters, cookbooks, and signage to help bolster and promote their initiatives.

“This work, in partnership with Stonewall Farm and the Cornucopia Project, will help the Monadnock Farm to School network thrive and create a new generation of mindful food consumers,” said Richard Berkfield, Executive Director and Founder of Food Connects. “Additionally, when school food programs are fortified with equipment, professional development, and access to more local food both the students and the economy thrive.”

About Food Connects

Food Connects is an entrepreneurial non-profit that delivers locally produced food as well as educational and consulting services aimed at transforming local food systems. The Food Hub aggregates and delivers from over 150 regional farms and food producers to over 150 buyers in southeast Vermont, southwest New Hampshire, and western Massachusetts. Their educational services focus on Farm to School programming, which supports over 30 schools to increase local food purchasing, school meal participation, and food, farm, and nutrition education: foodconnects.org.