The Vermont Paradox: Youth Program Takes on Hunger and Chronic Disease in a Locavore State
by Civil Eats
Excerpts:
A visitor who swings by the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC) on a Wednesday afternoon will see rows opened boxes lined up across the barn floor. Farm crew members between the ages of 15 and 18 are distributing the week’s harvest evenly between the boxes.
But what might sounds like an ordinary community-supported agriculture or CSA farm, is nothing of the sort. In fact, all this fresh produce will be delivered—free of charge—to low income Vermonters through a unique partnership with area hospitals. Building on the CSA model, the farm at VYCC offers weekly “health care shares” during the growing season to patients who have been selected by their doctors.
In 2013, the farm delivered over 50,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables to Vermonters who would otherwise have little or no access to fresh local produce. Many of them suffer from hypertension, chronic heart disease, or type 2 diabetes. VYCC also provides meaningful full time employment to youth who have been labeled “at-risk” and may not otherwise be able to find work.
Read the Full Story here.