Montpelier High School Students Collaborate with the Montpelier Rotary to Provide Food to Union Elementary School Families
By Sophia Jerome
During the 2020 school year, Montpelier High School staff and faculty have offered additional enrichment classes for any high school students who have a limited course schedule. A few of these enrichment programs have been working together throughout the first quarter.
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‘Giving it Back’, led by Whitney Machnik and Molly Clark, and ‘Mastering Food & Fire’, led by Sam Bromley and Brigitte Savard, along with Tom Sabo’s Environmental Applications course have been collaborating with the UES Backpack Program and the Montpelier Rotary to provide food to Union Elementary School families this fall.
Students in ‘Mastering Food and Fire’ prepare rolls in MHS kitchens on October 19, 2020. (Anna Hipko)
The UES Backpack Program, according to Dawn Provost, former President of the Montpelier Rotary Club, started in 2015 as a program offered through the Vermont Foodbank. The Rotarians teamed up with prior UES Principal Chris Hennessey and the greater community to offer food to UES families in need.
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The program provides 35 families with freshly made food and non-perishable items every Friday. Most of the food included in these meals come from the gardens and greenhouses at MHS. Tom Sabo’s Environmental Applications class has been responsible for harvesting food from the gardens each week.
Reusable bags sewn by students in the enrichment course ‘Giving It Back’ are used to transport food to UES families. September 28, 2020 (Anna Hipko)
Once the food was harvested, students enrolled in 'Mastering Food & Fire' prepared food for the Backpack Program, contributing everything from homemade bread and rolls to coleslaw, hummus, and kimchi. Every Friday morning, the food bags would be delivered to Union Elementary School where students would take it home with them when they leave.
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“We were interested in providing food to the community, in an effort to alleviate food insecurity, and then we found out about the Backpack Program…” says MHS educator and executive director of the Center for Sustainable Systems, Tom Sabo. “One of [the Backpack Program] goals was to provide fresh food in the weekly offerings (most of it had been nonperishable food items). So it was a great match.”
"It feels really good to do stuff for the Backpack Program and help our community during this time," says Eva Stumpff, an 11th grader enrolled in 'Mastering Food & Fire' at Montpelier High School. September 28, 2020 (Anna Hipko)
At its peak, sending home 51 meals to families that could benefit from food support, the UES Backpack Program has done an exceptional job at providing for families in need and bringing the community together. MHS students and faculty are hoping to continue their participation in the program into the future.