(Host) The Vermont Food Bank is going into farming.
The Food Bank plans to buy the 20-acre Kingsbury Farm in Warren, where it will grow produce.
Executive Director Doug O’Brien says the Food Bank has been interested for a while now in growing some of its own food.
(O’Brien) “The long range of the Food Bank has been for some time to operate a farm to ensure we have a regular source of high quality produce that can be provided to low-income people. And also as a learning and educational opportunity for the community, for people to see the link between agriculture and food systems and ultimately hunger relief.”
(Host) The Food Bank is buying the farm from the Vermont Land Trust for 225-thousand dollars. O’Brien says a major donor helped the Food Bank pay for the property.
He says produce from the farm should help to balance the diets of people served by the Food Bank.
(O’Brien) “Oftentimes, fresh produce, especially locally procured fresh produce, can be expensive for low-income people to purchase, which means they may not add it to their diets. If we can provide this in addition to some more traditional foods that the Food Bank provides, I think it’s a very positive step.”
(Host) The Food Bank also hopes to renovate a barn at the Kingsbury Farm into a meeting space that can be used year-round.