Grantees: Health/Nutrition
Come Alive Outside
The Come Alive Outside Outdoor Passport program is a free, interactive booklet that encourages children and families to engage in hyper-local outdoor activities where they live, work, and play. Each Passport includes 25+ activities across four categories: Make Your Own Adventure, Investigate Local Parks, Discover Local Foods, and Explore Your Community. By completing activities, participants build stronger connections to nature, improve well-being, and engage with their communities. Successfully implemented in Rutland County for nine years, it will be piloted in Barre in summer 2025, prioritizing families facing the highest health inequities
Junior Milers
Junior Milers is a free, inclusive running program offered to kids between the ages of 10-18. They partner with local youth organizations including the King Street Youth Center, Boys and Girls Club, and Miller Center as well as local middle schools and high schools to find at risk youth in the community. They reduce barriers to participation by providing a new pair of running shoes, race entry fees, nutrition, and professional coaching. The program enhances kids physical fitness while exposing them to a positive social environment with peers, coaches, and mentors as they train for local running races, culminating in late May by participating in the Relay of the Vermont City Marathon.
Vermont Farmers Food Center
Vermont Farmers Food Center (VFFC) has operated a food as medicine program, Farmacy, since 2015, sourcing locally grown produce from Rutland county farms to support patients signed up through their healthcare provider. They plan to will expand this offering to 25 families signed up through Womens, Infant and Children (WIC) in Rutland county with a pick up site at BROC Community Action, giving the children and families access to resources and support in one place. These families will receive 15 farm fresh shares during the summer, July-October, and a monthly farm share Nov-May as well as nutrition and cooking education. Receiving the proper nutrition and eating seasonally will help nourish the children and set them up for success.