Small Change, Big Impact
Just this year, we made a small but significant change to the falafel in our deli sandwiches. For some time, Doug Davis at the Burlington School Food Project (BSFP) has been working to partner with a local food producer to create a “value added” product that we could sell at the Co-op.
BSFP offers wholesome, fresh and nutritious food daily to over 4,000 students in the Burlington School District. Food service programs nation-wide look to BSFP for guidance as they emerge onto the Farm to School scene. Like the Co-op, BSFP affects change! By cultivating a new school food culture and appreciation for local foods, BSFP supports a strong local economy. And with programs like the Healthy City Youth Initiative at Hunt Middle School, the new school orchard at C.P. Smith and some significant garden expansion at Burlington High School this summer, BSFP is always breaking new ground.
Once BSFP’s Farm to School team connected with Joe Bossen of Vermont Bean Crafters, a new partnership was born!
Our customers already know and love Joe and his products (like the black bean burgers in our freezer). Now you can enjoy Joe’s falafel on your Co-op deli sandwich and benefit BSFP at the same time. Bossen says, "We love partnering on projects like this where we make simple substitutions to people's plates that enables them to support local farms while helping underwrite the invaluable programming of a group like BSFP. All just by eating a better-tasting lunch."
Since 2011, Vermont Bean Crafters has been cooking their beans at the Mad River Food Hub in Waitsfield. They source from a long list of local, organic farms and aim to create food-based experiences for their neighbors while amending our country’s broken conceptions of food.
“This new partnership with City Market and Vermont Bean Crafters is a perfect fit for the Burlington School Food Project,” says Davis. “This is such a great opportunity to allow co-op customers to invest in Burlington’s farm to school programing while eating a delicious product. “