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Rally for Change for Vermont Adult Learning is May 16-22

 

Round up your totals at the registers May 16-22.  The Co-op will match your donation and pass it along to Vermont Adult Learning of Addison County.  Read on to learn more about this incredibly important organization.

Vermont Adult Learning of Addison County is a private, nonprofit member of the Vermont Agency of Education Adult Education and Literacy system.  Our goal is to reduce the negative effects of poverty on our families, communities, and workplaces by ensuring that all Vermonters have the skills and confidence necessary for success in the 21st century.  

We provide:

  • basic skills instruction, high school completion and GED certificate plans
  • transition to college and career services
  • computer classes
  • English language instruction for immigrants and refugees
  • our new workforce development program, VT YouthWorks

Our programs and services are free to students aged 16 or older.  VT YouthWorks is a 12-week paid workforce development program for 18-24-year-old youth. Participants develop employment skills and self-confidence through an entrepreneurial carpentry program, career exploration, internships, and community mentorships.  VAL serves 140 towns with 12 locations. Last year, the Middlebury center served 131 students with skill levels ranging from emerging readers to college prep. Also last year, we celebrated 28 individuals who earned their high school diploma or GED, 2 who became US citizens, and 5 who entered college.  

Thank you to our local collaborators: Middlebury Union HS, Vergennes Union HS, Mount Abraham Union HS, Otter Valley Union HS, United Way of Addison County, Hannaford Career Center, VT DOL, Addison County Parent Child Center, CCV, Restorative Justice, UVM HEP & Migrant Ed programs, CSAC, Northlands Job Corps., Turning Point Center, and Reach Up.

 100% of all funds raised will be used to pay out-of-pocket expenses for our low-income students. These out-of-pocket expenses may include GED testing expenses, industry certificates such as Forklift and Serve Safe, online educational courses, driver’s ed and other direct costs related to student educational and career success.

Vermont Adult Learning, 282 Boardman St., Middlebury, VT 05753, 802-388-4392, addisoninfo@vtadultlearning.org, www.vtyouthworks.org

Join Us for Green Up Fest on Saturday, May 4th, 12-3 pm at the Co-op

Green Up Day is on its way!  When your green bags are full and your roadsides are looking good, take off your work gloves and come join us at the Co-op.  We’ll be celebrating with good food and great information, all for free and all for YOU.  Here’s what to do when you get here:

See YOU There!

Cooking with Odds & Ends

Don’t toss out those carrot tops! Join Emily Fleming and Brooke Wilcox for a fun hands-on class focused on utilizing the parts of food that may otherwise be discarded. Together, you’ll prepare some of their favorite recipes to help you stretch your food budget, minimize waste, and please your palate/ They’ll also share tips and tricks for creative food storage to minimize spoilage of fruits and veggies.

Advanced registration required. To register, please contact Denise at the Hannaford Career Center at (802) 382-1004. All classes are $30 or free for members of our Food For All program. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first come, first served. 

Topical Herbal Hydrotherapy for Self-Care

Herbal vehicles such as teas, capsules, and tinctures are what most folks typically rely upon when administering herbs. Join local herbalist Julie Mitchell of EOS Botanicals to explore new ‘old’ ways to address issues such as inflammation, circulation, pain relief, and first aid through herbal and water applications and absorption through the skin. These techniques are rooted in many traditions and are especially helpful for small children and elders who have difficulty taking herbs by mouth. Recipes and demonstrations will be provided for a variety of ablutions, steams, sitz baths, vapor baths, nasal lavage, and hand and foot soaks.  Please bring a large basin, bucket, or bowl, and a willingness to explore.

Advanced registration required. To register, please contact Denise at the Hannaford Career Center at (802) 382-1004. All classes are $30 or free for members of our Food For All program. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first come, first served. 

Simple, Delicious Pork Roasts

Join your friendly farmer and butcher Ale Rellini from Agricola Farm to learn all about pork roasts. You will learn where each type of roast comes from and how to cook it. Ale will also share simple techniques to tie and stuff a roast that will turn a simple recipe into a fancy meal. You will also learn to prepare quick and easy recipes making use of the least expensive cuts.

Advanced registration required. To register, please contact Denise at the Hannaford Career Center at (802) 382-1004. All classes are $30 or free for members of our Food For All program. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first come, first served. 

Culinary Mushroom Cultivation

Ready to begin growing culinary mushrooms in your own backyard? Jon Turner of Wild Roots Farm in Bristol will be leading this exciting workshop where he’ll share an overview of the varieties ideal for your homestead operation, plus a hands-on demonstration for log, straw, and woodchip-grown mushrooms.  

Additional information about Jon and Wild Roots Farm can be found at www.wildrootsfarmvermont.com

Advanced registration required. To register, please contact Denise at the Hannaford Career Center at (802) 382-1004. All classes are $30 or free for members of our Food For All program. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first come, first served. 

Backyard Composting & Cleaning Up Your Blue Bin

Residents looking to get ‘ahead of the curb’ are invited to learn more about backyard composting, and what is and is not truly recyclable.  Join the team from the Addison County Solid Waste Management District (ACSWMD) for tips on food scrap diversion including composting, and creating a more valuable blue bin for regional facilities that market our recyclables nationally and abroad.  We’ll introduce special District programs for recycling plastic bags and film as well as other recyclable waste streams commonly generated in Addison County. Participants will receive a free kitchen collector for food scraps!

Advanced registration required. To register, please contact Denise at the Hannaford Career Center at (802) 382-1004. All classes are $30 or free for members of our Food For All program. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first come, first served. 

Cooking with Animal Fats

The latest research confirms what your Grandma knew all along – cooking with animal fat is where it’s at! If you want to get re-acquainted with the wonders of cooking with animal fat, join local cookbook author Andrea Chesman to make and fry potato pancakes in beef tallow, make biscuits with pork lard, roast root veggies in duck fat, and use lard to cook potato taquitos! 

Advanced registration required. To register, please contact Denise at the Hannaford Career Center at (802) 382-1004. All classes are $30 or free for members of our Food For All program. Classes are capped at 12 participants. Enrollment is first come, first served. 

Rally for Change for Turning Point Center of Addison County is February 7th-13th

Round up your totals at the registers February 7-13.  The Co-op will match your donation and pass it along to Addison County’s Turning Point Center.  Read on to learn more about this incredibly important organization.

Turning Point Center of Addison County is a non-profit organization located on Creek Road in Middlebury. We are a member of the Vermont Recovery Network (VRN) comprised of 12 recovery centers statewide.  The recovery support services offered through Turning Point Center help people rebuild their lives and engage in being productive members of society. We provide peer support, host recovery meetings, including both 12-step and non-12-step models, educational opportunities, recovery coaching and social engagement in a safe and supportive environment.

By focusing on our mission:

Providing peer-based recovery support to all; we seek to enhance the spiritual, mental, physical, and social growth of our community affected by substance use disorders and addictive behaviors.

We are able to move toward our vision:

A future where stigma and stereotypes are overcome by an empowered community focused on cultivating hope, support, and success for all people affected by the challenges of substance use disorders and addictive behaviors.

Our center often serves as the front door for addiction awareness. Turning Point staff, recovery coaches and volunteers help people explore and or identify their personal path to recovery. Whether seeking treatment, peer groups, social connections, resources to meet quality of life needs, information, or some other road to wellness; we provide a recovery community to welcome all.

Supporting Turning Point recovery center is an investment in reducing incarceration, recidivism and other social expenses. More importantly, it is an investment in creating a healthy and vibrant community we can be proud to be a part of. Donations are always welcome, recovery from substance use and addictive behavior is a community investment, your help is always appreciated.

Turning Point Center of Addison County | 54A Creek Road | PO Box 405 | Middlebury, VT 05753 Tel: 802-388-4249 | turningpointaddisonvt.org | tcacvt@yahoo.com

Rally for Change for Local Food Shelves CVOEO and HOPE – 11/8-11/14

Our Annual Rally for Change for local food shelves, CVOEO and HOPE, starts on November 8th!  Just round up your total (or feel free to give more!) at the registers between 11/8 and 11/14 and the Co-op will match your donation!  What an easy way to do good this holiday season!

Hunger is not just an issue on the other side of the world.    One in 5 children and youth in Addison County know hunger.   Over 3,500 Addison County residents participate in the 3Squares VT program.  There are more than 20 summer meal sites in Addison County.  Senior meal sites serve our older citizens several times a week all summer long.  This is a reality that our local Food Shelves, CVOEO and HOPE, confront every day.   Food insecurity is right at home in Vermont, and no one works on the front lines to combat this in Addison County like our two local food shelves – CVOEO and HOPE.    These two organizations spend a lot of their resources trying to get food to hungry Vermonters, but that’s not the whole story.  Want to know more?  Read on, to hear about them, in their own words:

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The largest sector of individuals served by CVOEO is employed.   They could be classified as underemployed or working part-time, but they are working.   They are begging for more hours, hustling every penny and still not able to cover their bills.   Using the food shelf is a necessity for these individuals and families.  In the time period of 9/1/17 – 10/1/18 CVOEO’s Food Shelf in Middlebury served 1,896 households with 3,464 individuals in multiple visits: 745 of this number were under the age of 18, 730 were seniors and 1,063 of that number are people with disabilities. Individuals and families come from towns throughout Addison County.   Donna Rose is the Food Shelf Coordinator.  The Food Shelf is located at 54 Creek Road in Middlebury.   CVOEO is a nonprofit corporation formed in 1965 to carry out the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 in the Vermont Counties of Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle.  CVOEO is one of five Community Action Agencies in the state of Vermont.  Its mission is to address fundamental issues of economic, social and racial justice and works with people to achieve economic independence.  Its vision is to bridge gaps and build futures.  To reach CVOEO, call 388-2285 or find out more at cvoeo.org.

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Use of the food shelf has risen to an average of 650 people/month. Typically, 33% of people served are children, and 6.5% are elderly. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we are still able to meet the increased needs of food insecure households. Our farmers are amazingly generous, and our local food access program continues to grow, allowing us to provide fresh, healthy, locally grown food to people in need. This has a positive impact on the health of our clients, which, in turn, helps strengthen our community. One client recently told us he’d been able to lose over 60 pounds over a period of 9 months, due to being able to obtain fruits and vegetables at HOPE. Another told us that without our
food shelf she would be unable to provide sufficient healthy food for her small boys. Find out more at hopevt.org.