Green Mountain Coffee Strengthens Vermont's Food System

As part of its commitment to local communities and Brewing a Better World Together, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc, has committed over $340,000 to 12 Vermont non-profit organizations working on creating sustainable local food systems.  

The largest of the 12 grants, $100,000, went to the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund to support its Farm to Plate Network, a group of 220 organizations across the state working on a 10-year strategic plan to strengthen Vermont’s local and regional food systems.

“We are so pleased to receive this generous support from GMCR,” said Ellen Kahler, Executive Director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. “These funds will be used to support leadership training within the Farm to Plate Network and provide stipends to farmers, food producers, and other key stakeholders so that they can fully participate in Farm to Plate activities. GMCR funding also allows us to make mini-grants to support high impact projects led by Network members which are reshaping the very nature of our food system in Vermont.” 

The remainder of the grants went to a variety of Vermont-based organizations working on local food issues, including: 

• Vermont Youth Conservation Corps: $50,000 to develop a Farm Apprenticeship program and expand the Health Care Share program to combat hunger and obesity in local communities. 
• Hunger Free Vermont:  $40,000 to help Vermonters purchase local food at farmer’s markets and Community Supported Agriculture programs with 3SquaresVT food stamps. 
• Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf: $25,000 for the Culinary Kitchen Academy, which combines culinary job training and job placement for low-income individuals with prepared meals that are distributed through Vermont Foodbank. 
• NOFA Vermont: $25,000 to support Vermont Farm Share and Harvest Health coupons, programs designed to increase access to local foods for limited income Vermonters.
• Vermont Goat Collaborative (c/o Association of Africans Living in Vermont): $25,000 to help new Americans overcome barriers in order to raise goats for local consumption.  
• Central Vermont Council on Aging: $25,000 to support the Healthy Eating as We Age program, which adds fresh and local produce to nearly 200,000 meals served to older residents of Washington, Lamoille and Orange Counties. 
• Vermont Community Garden Network: $23,000 for a series of twelve half-day skill-building workshops for community and school garden leaders. 
• Green Mountain Farm to School: $15,000 to disseminate best practices at 70 schools and 30 community sites in five Vermont counties through the Harvest of the Month Campaign. 
• Salvation Farms: $5,000 to support the Vermont Gleaning Training Program, a statewide gleaning collective.
• Vermont Foodbank: $5,000 for a program that gives over 700 food-insecure children a backpack of food to take home each Friday during the school year.
• Strolling of the Heifers: $5,000 for the third annual Slow Living Summit in Brattleboro in June, 2013.  

GMCR, a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, donates a portion of pre-tax earnings each year to support social and environmental initiatives in its local and global communities. Domestic grant making is led by the Employee Community Grant Program, which is employee-driven. Teams of employees at the Company’s locations in the U.S. and Canada work together with community leaders to identify and bring resources to their most pressing social and environmental issues. 

“Each GMCR site has its own focus areas that are specific to its community,” said Karen Yacos, Director of Domestic Outreach at GMCR. “One of the three focus areas chosen in Vermont was sustainable food systems. But instead of just making grants, we’re taking a whole systems approach. Our grant making teams are becoming deeply engaged in the issues. To further the connection, we support many of our grantees through volunteerism and product donations as well,” Yacos said. “We want to help solve problems, not just respond to them.” 

About Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.

As a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ:GMCR), is recognized for its award-winning coffees, innovative Keurig® Single Cup brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. GMCR supports local and global communities by investing in sustainably-grown coffee and donating a portion of its pre-tax profits to social and environmental projects. For more information, please visit us online at www.GMCR.com; www.greenmountaincoffeeroasters.com or www.keurig.com.