THANK YOU FOR HELPING US MEET THE GROWING
NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY IN 2020!
Enjoy the Intervale this Winter with our Love the Land Series
This winter looks different, as we all know. Since the pandemic started, we have seen unprecedented rates of people seeking nature therapy in the Intervale. Outdoor recreation has never been as necessary. At the Intervale Center, we have seen thousands of people seeking reprieve on our trails. As hearty Vermonters, we do not let the cold keep us from enjoying nature. We are grateful for this amazing resource to keep ourselves healthy, grounded, and safe.
While we cannot safely gather for our annual event, Wintervale, this year, we are excited to offer self-guided activities to assist you in making the most out of what the Intervale and the winter season have to offer. The Love the Land series will offer self-guided outdoor activities for you and your family to enjoy safely at the Intervale.
Starting in February, activities will include a wildlife tracking guide in partnership with Vermont Fish & Wildlife, a skijoring takeover, a trees on skis route, and even though WE cannot gather in groups, let us see if we can build a community of snow people at the Picnic Grove!
As always, we have over four miles of trails for cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, and hiking. When the conditions are right, three miles are groomed for easy gliding.
Throughout the season, we will be sharing information and videos on our Facebook and Instagram pages, and there will be signage along our trails to assist in your tracking endeavors.
Share your winter activities and trail conditions with us on the Intervale Trails Facebook page or tag @intervalecenter on Instagram. Help us maintain our trails by donating at Intervale.org/donate.
Intervale Center 2020 Food Access Summary
As a leader and integral part of Burlington’s charitable food system, the Intervale Center was called to step up across our programs and lands in 2020 to develop and deploy current and new programs to increase food access.
We did this by:
- Expanding our operations to include the People’s Farm, a 1.3-acre farm in the Intervale that produced an incredible 13,000 pounds of food that we distributed for free to people in need in Burlington. This farm increased the variety and volume of our weekly offerings, engaged dozens of volunteers who contributed 833 hours to the farm’s success, and strengthened our partnerships with area farms, nonprofits, and other businesses, including Red Wagon Plants, Skinny Pancake, VYCC, Diggers Mirth Collective Farm, Intervale Community Farm, and City Market.
- Hosting a drop off location for the City’s Plant for the People program that worked with over 290 gardeners and donated 6,200 pounds of fresh produce to Feeding Chittenden. Our staff members also lent their expertise and support to Plant for the People program managers to develop strategies to best serve Burlington’s charitable food system.
- Providing fresh gleaned produce to 200+ families over 16 weeks this summer, as well as 10 organizational partners. In total, we distributed over 53,000 pounds of produce safely to families at pick up locations at the Intervale Center and AALV’s offices on Allen Street. Over 80 volunteers contributed 785 hours to the Gleaning Program. Additionally, 10 social service agencies received free produce through this program, including a variety of Burlington based social service agencies that distributed food to their clients in convenient and dignified ways, the Vermont Foodbank, and Food Not Bombs, which transformed produce seconds into healthy meals for unhoused people all summer.
- Tackling Everyone Eats with our partners at Skinny Pancake/Shiftmeals. In September, when the opportunity to coordinate the Everyone Eats Program – which used SEVCA funding to purchase meals from local restaurants and distribute them for free to people impacted by the pandemic – was shared with us, we were excited to say yes. We had already been working with Shiftmeals to distribute up to 400 meals each week through our existing networks, and Shiftmeals’ Growteams had been instrumental in establishing our People’s Garden. Working closely with Shiftmeals staff, we designed and executed a free meals distribution program this fall, working with 15 restaurants and over 65 organizational partners to distribute 9,000 meals each week throughout Chittenden County. These meals reached seniors, low-income groups, New American families, children, and everyone impacted by the pandemic. In total, Everyone Eats distribute over 100,000 meals in Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle counties this fall!
- Expanding shared charitable food infrastructure at the Intervale Center. We are currently working with the Vermont Foodbank to build a new shared cooler in the Intervale that will allow both the Intervale Center and Foodbank to harvest, purchase, and store higher volumes of fresh local fruits and vegetables for our food access programs and partners.
- Looking toward continued partnership and expansion in 2021. With our friends at Skinny Pancake / Shiftmeals, we are supporting new restaurant worker and BIPOC-led gardening opportunities and continuing the important work of Everyone Eats. We also intend to gather data to better understand the impact of all of our charitable food programs, as we invest in community-centered food access programming that can meet the needs of our community long term in responsive, convenient and dignified ways.
We could not have done it without our strong partners, including our volunteers and donors. Thank you for helping make this important work possible in 2020!
Job Openings at the IC!
Everyone Eats Community Outreach and Distribution Manager
The Everyone Eats Community Outreach and Distribution Manager works to provide nutritious meals to Vermonters in need of food assistance, as well as a stabilizing source of income for Vermont restaurants, farmers, and food producers. This position is responsible for distribution management, coordinating with distribution partners, training and supervising staff. An ideal candidate will be a detail oriented problem-solver, with strong organization, communication, and time management skills and experience coordinating volunteers. This position is temporary. A full job description and instructions to apply can be found here.
Everyone Eats Delivery Driver Distribution Coordinator
The Everyone Eats Delivery Driver Distribution Coordinator helps to provide nutritious meals to Vermonters in need of food assistance, as well as a stabilizing source of income for Vermont restaurants, farmers, and food producers. This position is expected to pick up prepackaged meals at area restaurants and distribute meals throughout Chittenden County. An ideal candidate is excited to provide excellent customer service, is punctual with a positive attitude, and has experience handling and delivering food. This position is temporary. A full job description and instructions to apply can be found here.
Nursery Propagation Coordinator
The Propagation Coordinator is responsible for high quality tree and shrub propagation at our native nursery. The Coordinator will work with the Conservation Nursery Manager to forecast production targets, produce top quality trees and shrubs, manage greenhouse production, and support the broader production goals of the Nursery. An ideal candidate has nursery or farm experience, greenhouse production experience, the ability to work outside in various weather conditions, and the ability and desire to work with a team and provide leadership in the field. A full job description and instructions to apply can be found here.
