FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 6, 2011
CONTACT
Carrie Baker Stahler, Marketing & Events Director
Onion River Sports
carrie@onionriver.com or (802) 229-9409 x 232
MONTPELIER, VT – Food Works at Two Rivers Center in Montpelier will be the June 2011 recipient of Bag that Bag, the Montpelier Business Association’s (MBA) bag reuse campaign. Food Works, located on Route 2, underwent severe damage during the recent flood.
“All three greenhouses were filled with three feet of standing water on Friday morning; the farm’s fields were covered in silt, destroying most of the onions that had been planted the week before; and the root cellar in our 1836 Farmhouse suffered water damage, but no food loss because our walk-in coolers remained secure,” said Martin Kemple, Executive Director of Food Works at Two Rivers Center.
Food Work’s community programs connect local produce with under-served populations, including schools, healthcare centers and early childhood education centers. Their 5-acre farm grows food exclusively for member agencies of the Vermont Food Bank.
As to what the future holds, Kemple says, “We’ve rolled up our sleeves and are digging ourselves out day-by-day, and expect to be back planting again next week once we get our soil tests back from UVM giving us a clean bill of health. The outpouring of community support we’ve received so far has been truly fantastic.”
The MBA, a committee of Montpelier Alive, established the Bag that Bag campaign in December to encourage the reuse of cloth shopping bags. Participating stores give a nickel to charity every time a shopper refuses or reuses their own bag. The nickels are tallied each month and sent to a pre-selected non-profit.
“We choose our Bag that Bag recipients in advance, but when we realized that Food Works, our June recipient of Bag that Bag contributions, had been so effected by this disaster, we were glad to know we’d be making a difference,” said Carrie Baker Stahler, Bag that Bag organizer.
“This is a wonderful way for downtown merchants to give back to their community and the environment. It is especially important because events like this flood are becoming the new normal and individual action, like bringing your own reusable bag to shop at your favorite local stores, is what it’s going to take to change things.”
For more information on Bag that Bag: www.MontpelierAlive.org/bagthatbag.
About Food Works at Two Rivers Center
Food Works at Two Rivers Center was founded in 1987 to address the root causes of childhood hunger by returning students and their communities back to the land through hands-on food and gardening educational opportunities.
Today, Food Works at Two Rivers Center has emerged as central Vermont’s hands-on food and agricultural education center working to strengthen local food systems and empower children, families, and seniors to grow, prepare, eat and preserve their own foods.
To Donate to Food Works
Contributions are gladly accepted at: Food Works at Two Rivers Center, 64 Main St., Montpelier 05602
To volunteer or any other matters: martin@tworiverscenter.org or call 223-1515
About Montpelier Alive
Montpelier Alive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit downtown revitalization organization that strives to maintain a vibrant downtown and unique sense of place. It also administers the Montpelier Business Association, produces July 3rd and First Night, among other community events.
