Rural Vermont

I stayed open late tonight to host an old fashioned ice cream social for a grassroots organization called Rural Vermont. Rural Vermont is a great group that works to raise awareness and support for local and sustainable agriculture. They speak out about the ramifications of corporate farming and have been working closely with legislation at the state house, in Montpelier, in support of the hemp bill everyone is working so hard on getting passed. It felt really good to be able to contribute my space to a worthwhile effort.

The milk they used to make the ice cream came from Warren's farm.. where Bill spent years working and where most of our cows at home have come from. Most nights, around 4:45pm, Warren and his boys come in... smelling like the barn or fresh cut grass and they order their single shot maple lattes in the tall glass.

The place was buzzing with alot of new faces. I've spent the past few weeks hanging flyers all over the place and it was nice to see that it's paid off. It was between 6:30 - 8pm so alot of folks came in for sandwiches and salads before the ice cream was dished out. There were tables set up with information and door prizes and raffle prizes.

The speaker was a local woman who started a non-profit a few years ago called Salvation Farms. Volunteers for Salvation Farms gather the extra produce that farmers won't use and deliver to places like Meals on Wheels, elementary schools, and food shelves. It's a pretty righteous thing she started and it's been amazing to watch it grow and take on a life of it's own.

There were kids running around and families in the grass in the yard out back. Roo, who has the health food store across the street came in and handed me a bowl of maple-vanilla ice cream... which I immediately dressed in a bit of iced coffee. Nothing better that coffee ice cream and here we seem to have a perfect marriage....

So, it was a great night. And hopefully some of the folks'll come back around in the days to come.

I gotta go to bed now.