Veducation Van

What is the Veducation Van?

The Veducation Van is VGN’s Mobile Classroom, started in 2022 as a new program to engage community members of all ages in the importance of additional fruit and vegetable intake in their daily diets and increase climate resiliency through gardening.

The Veducation Van is a retrofitted van that has a solar panel and battery which power an induction stove kitchenette, an awning, collapsible tables & benches, customized storage, and educational resources for various workshops. Our goal is to help address the issues of food insecurity and social disparity in our state wherever possible. We service all community members, with a strong focus on subsidized housing and schools where at least 50% of participants are eligible for free & reduced lunch/ SNAP benefits.

Workshop Details

Workshop Topics:

  • Nutrition Series
    • Eating Healthy on a Budget & Understanding Food Marketing
    • Food Preservation (e.g. canning, pickling, fermenting, or dehydration)
  • Gardening Series
    • Garden Planning (including seed starting, garden bed construction, vegetable rotation)
    • Composting and Soil Health (including compost bin design / build)
    • Integrated Pest Management
    • Pollinator Gardening

Timing:
Workshops tend to run 1.5 hours, but can vary depending on subject matter and group needs. We book dates with the Veducation Van from mid-April to early November each year, but our staff are available for workshops year-round.
We are looking to book the majority of events in 2025 on Tuesdays & Thursdays to allow enough time to reset the van in between visits. We can accommodate other days of the week upon request.

Group Size:
We can accommodate groups of 15-20 at the van itself. Larger groups can be arranged if you have a space (classroom, pavilion, patio, etc) that can provide seating for all participants.

Pricing: Any site where 50% or more of participants are SNAP/ Free & Reduced lunch eligible and the workshop focus is on nutrition can receive our services for free!
Schools can check their current eligibility statistics using the 2024 Dept. of Ed Report.
VAAFM grant recipients also receive our services for free.

If these criteria do not apply to your site, VGN’s educational workshop fee of $250/ hour of programming + mileage outside of Chittenden County applies. We will do our best to help you find funding options if your site is unable to pay full price. Corporations or businesses that would like to request a visit pay a higher sliding scale to subsidize our educational work.

Visit Requests: Visits from the Veducation van can be requested by filling out this google form. Please check the calendar below to check for availability before submitting your request. Open dates will say “Available”

Calendar

Photos

Handouts

Looking to print more handouts we used at a workshop? They’re likely in this folder on google drive.

Send any additional questions about the Veducation Van to to cedar (at) vtgardens.org.

Gratitude

The Veducation Van would not be possible without funding and donations provided by these sponsors:

Special thanks to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)-ED for the generous grant that funds the staff time to run this program, and for their work connecting food insecure families with the resources they need.

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