HCRS’ Kindle Farm School receives grant

SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS), southeastern Vermont’s nonprofit community mental health agency, announced today that New Chapter Inc., a certified organic Vermont-based vitamin and supplement company headquartered in Brattleboro, awarded their Kindle Farm School $9,500 in 2024 towards their innovative food program. This latest donation brings the total of this 13-year philanthropic relationship to over $120,000. Each year, New Chapter has generously contributed nearly 20% of the school’s overall food budget.

Kindle Farm School is a therapeutic day school serving 50 students in grades 3-12. Kindle Farm creates an emotionally and physically safe environment to help those who struggle in mainstream educational settings, so that they can communicate, solve problems, and learn more effectively. One hundred percent of Kindle Farm’s student body is comprised of students who qualify for special education within the state of Vermont, and thus have a diagnosed disability that can prevent them from accessing their education; more than 75% of Kindle Farm’s students qualify for free and reduced lunch.

The therapeutic school utilizes strong relationships, a thriving community vibe, lots of movement, and hands-on activities to engage their students, and help them create positive change. Kindle Farm’s food program is a huge part of creating this fun and supportive community-based milieu. Kindle Farm leverages more than 100 acres and two greenhouses to provide this robust program.

Nutritionally, the food program feeds all students three daily meals, free of charge, by bringing in food from their land and local farms. The meal program is a universal benefit for all enrolled students. In addition to the meals provided during the day, Kindle Farm provides monthly Foodbank distribution bags and summer community-supported agriculture bags of school-raised vegetables and produce that go home to the students’ families.

Drew Gradinger, director of Kindle Farm School, states, “Not only does the campus feel therapeutic and healthy due to the extensive vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and edible landscaping, but a recent extensive overhaul of our kitchen, thanks to the support of generous donors like New Chapter, makes it easier to create the 200-plus meals we serve each weekday, and engage the students in critical skill development.”

When it comes to their curriculum, the Kindle Farm School utilizes their two-acre garden as a cornerstone opportunity to study biology, botany, health, community development, stewardship, and workforce development. The gardens and land are worked by both students and staff, providing a rich living laboratory to study the many meaningful connections between humans, plants, and animals.

According to Gradinger, “We are so lucky to have a longstanding and great relationship with New Chapter. The student body has visited their Brattleboro facility, New Chapter employees have volunteered at the school, and their CEO has even tapped maple trees in our sugar bush. We are so thankful for their support over the last 11 years, and we hope to achieve even more through our collaboration in the years to come.”

George Karabakakis, Ph.D., HCRS CEO, adds, “Kindle Farm is a one-of-a-kind program that successfully educates boys and young men who were unsuccessful in the traditional classroom setting. The donations that have been provided to the school by New Chapter Inc. over the past 11 years have had a major impact in the lives of these students. We can’t thank you enough.”

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