SNAP, the nation’s largest food assistance program, is a critical lifeline for people across the country, including many Islanders who are struggling to afford the food they need.

At Island Grown Initiative we work to build a food-secure community here on the Vineyard, where all people can have access to the food they need with dignity for now and in the future.

Many of us have become committed to separating our food waste from our trash.

Every year, 40 per cent of the food grown in this country is never eaten. The waste happens in farm fields, during processing and transportation, in grocery stores, restaurants, and in our homes.

Island Grown Schools teamed up with the Massachusetts Farm to School Project, Food Corps, Green Schools and Project Bread to organize the first Farm to School Day at the State House early this month.

Last spring, Ken Greene, the founder of the country’s first community seed library, came to the Vineyard to help lead a seed saving workshop.