02/27/2026
The Fill the Bus Food Drive is today!
From 2 to 5 pm, the school district's new electric school bus will be parked in front of our store. We're hoping to fill every one of its 77 seats -- and the aisle! -- with donations of food for both the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry and our local Food 4 Kids Program, which sends healthy food home with students in need each weekend.
We ordered almost $5,000 worth of healthy food requested by these two programs at deep discounts -- and we've put together "bags" at below our cost.
By the end of the weekend, all of this food will go to these important programs. People have already started to help in the store or by calling 802-464-1562.
Here are two of the healthy packages we've put together --
For $50, you can help us donate the following to the food pantry:
4 pounds of Cadia ORGANIC pasta (2 spaghetti, 2 fusilli)
2 jars of Cadia ORGANIC marinara
2 cans of Cadia ORGANIC tomato sauce
2 cans of Cadia ORGANIC chili
4 packages of Cadia ORGANIC soup (2 chili, 2 lentil)
2 pounds of Cadia ORGANIC white rice
6 jars of Zoup! soups (chili, chicken noodle, and chicken pot pie)
2 cans of polee-caught Cadia tuna
2 cans of Annie's ORGANIC chicken noodle soup
For $30, you can help us donate the following to Food 4 Kids (they will divide things into bags for each child they serve):
3 packages of Honest Kids ORGANIC juice boxes (8 boxes per package)
2 cans of Annie's ORGANIC chicken soups (one bunny, one stars)
2 boxes of MadeGood ORGANIC rice crispy squares (one vanilla, one strawberry, 6 bars per box)
1 box of MadeGood ORGANIC nut-free granola bars (chocolate drizzle, 5 bars per box)
8 bags of Lesser Evil ORGANIC popcorn (packaged together)
6 bags of Boom Chicka Pop popcorn (packaged together)
6 packages of Newman's Own ORGANIC raisins packaged together)
2 Archer sugar-free meat sticks
If you didn't already know, my grandfather and great-grandfather were both community grocers. My grandfather supported people in need for his entire life. My parents taught me not to ignore charitable impulses.
The store has had a successful winter, and the time seems right to give back, although what we ordered is a lot for me to donate on my own.
If you would like to bring your own donations, feel free to do so. Food donations need to be shelf stable, which means no refrigeration or freezing needed. Additionally, donations must have remaining shelf life. In other words, their "best by" dates should still be weeks or months away. Donations for the Food 4 Kids program must be nut-free and ready-to-eat, or foods that children can prepare themselves without additional ingredients.
People are welcome to shop through our shelves and make a more personal selection of products to donate.
People are also more than welcome to donate funds to both or either organization. We will be collecting those funds through the weekend. Cash and checks will be accepted, and we will also accept credit card donations through our register (we will pay all credit card fees).
If you can't make it to the event, we'll gladly arrange for you to pay for pre-packaged bags or take credit card donations over the phone. Call us at 802-464-1562.
We've been quietly donating groceries to both of these programs for a while now. The grocery business is a tough one, and what I can do for both organizations on my own is unfortunately limited. I'm hoping this "Fill the Bus" food drive will set both of these organizations up well with healthy food as we head into mud season and the quieter times ahead.
Farmhouse Market
136 Route 100 North
Wilmington VT 05363
802-464-1562
Open everyday from 10 to 7. Open late on Thursdays and Fridays until 8. Open at 9 on Saturdays and Sundays.