In the end, we have ended up with a more fulfilled life being part of a small farming community. Our community is not wealthy and we have a great life, but we do a few things each month that help alleviate some of the cost of not only parenting but living in New England.
First things first, we started a garden. At last count between our gardens and what people at work share with my husband, we easily save ourselves anywhere from $30-80 a month in produce costs.
We participate in public assistance program, yes you read that right- we do. If we are eligible for it we take it. One of the best programs we have offered here is the Veggie Van Go program. This program allows for people to get free produce- there is no income requirement, just that you have children in the school system. Some of the hauls from this program include "ugly" foods that aren't able to be sold to the grocery store but I have figured that the 2xs monthly contribution to our household runs somewhere in the vicinity of $40-120 per each pick up. On a good month, this means my family could easily get about $240 in free produce. It may not be the food items my family is excited to eat, but similar to a CSA box the family is forced into experiencing new foods. This program is offered the 1st and 3rd Friday every month to Rutland City school age children and their families. Dates through the end of the year are as follows:
October 7, 0900-1000
October 21, 0900-1000
November 4, 0900-1000
November 18, 0900-1000
December 2, 0900-1000
December 16, 0900-1000
Finally the last program I would like to share with you is one that is offered for elementary aged children and brought to you by the Vermont State Treasure's Office. This program is a totally free program that not only works on literacy but also provides the incentive of a monetary drawing. For children that complete the program, they will be entered into a drawing for the opportunity to receive a $250 college savings account. The nice thing about this program is that the children are expected to read 3 "money" books plus 17 open books in blocks of 20 minutes. This allows children to learn about finances through reading. We are using this as an opportunity for our son to learn and begin the conversations about finances that should always happen. All kids need to learn about earning and saving money, You can learn more about the program here Reading is an investment!
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Image 2 pages on a dark table. the bottom is a reading list with lots of titles with a picture of a book on it. at an angle on top is a pamphlet style booklet with a school bus on it.
The last program I want to talk about is the local Rutland City Parks and Recreation Department. Did you know that if you cannot afford to put your child into athletics that you can apply for scholarships? I didn't and as a result our Baby Bear hasn't been able to do athletics because we just haven't had the money for it. After speaking with someone they had told me to contact the Parks and Rec Department and see what they could do for me. We fortunately got approved so our dear Baby Bear gets to play basketball this season and is super excited. If you need to apply for financial aid, you can do so here----->Rutland Parks and Recreation PS basketball registration is October 6th for those interested, maybe Ill see you there!
Hopefully you get the chance to check out these programs and enjoy them just as much as I do.
L
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