In the spring of 2026, NOFA-VT launched a pilot micro-grants program that provided $200 grants to NOFA-VT members to host community-building meals with their neighbors in this time of rupture. In the spirit of the parable of the long-handled spoons, the micro-grants grow joy, power, and safety by building strong relationships and keeping each other fed.
Breaking bread together (especially with folks we don’t know well) has long been the fiber that weaves strong communities together. As rural organizing expert Kate Hess Place says: “Place-based organizing is how we restore politics to a human scale: neighbors coming together to defend what they love, demand accountability, and build power where they live.” When we come together around a table, we remember that we are not alone and recommit to keeping each other fed, safe, and warm—especially when we’re feasting on delicious food grown by our producers and strengthening the local food system.
The original round of funding was distributed in April, 2026. As more funding becomes available, we'll distribute more Long-Handled Spoons Dinner Microgrants. Anyone is also welcome to reach out to [email protected] for guidance on how to host your own self-funded Long-Handled Spoons Dinner at any time.
If you’re interested in supporting this initiative to bring more people together around tables across the state, please consider making a gift today. When you donate, just note in the donor note section of the online form or the memo on your check “long spoons dinners” so we know to direct your funds to this project. You can reach out to Erin to learn more - [email protected] or 802-419-0043.
How Does a Long-Handled Spoon Dinner Work?
Invite 5-10 of your neighbors over for a meal—bonus points if they’re people way down the road you’ve only waved to and have been wanting to get to know—and we’ll give you up to $200 to spend on local, organic nourishment to gather over. If there are neighbors you’d like to invite, but there is a language barrier, let us know, and we can help hook you up with a translator!
All we require is that you seek out ingredients from local, organic, and small-scale farmers, and send us a picture of your gathering that we can share (it’s a-ok if it’s just of the food if you don’t want to show your face online).
We’ll provide optional guidance and prompts to meet the moment and get the conversation and connections flowing. You could share the parable of the long-handled spoons with the group to ground the meal, decide to take a collective action together that would better your community, talk about the values you all may share, or just gather with new folks you’ve been meaning to invite over and learn more about their lives.
Some conversations we’d be excited to lay the table for:
- What are we concerned about in our community?
- How can we plan to keep ourselves and our neighbors safe?
- How could we get together more as neighbors?
- How can we expand our love and safety beyond those people we already know?