Cedar Circle Farm and Education

“William allen kathleen duesterberg director director spouses”

“The executive director performs a detailed review of a draft of the 990 with the preparer. In addition, the 990 is made available for all board members to review prior to filing.”

“The conflict of interest policy is given to each new responsible person and that person is then required to acknowledge in writing that he or she has received a copy of this policy. Each responsible person must annually complete an information form regarding the conflict of interest policy. The policy shall be reviewed annually and any changes to the policy must be communicated to all responsible persons.”

“The compensation of the executive director is defined in a contractual agreement between the organization and the executive director. The compensation is negotiated and reflects what the board perceives is the necessary and appropriate compensation to obtain and retain a qualified executive director. The board of directors reviews the executive director's performance each fiscal year and determines whether bonus compensation is appropriate.”

“Copies are made available upon request.”

“Cedar circle farm and education center is dedicated to agricultural scientific research in the public interest and providing agricultural education and training to children, parents, educators, farmers, consumers, students and other members of the public to promote organic, regenerative farming and the transition to a localized food economy, including by producing healthy, organic food for the local economy in a way that enhances resources for future generations. Cedar circle farm and education center (the "farm") is located in east thetford, vermont, and is a working farm and learning center. The farm began operating as a 501(c)(3) charity on october 1, 2020. Prior to that date, the farm had been managed by cedar circle farm, llc, a vermont limited liability company. The farm property features several greenhouses, a farm stand, and its farm kitchen and hello cafe, where visitors can purchase low-cost organic fruit, vegetables, prepared food and baked goods sourced from or made at the farm and other local organic farms. Since 2003, the farm has maintained its certified organic status, and a social mission to promote regenerative and sustainable food production. This is a key driver of the farm's nonprofit mission.”

“The vegetable growing program engages our public through our community supported agriculture programs, which provide opportunities to learn about the seasonality of produce and benefits of local and fresh food. Cedar circle maintains a relationship with our community through weekly email newsletters that provide information about preserving food, recipes to utilize local ingredients, and issues that consumers should be aware of when they make decisions about personal and environmental health when they spend their food dollars. There were 442 csa accounts during 2024. The farm also works with another vermont nonprofit corporation to maintain a small garden dedicated solely to supporting a vermont nonprofit that delivers unused fresh food to local food pantries. This nonprofit redistributes the farm's produce to dozens of food pantries. In addition, cedar circle farm delivers directly to 5 food pantries and one hospital pantry program. The expense of these programs, which share resources, is approximately 35% of our total expenses.”

“Under our umbrella of education programs, we have our summer camp, school programs, cooking for middleschoolers, and our little farmers program. Workshops and tours also provide hundreds of guests annually, with first- hand information and experiences in learning to increase sustainability awareness and to promote good health. The education programs combined account for approximately 20% of our expenses respectively. These programs all utilize the vegetable growing operation as their "classroom- or area for learning about food, agriculture, and ecology through hands-on learning experiences in the fields or greenhouses. All of our staff prioritize education, community engagement, and forward-thinking solutions to meeting the mission of our organization. The little farmers program, summer and spring camps, cooking programs, workshops and field trips attracted approximately 1,400 attendees.”

“Cedar circle farm and education center, inc. Has several other offerings, including its pumpkin festival, special event flowers and pick your own flowers programs, and its farm stand, farm kitchen and hello cafe. While these programs provide income to the farm, they are operated to use as a learning resource for farm visitors and also to cover the costs of the farm's other non- income generating activities and, when aggregated together, often result in a loss to the farm due to the time and effort required to operate them. The festival and other special events were attended by over 1,000 people in 2024.”