Swap Sisters
By Susannah Kerest
Front Porch Forum hosts online newsletters in every town in Vermont, and now in some Upper Valley NH towns. Neighbors, nonprofits, businesses, and government officials can post messages, share news, get advice, make recommendations, announce events, sell items, and much more. It's all about helping neighbors to connect and build community.
This fall, Front Porch Forum is featuring Vermonters who excel at building community and offer tips for how you can get started in your own town. Read it here in The Bridge Weekly.
Meet Rebecca and Erin. They are two of the "Swap Sisters" who organize a March seed swap, a June plant swap, and a November harvest barter in the Northeast Kingdom. Tapping into a history and culture of promoting food sovereignty and skill-sharing, Rebecca, Erin, and their friends bring a "just-make-things-happen" spirit.
Their annual Seed Swap takes place in Hardwick's newly renovated Jeudevine Memorial Library, which is accessible and free for community groups to use. Rebecca and Erin bring envelopes so people can break down the seeds into quantities that work for them. Some people bring creative packaging. Erin shared, "One set of envelopes had an 'Urgent' stamp on them, which I thought was really cute, because parsnip seeds don't hold. They're only good for one season."
"I tend to pick up things that I wouldn't necessarily spend money on, like flower seeds and stuff that I might not have prioritized in my farm budget," Rebecca said. And Erin shared, "Our friend Kathy's grandmother brought her beefsteak tomatoes from Italy, and the family's been growing them every year, and brings the seeds to share."
The Seed Swap usually attracts between 20 and 50 people, with lots of regulars as well as new faces. Read all about it at https://frontporchforum.com/join-project/spring-seed-swap
Have you ever thought about getting neighbors together around a shared hobby? Is there a Fall Veggie Exchange, Garden Club, or Seed Swap in your community? Or, maybe you want to get one started! Post about it on Front Porch Forum.