South Royalton nonprofit seeks to create community center

Nando Jaramillo checks on corn husks from heirloom zapalote chico corn that he is drying to use for making tamales at the South Royalton House in South Royalton, Vt., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Jaramillo hopes to eventually grow enough of the variety locally to make his arepas, because of its higher starch content. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Nando Jaramillo checks on corn husks from heirloom zapalote chico corn that he is drying to use for making tamales at the South Royalton House in South Royalton, Vt., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Jaramillo hopes to eventually grow enough of the variety locally to make his arepas, because of its higher starch content. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Valley News photographs — James M. Patterson

Moon and Stars, a non-profit focused on building sustainable agriculture, food production and distribution systems around traditional corn-based staple foods, hosts its sixth annual International Arepa Day festival on Park Street outside the South Royalton House in South Royalton, Vt., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Founder Nando Jaramillo wants to purchase the historic building to create a community center around that mission. Among his plans are to restore its fourth floor ball room to host events. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Moon and Stars, a non-profit focused on building sustainable agriculture, food production and distribution systems around traditional corn-based staple foods, hosts its sixth annual International Arepa Day festival on Park Street outside the South Royalton House in South Royalton, Vt., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Founder Nando Jaramillo wants to purchase the historic building to create a community center around that mission. Among his plans are to restore its fourth floor ball room to host events. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Nando Jaramillo, left, gathers freshly ground masa dough as Erik O’Connell, of Chelsea, right, fills the grinder hopper with corn in South Royalton, Vt., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Before grinding, the corn is prepared by slowly cooking in an alkaline solution of water and calcium hydroxide lime to remove the hulls from the grain and make nutrients like niacin, a B vitamin, available for digestion in a process called nixtamalization. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Nando Jaramillo, left, gathers freshly ground masa dough as Erik O’Connell, of Chelsea, right, fills the grinder hopper with corn in South Royalton, Vt., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Before grinding, the corn is prepared by slowly cooking in an alkaline solution of water and calcium hydroxide lime to remove the hulls from the grain and make nutrients like niacin, a B vitamin, available for digestion in a process called nixtamalization. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Valley News photographs — James M. Patterson

Erik O’Connell fills a tray with freshly made empanadas in the Moon and Stars kitchen in the South Royalton House in South Royalton, Vt., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Every two weeks, Moon and Stars supplies the White River Valley Schools’ South Royalton campus with tortilla chips or empanadas. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Erik O’Connell fills a tray with freshly made empanadas in the Moon and Stars kitchen in the South Royalton House in South Royalton, Vt., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. Every two weeks, Moon and Stars supplies the White River Valley Schools’ South Royalton campus with tortilla chips or empanadas. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Nando Jaramillo, left, opens the car door on Tuesday, Sept. 17, for Shondrea Moulton, of South Royalton, who picks up about 50 pounds of masa dough a couple times a week from the Moon and Stars kitchen in South Royalton, Vt., on her way to work at Lalo’s Taqueria. The Lebanon, N.H., restaurant makes more than 300 tortillas a day from the masa. Jaramillo envisions a food distribution system in the future that utilizes electric vehicles for local and regional deliveries and the railroad to bring corn and food products from rural New England to urban centers in Massachusetts and New York. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Nando Jaramillo, left, opens the car door on Tuesday, Sept. 17, for Shondrea Moulton, of South Royalton, who picks up about 50 pounds of masa dough a couple times a week from the Moon and Stars kitchen in South Royalton, Vt., on her way to work at Lalo’s Taqueria. The Lebanon, N.H., restaurant makes more than 300 tortillas a day from the masa. Jaramillo envisions a food distribution system in the future that utilizes electric vehicles for local and regional deliveries and the railroad to bring corn and food products from rural New England to urban centers in Massachusetts and New York. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Pedro De Larrechea, of Miami, Fla., left, offers a roasted potato to Aleda Bliss, of South Royalton, as they prepare for the Moon and Stars Arepa Day festival on Park Street in South Royalton, Vt., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. A friend, and former co-worker in the film and photography industry, of Moon and Stars founder Nando Jaramillo, De Larrechea, traveled to Vermont to grill beef for the event. Bliss, who lives at the South Royalton House, sold vintage clothing at the event and helped set up guests to roller skate in the street. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Pedro De Larrechea, of Miami, Fla., left, offers a roasted potato to Aleda Bliss, of South Royalton, as they prepare for the Moon and Stars Arepa Day festival on Park Street in South Royalton, Vt., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. A friend, and former co-worker in the film and photography industry, of Moon and Stars founder Nando Jaramillo, De Larrechea, traveled to Vermont to grill beef for the event. Bliss, who lives at the South Royalton House, sold vintage clothing at the event and helped set up guests to roller skate in the street. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

Nando Jaramillo cooks empanadas - corn tortillas with fillings of beans and cheese, potato, or beef - in a cauldron of oil during his sixth annual International Arepa Day Festival in South Royalton, Vt., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Jaramillo was raised in Colombia, where arepas are a staple food, started a small homestead farm in Miami, and ultimately moved to Vermont where he is building connections with the goal of fostering a sustainable local food economy. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Nando Jaramillo cooks empanadas - corn tortillas with fillings of beans and cheese, potato, or beef - in a cauldron of oil during his sixth annual International Arepa Day Festival in South Royalton, Vt., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Jaramillo was raised in Colombia, where arepas are a staple food, started a small homestead farm in Miami, and ultimately moved to Vermont where he is building connections with the goal of fostering a sustainable local food economy. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

Dena Wilkie Wolff, of South Royalton, helps her son Ozias Wolff, 3, get accustomed to roller skates during the Moon and Stars Arepa Day street party on Park Street in South Royalton, Vt., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. The event celebrates the thicker-than-tortilla food made from masa, a dough ground corn dough, from Moon and Stars founder Nando Jaramillo’s home country of Colombia and surrounding nations. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Dena Wilkie Wolff, of South Royalton, helps her son Ozias Wolff, 3, get accustomed to roller skates during the Moon and Stars Arepa Day street party on Park Street in South Royalton, Vt., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. The event celebrates the thicker-than-tortilla food made from masa, a dough ground corn dough, from Moon and Stars founder Nando Jaramillo’s home country of Colombia and surrounding nations. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

Gabe Malloy, left, and Nando Jaramillo, right, serve plates of arepas filled with grilled beef to customers at the Moon and Stars Arepa Day festival in South Royalton, Vt., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Jaramillo said he grew up in Colombia eating the thick round masa flatbread and wanted people to taste “real arepas,” traditionally made with heirloom corn. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Gabe Malloy, left, and Nando Jaramillo, right, serve plates of arepas filled with grilled beef to customers at the Moon and Stars Arepa Day festival in South Royalton, Vt., on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Jaramillo said he grew up in Colombia eating the thick round masa flatbread and wanted people to taste “real arepas,” traditionally made with heirloom corn. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

While waiting on the phone to talk with a retailer, Nando Jaramillo, right, laughs with Erik O’Connell, of Chelsea, left, and Angela Grenier, of Norwich, middle, as they make empanadas in the Moon and Stars kitchen in South Royalton, Vt., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. If Jaramillo is able to purchase the building, he hopes to expand the kitchen, add an automated empanada machine, and use the upstairs apartments to provide affordable housing for food industry workers. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

While waiting on the phone to talk with a retailer, Nando Jaramillo, right, laughs with Erik O’Connell, of Chelsea, left, and Angela Grenier, of Norwich, middle, as they make empanadas in the Moon and Stars kitchen in South Royalton, Vt., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. If Jaramillo is able to purchase the building, he hopes to expand the kitchen, add an automated empanada machine, and use the upstairs apartments to provide affordable housing for food industry workers. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

Nando Jaramillo, of South Royalton, checks on a plot of zapalote chico corn in Tunbridge, Vt., on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, one of five plots he has growing around the Upper Valley and at a farm in New York State. This plot was damaged in an August storm and again later by foraging deer. The plot is surrounded by trees and isolated from other corn fields to prevent cross pollination and maintain the integrity of heirloom variety’s seed. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Nando Jaramillo, of South Royalton, checks on a plot of zapalote chico corn in Tunbridge, Vt., on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, one of five plots he has growing around the Upper Valley and at a farm in New York State. This plot was damaged in an August storm and again later by foraging deer. The plot is surrounded by trees and isolated from other corn fields to prevent cross pollination and maintain the integrity of heirloom variety’s seed. (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. James M. Patterson

By KATE ODEN

Valley News Correspondent

Published: 09-27-2024 6:06 PM

Modified: 09-30-2024 3:30 PM

SOUTH ROYALTON — It’s hard to miss the 1850 Greek Revival building on the town green, 53 Park St. It boasts square columns up to the third floor and a prominent “Black Lives Matter” sign.

Nando Jaramillo, 60, the force behind Moon and Stars, a South Royalton-based nonprofit for sustainable food, aims to turn this former hotel and restaurant into a regional food hub. Jaramillo hopes to raise $1 million to purchase the building. Some in the area think it’s overly ambitious.

Jaramillo is no developer. “I don’t want to own this,” he said in a Sept. 20 interview, gesturing towards the 8,532-square-foot building. “I want this for the community.”

Jaramillo’s idea is to make Moon and Stars’ signature Colombian food in the on-site commercial kitchen. The kitchen could be shared with local farmers seeking to produce prepared food. The nine units of living space could be rented to food-industry workers such as farm laborers and employees of the South Royalton Market, a food cooperative that sits across the green.

Moon and Stars, which has a board of five, not including Jaramillo, is registered as a nonprofit with the state of Vermont. They’re in the process of applying for 501c3 status, which will allow donors to deduct the value of their donations from their taxes.

For the past five or so years, Moon and Stars has been operating primarily as a food truck. Jaramillo has made efforts to develop an heirloom corn variety for his arepas, a thick corn tortilla typical of Colombian cuisine, according to a 2019 Valley News story.

“I use the food truck as a way to educate people,” said Jaramillo. It’s his way of pursuing his larger goal of changing the way people think about and consume food in the U.S.

As the school year begins, Jaramillo is delivering empanadas to eight Vermont schools. He hopes this program will feed into his larger vision for changing the food system in the interest of more affordable, local options.

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Jaramillo sees food hubs running from Burlington to Queens. Local farmers up and down the existing railroad line could ship their products from food hubs in Randolph or South Royalton (which has a historic station but is not currently served by rail), among other locations.

“You could lower the price of sustainable food with a distribution system like this,” Jaramillo explained. He dreams of a fleet of electric vans receiving the goods in Queens.

He believes that the food system fails on the distribution side, up to 30% of the cost of the end product. “We’re funding the fossil fuel industry,” he said.

This past summer, the Royalton Selectboard sent a letter to the state supporting Jaramillo’s application for congressionally designated funds, primarily envisioned for processing corn.

“The addition of local capacity to store and process corn will provide additional stability to our local food system. In addition, this resource will add to the experience of our youth both in their knowledge of food systems, and their ability to access locally grown, value added foods,” the letter states in part.

“He’s got a great vision,” John Dumville, South Royalton’s town historian and a member of the Selectboard, said of Jaramillo. “I wish he ran for the Legislature. He’s a great community organizer.”

Yet Dumville has his doubts.

“I can see what he’s trying to do, but is this the building for that? It’s really not the location for a big production facility,” Dumville said.

Meanwhile, Jaramillo said his efforts to purchase the building face competition: He believes an out-of-town developer is interested in the property.

Kenya Lazuli, of Corinth, purchased the building in 2019 with a partner. She declined to comment on its future or potential buyers.

The building’s history is rich. Many still call it the South Royalton House. Its position is as iconic as the brick storefronts across the green, as the white Congregational church to its east.

Daniel Tarbell, a mill owner, initially built 53 Park Street as a “railroad hotel,” according to Dumville. The building sits not 100 feet from the railroad line.

The building changed hands until Vermont Law School (now Vermont Law and Graduate School) acquired it in the 20th century. For years, the law school operated a popular pub and restaurant out of the building’s stone basement. Vermont Law School sold the property in 2005.

The building “needs good use and a big influx of money,” said Dumville. “We all hope something good happens there,” he said, speaking for town residents in general.

Jaramillo has lived in the building since 2020. The stainless-steel refrigerator in the kitchen is full of bagged empanadas. Their base is Jaramillo’s handmade arepas, a thick tortilla made of limed (nixtamalized) corn flour he brings from his birth country of Colombia. Jaramillo sources his corn from a farmer in New York state, but has been trialing varieties closer to home.

He’s applying for a grant for an empanadas machine that could increase Moon and Stars’ production from 600 empanadas a day to 600 an hour. Jaramillo pointed out a spot where the machine would sit in the kitchen.

“I think it’s amazing,” South Royalton resident Patty McIlvaine, 48, said at a recent fundraising event featuring Moon and Stars food outside the building. “They’ve added a lot of energy to this block since they moved in. If this kind of event is what he’s going to bring, then that’s great.”

Kate Oden is a freelance writer. She can be reached at odenk06@gmail.com.