WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The Green Mountain Development Corp. is encouraging Vermonters to share a meal with the state’s recent arrivals this month.
“Invite a New Vermonter to Dinner Month” aims to build community between new residents and those who have lived in the Green Mountain State for more than two years.
“People are super isolated and lonely, and especially in rural areas, it can be harder to build that community and connect,” said Jimmy Coleman, program manager at the Green Mountain Economic Development Corp., a White River Junction-based nonprofit organization. “It can take a lot longer.”
Sometimes, the best way to build that community is by sharing a meal and the Green Mountain Development Corp. will provide a $50 meal reimbursement to all pairs who participate.
“We’re engaging longtime locals too,” Coleman said in a phone interview. “It’s important to bring in more and more people to join in the welcome, show them what Vermont is about.”
Hosts — who can be anyone who has lived in Vermont prior to March 2024 — can take out anyone who moved to Vermont after March 2024. Hosts can find new Vermonters themselves or apply to be matched with a newcomer. Conversely, new Vermonters can apply to the program to be matched with a host.
The program is limited to those who live in Orange and Windsor counties in Vermont. Despite its name, the offer is open to any breakfast, lunch, or dinner gathering that takes place at a restaurant in Orange or Windsor county.
Applications and more information is online at gmedc.com/newcomer-dinner-program.
The project is funded through a two-year $150,000 grant from the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing’s Grants for Relocation Outreach Work (GROW) program, Coleman said. In addition to the meal program, the grant covers other activities that focus on “new resident relocation, recruitment, and retention activities,” according to a January 2026 Agency of Commerce and Community Development news release.
“GROW is a strategic investment in Vermont’s long-term workforce and community vitality,” Agency of Commerce and Community Development Secretary Lindsay Kurrle said in the release. “By investing in locally led relocation and retention efforts, the program helps communities grow and reinforces the connections that keep new residents here.”
Vital Communities, a White River Junction-based nonprofit organization, and Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph are partnering with the Green Mountain Economic Development Corp. on the program.
For the last year, the Development Corp. has been hosting gatherings almost every month for newcomers and residents who have been in the region longer as part of its Upper Valley Welcome Wagon program, which connects new residents with those who have lived in the area longer. Many of those events have taken place at the Main Street Museum in downtown White River Junction.
“It was one of the first places I came when I moved here,” said Coleman, who moved to Hartford nearly two years ago from the Boston area.
About 30 people have attended those gatherings, which are open to New Hampshire and Vermont residents. Most events have been evenly split between new Vermonters and those who have lived in the area longer. While the events tend to skew younger, people of all ages have attended and Coleman has seen intergenerational friendships form.
“There’s obviously a lot of need for community and bringing people together,” said Coleman, 28, who grew up in southern New Hampshire.
He noted that it can be intimidating moving to a new area and having places to meet people who are also newcomers — or are open to meeting newcomers — are needed to help people feel more welcome and connected to the Upper Valley.
While the Welcome Wagon events are a good start, people who meet there are encouraged to make plans outside of those gatherings.
For his part, Coleman has also built community through playing pickleball and hosting events for residents in the apartment building where he lives.
“Create a network and a web,” Coleman said. “It’s changed my life honestly, just building an incredible community of people.”