MIDDLEBURY — Harper Smith of Middlebury liked drawing and painting and she has been doing it since she was very young. So it was not surprising when last year, as an eighth-grader at Middlebury Union Middle School, she entered one of her drawings into a contest.
What was surprising to Smith, now 14 and a freshman at Middlebury Union High School, is that her drawing is now being sold all over Vermont.
Smith, the daughter of Jennifer and Joseph Smith, was grocery shopping with her mom at Hannaford Supermarket one day last year when she saw a flier announcing the contest to design an image for the reusable bags Hannaford sells to shoppers who don’t want take away their groceries in disposable bags.
The theme of the contest was hunger relief, and Smith’s design shows how kids can fight hunger in their community. In her design, Smith included a Food Pyramid inside an silhouette of Vermont. She also drew an image of children raising food for hungry people.
Hannaford judged Smith’s design the winner in the state of Vermont. It was put on the cloth bags and is being sold at stores around the sate.
“I’ve been drawing since I was really little but I haven’t entered into anything and won,” Smith said. “ This is a first, and it’s really cool to have my name out there.”
In celebration of Earth Day, Hannaford unveiled the winning design with a special in-store meet and greet with Smith on April 21 in South Burlington.
“It was pretty cool.” Smith said.