Our hearts are with the farmers and food businesses in Vermont who were impacted by the recent flooding in the state.
The climate crisis has once again wreaked havoc on our ability to produce, distribute and sell local products. This latest event is all the more reason we need to further develop our regional food system - and to do so in a way that makes it more resilient to these kinds of natural disasters.
As we said in the Executive Summary of our recently released report, 'No single county, state, or region can become food self-sufficient. But the quest for increased regional food self-reliance is both an investment in our shared future and an insurance policy against future risks, particularly due to climate change.'
In our report, we also talk a lot about creating a resilient regional food system where resilience refers to 'our collective ability to respond and recover from adverse conditions. External risks - hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes - have always posed a threat to societies, but the modern world is now threatened by manufactured risks - climate change, health epidemics, ecological degradation, nuclear catastrophe, the COVID-19 pandemic - that are the result of human actions.'
We have a lot of work to do collectively to make our food system more resilient and there is a real urgency to do so. You can make a financial contribution to help support Vermont's farms and food businesses in their recovery here: Vermont Flood Response & Recovery Fund. In the comments section, you can indicate your wish to have your donation go directly to those Vermont farms and businesses in need. More information can also be found by visiting our Vermont partner's website - VT Farm to Plate.
Thank you!
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