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Small Bites
August 16, 2024
Creating opportunities to support & amplify regional food systems, not only in Vermont. We feature producers, distributors, and retail connections in a global marketplace. With an eye on Vermont our insights are applicable to regions outside the state & reaching interested readers in Australia.
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Congratulations to Elle St Pierre of Montgomery, VT for her 8th place in the 1500 meter track & field performance. Now it's back to the cows for a little R&R between more training & competitions. | |
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The Reality
For our readers, participating directly or indirectly in ‘local food systems’ & the intricacies of food distribution goes beyond trucks and loading docks. Here in the US we are saddled with ag & government policies that support consolidation across the all aspects of production & processing distribution and retail food sales.
Austin Frerick author of Barons: Money, Power & the Corruption of America's Food Industry has done exceptional research into seven areas where individual families have benefited from policies (& accrued power) to sway politicians that benefit their businesses despite environment degradation, labor malfeasance, lack of competition, & on & on it goes. The results of the policies reduce competition thwarting sales of local foods across not only New England, but globally, including Australia.
Barons is a must read for all of us. Available through the VT inter-library loan or your local bookshop.
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August in Vermont is all about seasonal fruits coming & going. Blueberries merge with peaches, nectarines, all types of vine-ripened melons & early apples. Blackberries are still available, yet soon will be saying goodbye while late blooming strawberries crank out the happy meter.
Produce managers in stores across the state relish this time of year, some berries are still available, the large, sweet melons are often cut in half & wrapped to increase sales. Farms such as Tell a Tale in West Rutland & Ferrisburg's Lalumiere are producing Vermont’s best fruit for this summer blitz that melds with back to school & after school treats.
Champlain Orchards, long known as a primary source of apples sold throughout New England, shifted their crop plantings over the past 15 years & the changes are paying off. Peaches, plums, cherries and of course a wide range of apples round out their income in wholesale to stores, direct to consumer at their farm store, & as Pick Your Own (PYO). With our changing climate, owners Bill, Andrea, & their planting team shifted to switch their crops & get ahead of competition.
Stores selling local stone fruits love the marketing aspects & the shout out to local farms. Champlain has widened the availability extending the happy factor for customers & produce managers!
| "Join us for this August weekend pick-your-own featuring fresh apples like Paulared, Gingergold, Zestar!, William's Pride, Dandee Red, and Pristine! Our peaches, including Starfire, Blazing Star, & Contender, are still ripe & ready for picking. Plus, we have plenty of elderberries and blackberries that are just starting to ripen. Our row of Shiro plums is open for light picking. - Champlain Orchards | West River Provisions the "old Jamaica general store" sits in the heart of one of our premium mountain valley vacation spots. The store has historically been a spot for locals to convene in winter and during hunting season, summer is all fun & games with families shopping for their camping & river provisions. Or maybe travelers are bebopping around and stop in for the fabulous meals to go, baked goods, craft beer or maybe even handmade soap or candles to take to their getaway location. | |
Long lines are normal on special pizza nights, for good reason! Local produce from Dutton's & Our Mother's Garden are toppings. The store prides itself on serving fantastic food & carrying the basics for campers. The music on the porch is a hit on warm summer nights when the crickets are calling. West River Provisions is all things summer in Vermont!
| Wallingford Village Market opened with a July 31st community-supported celebration. They sell a mixture of local food, lite bites, & Vermont-centric gifts, including Chippenhook Acres for of goat's milk soap. Local producers including Yoder Farm & producers associated with the Vermont Farmers Food Center in Rutland are poised to support this new store. Located on Route 7, they have a convenient location for DSD producers. | |
Why We Like This
The Genny, has a new Produce display cooler. This upgrade will pay off in the long run for improved sales through merchandising, better quality product, & maintaining standards. The new case allows for an increase in visibility of their commitment to local producers. New equipment reduces electric bills & requires much less support from refrigeration services. We like this!
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Woodstock Farmers Market invests in great signage & creative marketing. Across the store are easy to read signs with great info, a sense of store personality comes through too. Engaging, professional, & of course informative. As many of our stores are doing, they are branding with local brewers for signature bevies. Also, Check out this "reel" showcasing excellent produce displays of color & texture breaks along with "the best face of produce" showing. We like all this!
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Healthy Living Market & Cafe’s end of summer, School Night Dinner 101 promo was spot on. In an email to its member-customers & as blog on its website was storytelling by two generations of the family. There are huge transitions in the next 30 days as families (& teachers!) adjust to the radically different schedule than the laissez faire summer approach. There is a lot to navigate putting meals on the table.
The insights from Katy, Nina, & Eli are touching, as a reflection on past & current emotions around food, & a return to ‘meal schedules’ & new family routines. Gear your displays for easy meals, healthy snacks, & know many shoppers are adjusting to the change in “food shopping season”. Why we like this: Fabulous story telling & an emotional connection.
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We Like This!
Cheese Week
September 7-15 is a statewide celebration of all things cheese, including our 34 winners! Goat, sheep, cow cheese will be featured for the entire week. There are tastings & pairings, farm visits, & cheese camps. Stores can get signage to help promote the events AND sign up their cheese mongers to attend events to better learn about production or engage with producers & other cheeseheads.
| Below, a picture of part of the cheese case at Taste Place in Waitsfield. The cheese mongers are knowledgeable professionals living the life of cheese & customer service. | |
Store Support & Training Services
Morrisville Food Coop store is a mission-driven store in the heart of town with easy access to the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, widely visited by adventurers bikers & walkers. It is the neighborhood market & a "third space" for the community to meet
as well as shopping for local & organic foods.
The store is working with the Grocers Project to fine tune the Produce Department systems. As with any smaller store with part time staffing, working with several local vendors, & keeping quality product stocked, requires organization & strong communication. Reviewing systems & refreshing to improve efficiencies always comes in handy.
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Defining VT Local
In prior Small Bites, you have seen the clues about what is "local" to Vermont per ACT 129. Here is an example of a complying business:
Processed foods are broken into two subgroups. A product is considered a ‘processed food’ whenever it is not a raw agricultural product, but processed foods also include raw agricultural products that have been subject to processing, such as canning, cooking, dehydrating, milling, or the addition of other ingredients.
Processed foods include dairy, meat, maple products, beverages, fruit, or vegetables that have been subject to processing, baked, or modified into a value-added or unique food product.
Processed foods are “local” and/or “Vermont” food if:
• The majority of ingredients (meaning more than 50 percent of all product ingredients by volume, excluding water) are raw agricultural products that are “local” to Vermont;
• The product was either processed in Vermont or the food manufacturer is headquartered in Vermont (or both are true).
Sweet Cow Yogurt is local by Vermont definition: headquartered here, incorporating milk from cows raised on land in Newbury.
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This is what we like to hear!
The Intervale Food Hub is a program of the Intervale Center in Burlington providing critical infrastructure & services within our local food system to increase connections between small-scale producers & markets in Chittenden County.
They work with over 80 farmers, producers & distributors to provide wholesale quantities of a wide range of local and fresh produce, meat, dairy, & bakery products year-round. In addition to wholesale supply the facility is fully equipped to offer cross docking, storage & space rental services to support producers at varying scales. Visit their website to learn more about their program offerings.
| "In Rutland, the Vermont Farmers Food Center has been working for ten years supporting farmers in the mid-west part of the state. | Another of Vermont's regional food system nuggets is the Vermont Farmers Food Center (VFFC) began as a grassroots, volunteer- led project tasked with spearheading the rebuilding of infrastructure to support agriculture. With a regional focus & a strong collaboration with ACORN, they continue to work tirelessly on projects for positive economic impacts including cross docking. They share resources for startup food businesses along with direct action programming including an online direct to consumer market their food access Farmacy Program | |
One more good thing to hear!
And up in Franklin County, Healthy Roots received grant funding to purchase a van & is undertaking farm pick-ups, cross docking, & delivery to retail stores, including Main Street Market. This store is at the end of the line in Richford, on the Canadian border, where most distributors don't go. The non-profit expands food access helping producers & stores sell local products within rural locations. The organization works closely with the charitable food & farm to school sectors while also offering business services to farm & food businesses. Their services are pivotal in supporting the rural economy in the northwest corner of the state.
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Farmer as Retailer
Everywhere one looks this time of year we have abundant farmer retailing going on.
The Bunker Farm in Dummerston is one of the many diverse farm operations. The store is self-serve in one of the main farm buildings, their focus is on their farm products including pasture chicken & maple. They have their own maple branded products However, they support local producers to augment their sales. Eggs from Golden Vale Farm are popular with their customers too.
In the spring the farm focus is on their deft hand with seed propagated plants. Horticulturalists, landscapers, & farmers come from all over the region to purchase the rare & highly unique plants.
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Wilder Farm in Lyndonville, one of the hard-hit areas of recent flooding, is "peak summer". They are currently offering a full range of the best of Vermont. Their retailing is ‘multi-channel’ with sales set up through Eat From Farms an affordable online marketplace with on-farm CSA pickups, home delivery, along with a self-serve farmstand. The platform has the capacity to create a farm website landing page, a shop, a list of products in the weekly CSA share, & delivery options.
Wilder’s farm philosophy is organic, sustainable practices to feed the soil, & producing healthy delicious food. Good for you, good for the land.
Many of our farms are utilizing online sales platforms, each with different capacities that work for diverse farms & a range of farmer “technology skills”. Eat From Farms is just one of the many our farmers are relying on to streamline & meet customer expectations.
| Anywhere in Vermont right now! | Tell a Tale Farm "the oldest juveniles in Vermont growing your organic food". The diverse organic vegetables & fruit are sold through CSA's, wholesale, & at the Rutland Farmers Markets. The self proclaimed misfits, prankers, odd balls & clowns know what they are doing! We like oddball organic farmers as a sign of our times! | |
Food Producers!
Opportunity Awaits
Taste of Montpelier Food & Arts Festival returns for its 4th year to the Capital City September 14th from 1 - 4pm. Gain visibility for your artisan crafted products in this festive gathering. Vending details
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Networks Matter
The VRGA offers scholarships to eligible high school students entering their first year at an accredited two or four-year school in the US.
A student & employee at Main Street Market in Richford has been awarded this years' prize. Congratulations to Davian on the award from VRGA! This is also great news for the store, located in a low income, low food access part of the state. By supporting our youth through our networks, we all win.
And congratulations to Erin Sigrist who is stepping down from her leadership role at VRGA to take on a new role.
| On August 27th ACORN & the Middlebury Climate Action Program are co-hosting a screening of a feature film Farming While Black about the rising generation of young black farmers. A panel discussion about land access with local Black farmers will follow, moderated by Samantha Langevin of the VT Releaf Collective. Showing this film in the heartland of Vermont's agriculture, where 0.33% of farms are Black-owned, is vitally important. |  | |
Capital to Grow: It Takes a Network
Sweet Cow a small 3-cow summer-pasture raised dairy operation in West Newbury, has been making & distributing their yogurt throughout Vermont & New Hampshire for 15 years without any major upgrades to their processing system. A lack of upgrades has left them struggling to keep up production to match the demand. The now inefficient production infrastructure has them working with systems out of scale of their market capacity. The operating costs of inefficiency are high energy usage & manual labor.
After having done the research, a solution was found that will greatly improve their time & energy efficiency. They urgently seek to upgrade to a larger pasteurizer that will process double the amount of yogurt & a semi-automatic yogurt filling & sealing machine that will reduce the time and energy use by 75%. Per usual in a business’s growth, new equipment is costly. The new machines are $65,000. They seek to raise $50,000 along with their contribution of $15,000 for the purchase.
Mission-aligned businesses, stores, & customers are welcome to learn about & support this small but mighty artisan craft-batch dairy. GoFundMe
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New England Feeding
New England
CISA has been working for over 30 years to build a stronger, more resilient, & more just local food system. Their "Buy Local/Local Hero Campaign" is still going strong. They are actively creating a local food system where farms are viable, working conditions are fair & just for owners & workers, the environment is respected, locally grown food is available for all.
There many services to build businesses have helped build a strong alliance among farmers & shoppers, advocates, & food pranksters.
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Flood Related
Volunteer Opportunities
With disaster, comes need. Are you wishing you could help some of those in need in areas struck by recent flooding ? Find an organization that has boots on the ground.
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Special Thanks: Dan @ Brattleboro Coop, April @ Intervale Food Hub, Jack, Katy, Eli & Nina @ Healthy Living Market & Cafe, Jessie @ Morrisville Food Coop
Small Bites comes to you via grants & is created for farmers, food manufacturers, distributors, & grocers to increase VT food sales. We support the New England State Food System Planners Partnership effort to strengthen the regional food economy
Contact: Annie Harlow
smallbites802@gmail.com
All info is subject to change.
Created with support from the Canaday Family Charitable Trust
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