The current market demand for locally produced food (both vegetables and
meat) has significant room to grow in Vermont. It's estimated that less
than 10 percent of households currently eat locally grown produce and
meat. In order to increase this demand statewide, the 2009 Vermont
Legislature directed the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund and other
stakeholders to develop a 10-year strategic plan -- known as the Farm to
Plate Initiative -- to strengthen Vermont's farm and food sector. This
fall the public will be invited to comment on the draft "Farm to Plate"
strategic plan prior to the completed report being sent to the
Legislature at the first of the year. Some of the elements that will be
covered in the report include access to land, distribution, meat
processing, necessary financing and facilities for food processing. To
learn more about Farm to Plate, go to www.vsjf.org and click on
"Projects."
Having read the initial Farm to Plate plan, I believe that there will be
several key state initiatives that, brought down to the local level,
would enable the Mad River Valley to increase the vibrancy of our food
economy and provide a market for all of our farmers:
Consumer food education. Our strong localvore project complements
other programs such as American Flatbread's Food for Schools and
Harwood Union's focus on local healthy produce. There is more that can
be done to raise public awareness about local food availability and
making wise and healthy consumer choices.
Grow new farms. We must help ALL our farmers succeed to meet
increased demand as more people make healthy choices and search out
local food alternatives. I am constantly surprised at how much
agri-expansion is taking place in The Valley - Vermont Yak, Hartshorn's
farm, Kenyon's beef, Knoll Farm, Gaylord Farm, von Trapp cheese, Small
Step, Kingsbury Market Garden, Solterra Farm, Kind Horn Farm, Dana
Forest Farm, Saucey, Three Shepherds Cheese, Neill Farm beef, pork and
eggs - this is not a complete list and the Localvores will be updating
the local farm map this summer.
http://vermontlocalvore.org/foodsources/foodshedmap.pdf
Build infrastructure to meet the Valley needs. The Valley needs
access to cold-wet, cool-wet, and dry root storage that can be
collaboratively used. Moreover, there needs to be access to a food
processing facility for teaching and incubator use. This facility could
ultimately lead to production of value-added products such as cheese,
canned goods and other items, extending the shelf life and seasonal
market of our Valley produce. All of these resources exist in part
today.
Co-operative distribution. Consumers, retailers and restaurants
need to have a wide choice of fresh local food that is easily and
consistently available. Could we imagine all of our local supermarkets
offering Valley-grown vegetables? Could we increase the local supply to
our restaurants while decreasing the burden on farmer and chef alike?
The possibility exists if there is a centralized point of contact for
the supermarket and the restaurant purveyor that would streamline the
process while helping to reduce costs.
A great model of a single point of contact for the customer is Jasper
Hill Farm in Greensboro, VT. They market a number of locally produced
cheeses under the "Cellars at Jasper Hill" banner. Currently,
approximately a dozen cheesemakers spread around Vermont and New
Hampshire are able to focus on the production of their local cheeses
(von Trapp Farm is one of them), while letting Jasper Hill take care of
the aging, storage, marketing and distribution. Retailers and
restaurants benefit from this system as well, since they need only talk
to Jasper Hill to order any one of the "Cellar's" cheeses.
To date, as a community, we have done a good job of increasing demand
for local products. But with additional outreach, education and
facilities (leading to new products) and streamlined distribution, the
size of the pie has a lot of room to grow. Now is the time to harness
the energy of new and old farmers alike, along with the community, to
collectively build a more vibrant food economy and grow our own local
market.
Such a solution will require networking both in and outside The Valley.
It will take hard work, but the potential for a great outcome is very
real.
In working at American Flatbread for eight years, I had the opportunity
of seeing Farm to Plate in action every week; as a Valley resident I
applaud every new farming venture and value-added food producer that
allows us to purchase produce locally and sensibly.
Robin Morris lives in Waitsfield.
