Free Tickets for the Vermont Fresh Network Forum

[Suzanne Podhaizer]

This Sunday marks the 13th annual Vermont Fresh Network Forum, held at Shelburne Farms. The event is a chance to snack on fare from Café Provence, Hen of the Wood and Stowe Mountain Lodge, among others, but it's also about strengthening the bonds between farmers, chefs and eaters.

The 2009 theme is "Growing Our Local Food Economy" and the keynote speaker is Woody Tasch, chairman and president of the Slow Money foundation.

Do you have a creative plan for improving Vermont's food economy? We want to hear about it. On Thursday morning we'll select our three favorite answers, and give each of the writers a pair of free tickets to the forum. Winners will be notified via email by noon on Thursday.

Ready, set, go...

[alita888]

The best way to improve our local food economy is simple: do your part.
This is not an extremely creative or innovative idea, but it's one that requires true effort and commitment. As Ghandi said, you must "be the change you want to see in the world". Start eating as much local food as possible. Be a leader. Be an example. Soon those within your circle of influence will start noticing and do so themselves. I read "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" about 6 months ago. That's what finally got me rolling. Now, I'm doing my part. I've probably become 75% better than I was just last year. That doesn't mean I'm perfect, but I'm doing my best to support our local food economy. I want my hard-earned dollars to support people that I know, that live in my community that are doing great things. I've realized that I'll be much happier and healthier if I make cognisant choices. It still may be slightly more expensive now to buy local, and thus I may not be able to buy as much food, but I can buy healthy and in turn, not overeat! A novel concept indeed.
I love Vermont and there's no better way than to express my love than through food which grew from our landscape.
Amen

[flatlanderfoodie]

My idea for improving the food economy?  More gardens.  Now, I know Burlington is SWARMING with community gardens, but as an Old North End resident, I know first hand that many of my fellow Northies don't take advantage of the space in yards and green belts and would never go to a community garden.  Lack of resources, lack of knowledge, and sometimes lack of physical ability keep people from engaging their own localvore potential.  If there were a team of volunteers (guerilla gardeners anyone?) who would be assigned to a street or neighborhood and were willing to help set up and then stop by gardens weekly and help spruce up and answer questions, there would be a whole lot of local food going from yard to plate for the folks who have the least access to fresh, healthy produce.  With a few overenthusiastic seed starting gardeners willing to donate their extras, we could even provide the plants for free. 

[dancinggirl]

I've actually thought about this!
1. Create a comprehensive directory of local producers. Break it down by location and items produced by season.
Include information about specialized needs/services, i.e. organic, gluten free, vegan.
2. Make this information readily to new and existing restaurants in the area.
3. Host summits to connect producers and restauranteurs/bakeries etc.
4. Approach schools and hospitals. Fletcher Allen already participates and could be used as a model.
5. Expand the group food production facilities to more enable small producers to grow their products.
The facility is currently in Fairfax and is slated to be moved, but ideally regional centers.
6. Create a directory of jplaces that can share facilities to help keep costs down.

[Dooleydiner]

We need to request, insist, demand that grocery stores feature local products!  Whenever a product is available through local channels, stores such as Price Chopper, Hannafords, and Shaws should be required to offer it as an option to shoppers.  Local dairy, produce, cereals, meats, etc. should be available to shoppers.  There are many people who do not have the time to attend farmer's market or farm stands but would be more than happy to shop locally if the items were readily available to them.  Let people have the opportunity to support our local producers and they will.  Everyone likes to feel that they are doing their part, . . . well, most folks. 

[Cat Woodward]

I know that strong local linkages are crucial to the economic success of VT’s food producers, manufacturers, distributors, and purveyors, but being a Vermont business is about more than just putting dollars in your pocket. I really value community-specific efforts like Feel Good, in which local producers donate vegetables, cheese, sauces, and bread to UVM student volunteers, who make sandwiches and sell them, donating 100% of the profits to anti-hunger efforts. Education is a key part of creating value around local, healthful, sustainable products. While charitable giving may not seem educational, I can assure you that by donating healthful products, you are influencing eating habits and shifting values around food. I grew up in a food insecure household and I would like to see the same ethic that had random baskets of food appear on our porch throughout my childhood run rampant in Vermont. If companies are already making an effort, publicize it! If not, even a small-scale donation can benefit the local food economy, benefiting not only the health and well being of the family you help, but also enriching the entire community. I am entirely willing to pay a little extra for my food to help out those in need and would like to see more companies embrace a corporate social responsibility strategy in which my purchase helps feed those in need in my community. (Hungry people aren't just in Africa! It's an American problem too.)

[kat2009]

I think its important to involve people. The more people who do practice gardening will increase the number who hear about the benefits and enjoyment from it. I have a friend who started a garden in Barre at a local plot and her enthusiasm is actually making me want to do it..even though I have a "black" thumb. She is so happy with it and is taking pictures and decorating it.
I think if people had help and more encouragement from people who do it, then we could really affect the  Vermont Fresh Network.
Also, I think that several "feed the people" organizations have the right idea with the ..picking over farms once all the sell-able produce has been harvested. I work all over the state and see lots of unused vegi's going to waste.

[irishshantynibby]

Buy freshly grown food from the local farmers and farmers markets sort of like a co-op program at a discount.  The more quantity you order ahead of time the lower the prices.

This would enable the farmers to sell their produce and the consumers to have fresh fruits and vegetables not once in a while, but all of the time which is healthy and a win-win situation.

People who have gardens and can their fruits, pickles, vegetables, etc. for the winter, never go back to canned vegetables again.

[vermontcathy]

we all know that we need to each do our part and try to buy at least some of our food locally. But we are each only one person, and getting our friends and family to buy local (when it sometimes costs more) can be like pulling teeth! I think one solution is to convince other businesses to buy local food. Sure, it helps my local farmers when I buy a few local tomatoes. But imagine how much it helps if UVM buys all its tomatoes locally! It certainly helps when restaurants serve local food. That's a great start. Think of not just businesses that serve prepared food (restaurants, businesses with cafeterias, etc.) but also businesses that could use local ingredients in their food products, such as when Ben & Jerry's buys local dairy, fruit, etc.

To encourage businesses to use local foods, there could be some sort of tax break. But we'd need the government to implement that... we (or orgs such as 7Days) could give awards (along with some free advertising?) to businesses that buy local food.

[vermontcathy]

I came up with another idea while lying in bed last night - hope it's ok to add another post...

What do stores and businesses do when they want to attract new customers? What do food manufacturers do when they want you to try new products? They offer coupons! Or a Sale! To entice more people to try shopping for veggies at local farmers markets, there could be a system where businesses could sponsor or underwrite the creation of discount coupons. This would be possible because of the system already in place for use of food stamps and credit/debit cards at many farmers markets, where people go to a table and use their card to get chips/tokens for paying. There could be a coupon such as "Bring in this coupon and $7 and get $10 worth of chips/tokens". Of course, someone would have to pay for this expense (unless a farmers market wanted to just eat the cost as a way of increasing customers). So a business, like Ben & Jerry's or The Point, or Magic Hat, etc. could sponsor a coupon to run in the Seven Days (or somewhere else). Maybe a local chamber of commerce, such as Richmond which has been reeling due to the bridge being closed, could sponsor a coupon. I don't have all the details worked out in my head (could they be used at all VT farmers markets that take cards, or would the coupons specify only one? How would we get all the markets "on board"? Would a company sponsor it when they have no idea how many coupons will be redeemed? etc.) but I really think that a lot of people who don't normally shop for food at the farmers markets might just try it if they felt they were getting a deal.

Along with this idea, gift certificates could be made available to the farmers markets. Maybe someone wants to give one for a gift (a unique wedding present!), or maybe a company wants to use gift certificates to the farmers market as an employee thank-you gift, prize, or performance reward. It would work similarly to the coupons - the person presents the GC for chips/tokens at the debit card table.

[vermontcathy]

OK, last idea from me, I swear..

I'm planning a trip to the Finger Lakes region of NY state, and I've been thinking of their "Wine Trails" such as the Seneca Lake Wine trail. This summer they have a "Passport" where you pay one fee for the passport which entitles you to free wine tastings at participating wineries, which are listed and mapped on the passport. At each winery, you get a stamp in your passport, and when you are finished you can bring the passport back to a certain place to show your stamps and be entered in a prize drawing.

I think we should do something similar with local foods. We could have a Vermont Foods Trail Passport (I'm sure we could come up with a catchier name). It could be a free little booklet, listing Vermont wineries, breweries, cider mills, orchards, restaurants in the Vermont Fresh Network, health food stores that sell lots of local produce, farmers markets, cheese makers, maple producers, etc. etc. Possibly, suggested routes or "trails" could be mapped out for people. There could be some incentive to visit a certain number of sites, such as 1 winery, brewery, or cider mill; 1 restaurant; 1 farmers market; etc. and gets stamps of some sort, and then if you get enough stamps you could get a prize or be entered into a drawing. It could be no purchase necessary (just show up and get the stamp) or a certain number of purchases could be required to get a prize.

[lagourmande]

I'm actually really excited to hear Woody Tasch speak about the local food economy, as I'm quite curious how the local food economy is already pretty strong around here - how is it that so many farmers are able to stay small, keep their farms alive, and sell locally?  It must take quite a big investment up front, and a lot of keen business sense.  Today's economy of farming seems to be like a lot of other industries - it requires college graduates who majored in some kind of ag degree, or even a business degree.  Doesn't seem to be how it used to be where farming was passed along from generation to generation.

So, I don't know if I have a "creative" answer to how to grow our local food economy from any other angle than from the consumer's angle, as I fall into the sequence of it all as the consumer.

The #1 piece of the puzzle from the consumer standpoint would be more EDUCATION about eating locally and access to local ingredients.  I'm a single woman, just trying to feed myself using healthy local preferably organic food - I've basically taught myself how to cook so that I can eat the best food possible and avoid processed food at all costs.  But, it really takes a lot of effort and research online to find good simple recipes.  A lot of the "eat local" movement is geared towards families, which is great... but my generation is full of men and women who are feeding just themselves and keep themselves very busy.  I dine out a lot, I get a lot of take-out, and when I'm home I cook for one.  No matter one's income, it shouldn't be that hard to eat good local healthy food, but it will take a lot of educating the consumer on how to do this in the most efficient way possible.

Watching a movie like Food, Inc. really gave me a much needed wake-up call to pay more attention to where my food comes from.  I try to now avoid buying anything with a bar-code, as it's most probably an item full of preservatives and ingredients I've never heard of and probably comes from far, far away.  When I do succumb to buying something with a bar-code, I first look for an organic variety, and then look to see where the product comes from - if there's an item that's distributed from a company on the east coast I opt for it over a company from the west coast.  This obviously prolongs my shopping trips, which the ordinary consumer might not be likely to do.

It's all about ACCESS & EDUCATION.  We're very lucky to have great access to local and organic food here in Vermont - the prices compared to conventional can sometimes be alarming, but with some careful planning, it can be okay. 

I also think that there needs to be a humongous educational effort on the restaurant level.  I am sick and tired of going into restaurants and asking where an ingredient is from and no one knows (i.e. its probably from Cisco!).  I'm assuming that restaurants who buy local are a huge part of the local food economy, so if more restaurants bought local that would make a huge effort.

I firmly believe that the VT Fresh Network needs to up its standards for allowing a restaurant partner into its network.  Or, at the very least, it should add a rating system so that those restaurants that hardly buy anything local have a level to reach for.  Take a place like Hen of the Woods - they'd probably be at a platinum level, where a place like Leunig's would probably be at the very bottom level (the last time I was there the only local items obvious on the menu were the cheese selections).  It's a shame that there aren't any restaurants on a busy street like Church Street that serve mostly local food - if they made an agreement with a farmer to provide them a huge quantity of something, that farmer would most likely go out of their way to fulfill the order I would think!  I've been told that restaurants that serve a large quantity each night just aren't in a position to buy local, but there's got to be a way to change this.

And that's my two (or five) cents on the matter!

[aquilter]

The way to increase our local food economy is for everyone to eat! We live in a wonderful place where we just have to look out our windows to see our food growing. Could it be any fresher?

Buy local!  Those are your neighbors planting crops and feeding their animals. Investing in them is investing in a strong community.

I would encourage everyone to be good citizens, and increase the use of Vermont products and support the restaurants using them because it's the right thing to do!  The producers then support what you are doing.

If selected to get the tickets to Sunday's program, I'll give them to my nephew.  He is one of those raising local foods, out in the fields now, working to get the chores done.  Hopefully, he could take some time off to go over to Shelburne, and hear new ideas to stay sustainable.
 

[johjohprum]

I grew up in a small town in middle of the state New York, where we were within short driving distance to local springs and farms. I can remember vividly when the first farmers market entered my town and grabbing my bike immediately after school to investigate. I recall, especially, the compelling booth of a local woman who made the most exquisite linzer cookies I have ever experienced. That feeling of excitement whilst parusing the cookies and fresh produce remains with me and I'm sure, is, in part, one of the reasons I have chosen Vermont as my home for the past 7 years.

We have such a plethora of local, organic proteins and produce literally outside our doorsteps. While many of us on this forum are aware of that fact and make an effort to support our communities by frequenting farm to table restaurants and markets, there remain many people who do not for various reasons. (lack of access, awareness, time of day markets take place, affordability).

Education and outreach in schools and through each one of us is vital to the continued success of out neighbors' farms, shops, markets, and restaurants.

 

[vermontfoods]

Ideas for improving Vermont's Food Economy:
1) Make local food more accessible by increasing the number of local farm stands.  I found in moving here, from elsewhere in New England, I miss driving home from work and stopping at the local farm to pick up fresh lettuce and veggies for my dinner.  This gave me a chance to support that individual farm and interact with the owner's family or employees.  There was several of these on Cape Ann in addition to the weekend farmers' market.  This allowed me to buy and support that farm on any given day of the week.  Here in VT our options are limited for such an opportunity.  They are limited to the grocery stores that support local farms, a farm share or the farmers' markets on the weekend.  I winter I tried a farm share when I first moved here and while I loved it it was a little too much for one person, even a 1/2 share.  This spring I could not find anyone to split the share with and had to forgo it. But I miss fresh veggies and a grocery store isn't 1/2 the amount of fun as a farm stand or a farm share.  My weekends are usually too full to attend any of the local markets, but I do when I can. But I believe local access could be increased with small effort.

2) Make VFN more accessible to the people.  For example, it's real expensive to attend this weekend's event.  $70-$50.

3) Make VFN standards more accountable or stringent.  Almost every restaurant in Vermont has a VFN sticker on their door.

4) Allow for competition.  It's healthy for a strong economy.

5) I read the idea of coupons or gift certificates at the local farmers' markets and I love it! It builds access.

6) Increase local education.  Mad River Locavores and its' events and forum is a great example. Replicate this idea closer to the City and increase the numbers educated automatically.

7) Get the Mayor's office involved.  Bring power to the people through local officials and local action!