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Farmers and lawmakers from across the state gathered at nine farms on a recent Sunday afternoon for farm tours and dialogue about the needs, concerns, barrier, opportunities, and hopes farmer experience - and their visions for the future of agriculture in Vermont. A coalition of statewide and regional agriculture and food nonprofits organized these gatherings, where rich and meaningful conversations were shared, and where direct relationships were grown between farmers and the legislators who represent them in the State House.

NOFA Vermont in partnership with VHCB Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program, Shelburne Farms, and the Vermont Grass Farmers Association is excited to announce that applications are now open for The Vermont Family Farmer of the Month Award. This new fund makes a financial award to a Vermont family farmer each month for a project that will improve the viability of the farm.

Applications are now open for the 2020 Journey Farmer Program. This two-year program enables new farmers to advance their farming skills and experiences while being part of a learning community of other beginning farmers and farmer mentors. Participants will benefit from access to NOFA workshops including the Winter Conference, an educational stipend, access to Farm Beginnings classes, and farmer-to-farmer mentoring.

Inspired by Farm Aid, Salvation Farms Aid features some of your favorite Vermont musicians covering the music of past Farm Aid performers - Friday, November 1st at ArtsRiot in Burlington.

The Skinny Pancake is working on an exciting new project in the Old North End of Burlington and seeking another collaborator to round out the effort.

Farmer-entrepreneurs: Apply for Windham Grows Farm Business Accelerator! Deadline has been extended to October 12.

Food Connects is excited to welcome Conor Floyd to their team as their Farm to School Program Manager.

Vermont Fresh Network (VFN) invites the public to explore a new DigInVT.com culinary trail that features ten of Vermont’s most notable businesses. The B Corp - Taste the Power of Positive Change Trail takes visitors and travelers on a journey across the state. It includes stops from Dummerston to Norwich from Waterbury to Burlington, where they can explore, sample and support companies that are constantly working to redefine success and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Grow it. Hunt it. Find it. That’s the theme as the Vermont Department of Libraries and Rooted in Vermont, the Vermont Farm to Plate Network’s grassroots campaign celebrating how all Vermonters enjoy local food, partner up to bring “Exploring Food in Your Backyard” events across the state from Sept. 30 through Oct. 6. Local libraries will be hosting community discussions, hands-on activities, and kid-centric events that feature and discuss local food activities that Vermonters have been doing for generations such as hunting and fishing, gardening, and foraging

The Health Care's Climate Footprint report establishes the first-ever global estimate of health care’s climate footprint, identifies key sources of health care emissions, and makes a series of recommendations to align global health goals with global climate goals. Health care’s climate footprint is equivalent to 4.4% of global net emissions. The lion’s share of emissions – 71% are primarily derived from the health care supply chain through the production, transport, and disposal of goods and services, such as food and agricultural products. Part of decarbonizing the health care supply chain is leveraging health care’s purchasing power toward sustainably and locally grown food and plant-centered meals.


To further distill the report and the findings as they relate to the food sector:
This report is an important first step in an ongoing process to fully understand the channels of GHG impact from the health care sector. The current analysis does not yet provide enough detail to articulate the contribution of food procurement by the health sector. We have great interest in doing so but will need to conduct a structural path analysis which will require an additional scope of research which we hope to be able to undertake in 2020.

The report notes that 9% of health care emissions can be attributed to agriculture, however this includes food as well as other agricultural products such as cotton for hospital gowns and other materials. The report also notes that 11% attributable to 'other manufactured products and 3% attributable to 'other primary industries' both of which have a component attributable to food production that which we have yet to parse out. A future analysis will further assess this segment to be able to attribute the portion associated with food related products.

We are excited about this report and this important first step in getting towards quantifying the impact and opportunity of shifting food procurement in the global health care system to contribute to our collective climate goals.