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Over 250 members of the Vermont Farm to Plate Network convened November 1-2, 2018 at the eighth annual Farm to Plate Gathering in Killington where it was announced that local food and beverage consumption in 2017 by Vermonters increased to 12.9 percent, surpassing a 2020 target of 10 percent.

The Vermont Community Loan Fund has announced the second round of SPROUT, a low-interest loan program for emerging working lands entrepreneurs. The financing program was created to meet the capital needs of Vermont farms, food producers and processors, foresters, forest products businesses and others in the start-up and early stages of operations. Loan applications are now being accepted.

Rural Vermont's popular fall raffle returns with three incredible prizes! Tickets available online now and in person at their Annual Meeting on November 5th from 6-9pm at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston. Winners drawn that night - need not be present to win.

For the fourth consecutive year, Green Mountain Farm-to-School is offering $60,000 in coupons for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables to the residents of Essex and Orleans counties enrolled in 3SquaresVT, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Hunger Mountain Co-op, Montpelier’s community-owned natural food cooperative, has announced it will invest $100,000 in the Vermont Community Loan Fund in support of the Loan Fund’s Food, Farms & Forests Fund.

Salvation Farms will raise the profile of food loss on-farms across America at the Vermont Farm to Plate Annual Gathering in Killington on November 1st during a workshop titled “What If We Ate What We Grew?” This session will include presentations from and a dialogue with individuals engaged in on-farm food loss research, including representatives from the World Wildlife Fund and North Carolina State University.

Food Connects expands its wholesale delivery with a new van

Theresa Snow, Salvation Farms Founder/Executive Director, received the Vermont Business for Social Responsibility (VBSR) Young Changemaker Award on September 20th.

The Award is given in recognition of an individual who has led the formation of a socially responsible enterprise and uses the power of business to advance innovative solutions to society’s challenges for the good of the planet, their employees, their community, and economic growth.

October 2, 2018 / Montpelier VT - The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets announces grants totaling $332,632.61 for twelve projects to benefit Vermont producers of fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, maple, wine grapes, and value-added products and to increase consumer access to locally produced food.

On October 28th, Sodexo’s Vermont First, Farm to Plate, and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture are hosting the Taking Root Student Symposium at the University of Vermont. This symposium is designed for all Vermont college students to celebrate farm to institution and learn about what it means to chart a career in food. We are pleased to share that our keynote speaker will be Ben Hewitt, a Vermont-based author of many books including The Town That Food Saved and Making Supper Safe. Throughout the day, students will learn about:

Why farm to institution is important
Innovative work happening in Vermont’s food system
Career paths of many of Vermont’s leading entrepreneurs and thinkers
Resources available at each campus for students to pursue food systems-relevant coursework as well as food-related employment
Current food-related job opportunities; students will also have time to network directly with some Vermont employers in the food industry.