Goal 12: A sufficient supply of all scales and types of on-farm and commercial storage, aggregation, telecommunications, and distribution services will be available to meet the needs of increasing year-round food production and consumer demand.

The consolidation and concentration of processing, distribution, and retailing over the past 25 years has made it difficult for small and medium-sized farms and food enterprises to gain access to traditional retail markets and expand their businesses. Given the scale limitations of Vermont agriculture, competing in a volume-oriented, low-cost environment is extremely challenging. Increasing Vermont producers’ access to all types of local and regional grocery stores, restaurants and institutions– where the large majority of food is purchased–is a necessary precursor to significantly expanding the consumption of locally grown products.