Increasing Local Food Purchasing--a Vermont First and Intervale Food Hub Collaboration

The Intervale Food Hub (IFH) has worked with institutional markets through our UVM Sodexo relationship since 2015 to connect local food to UVM's dining halls. Vermont First, a program of UVM Dining and Sodexo, has committed to increasing their spending on Vermont-grown food to 25% by 2030. 

By selling to an intermediary like the Intervale Food Hub, farmers and smaller food producers can reap the rewards of selling to a larger institutional customer—reliable purchasing, larger order quantities, etc.—while not having to take on the administrative and operational burdens necessary to sell to them directly.  When looking at the 2024 fiscal year of the Intervale Food Hub, you can clearly see the impact institutional sales have for our farmers and local food producers. Of the $420,000 we purchased from farmers and local producers, $295,000 was purchased solely for our institutional customers. 

Looking toward a future with an erratic climate, institutional commitments to local food purchasing, like Sodexo’s Vermont First and UVM’s Sustainability Plan, will be vital. In the case of Vermont, these institutional commitments not only provide economic viability for small farms and producers, but when they utilize food hubs like the IFH that prioritize responsible and sustainable purchasing, they ensure a future of climate resilience within our local food system.

Learn about about this impactful collaboration in this article!