15 Years of Strengthening the Farm and Food Sector

For 15 years, the 300+ organizations that make up the Farm to Plate Network have been working to make Vermont’s food system more prosperous, environmentally sustainable and resilient, and socially just. VSJF provides “backbone” support to the Network, enabling strategic coordination, collaboration, and action. Our work supports Vermont’s needs today and for future generations

NOTE: This story originally appeared in the VSJF Impact Report 202. Click here to read the entire report.

Farm to Plate's Goals and Impact

Increase sustainable economic development and create jobs in Vermont's food and farm sector

Farm to Plate’s economic development strategies focus on strengthening the capacity and viability of Vermont’s food production, processing, storage, and distribution while increasing local food sales across direct, restaurant, institutional, and retail market channels. 

• 7 farms received technical assistance as part of the Beef on Dairy Project.
• 120 people participated in retail trainings and received technical assistance through our Independent Grocers Project.
• 8 food businesses and nonprofit food hubs received infrastructure planning and implementation technical 
  assistance for projects representing $3.16 million in investment.
• Farm to Plate relaunched the Vermont Food Hub Collaborative and convened the 6 major food hubs to work on improving coordination of their distribution services to small farms and food producers.

Improve soils, water, and resiliency of the working landscape in the face of climate change.

Farm to Plate’s environmental sustainability strategies focus on climate policy, land access funding and financing, land use regulation, and supporting and incentivizing innovative farming practices that keep agricultural land in production while nurturing the ecological health of Vermont’s working landscape.

• Advocated for F2P’s priority strategies to be incorporated into the 2025 Vermont Climate Action Plan. Of the Priority Recommendations adopted by the Climate Council’s Agriculture and Ecosystems Subcommittee, 64% came from the F2P Strategic Plan.
• Identified two critical priority strategies from the Strategic Plan and the Vermont Food Security Roadmap as high urgency recommendations for Vermont’s Resilience Implementation Strategy—a joint effort of Governor Phil Scott and Treasurer Mike Pieciak.
• Examined five local projects with alternative land ownership components, such as shared equity arrangements, which have potential enduring benefits to communities, farmers,  and expanded racial and gender equity. 

Improve access to healthy local foods for all Vermonters

Farm to Plate’s local food access strategies focus on cultivating cross-sector partnerships, advancing statewide food security policy, and ensuring local food is readily available in all places where food is sold, served, or provided. We are a founding member of the Vermont Food Security Coalition, a collaboration between seven organizations working toward making Vermont food secure by 2035. 

• VSJF collaborated on the Coalition’s 2024 legislative policy 
  priorities, which resulted in:
  • $450,000 in one-time funding for NOFA-VT’s Crop Cash and Farm Share programs.
  • $1.5 million for Vermont Foodbank, including $500,000 for the Vermonters Feeding Vermonters program.
  • $1.6 million in base funding for the Land Access and Opportunity Board to address housing equity and land access for historically marginalized or disadvantaged communities.
• The Vermont Food Security Coalition launched its website, a significant step forward in reaching more supporters and raising their profile.
• Farm to Plate’s CSA and Healthcare Community of Practice (CoP) contributed to Dr. Deb Kennedy’s ‘Food is Medicine in Vermont’ assessment that examined programs across the state to identify strengths and barriers to access.

The Gathering

This year’s Gathering focused on the theme “Keep Calm and Collaborate On: Working Better Together as a Region in Uncertain Times.” More than 275 attendees gathered at Burke Mountain Resort in November seeking concrete pathways for effective collaboration and strategic action while rising to the challenge of our times. 

“I was incredibly inspired and learned so much about what those in the network are already doing and what is collectively possible. The most impactful element for me was increased hope at a difficult time.” 
Farm to Plate Annual Gathering Attendee