Posts tagged as:

local food

How can Vermont build strong local and regional food systems, create jobs in the food and farm economy, and improve access to healthy local food? The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund has laid out an impressive road map for the next 10 years of agricultural development with the release of the Farm to Plate (F2P) Strategic Plan in January 2011.

Ellen Kahler, Executive Director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, will lead this presentation to discuss the findings of the Initiative’s exhaustive 18-month research project and present their strategies to increase jobs and enterprises in the farm and food sector and ramp up local food production and consumption in Vermont and regions beyond our borders.

Current Mad River Valley initiatives will be discussed, including details of the Mad River Food Hub. Go to the project website (here) to read the report in advance of the meeting. This presentation will take place at 7 PM at the Big Picture Theater and is co-sponsored by the Mad River Valley Localvore Project and the Mad River Valley Planning District. Contact Joshua Schwartz for more info: mrvpd@madriver.com.

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This project explores three unique aspects of the consumer cooperatives, a type of direct market channels of local food that has not been completely studied in the literature – (1) unique operational structures of the consumer co-ops; (2) attributes of local food that encourage consumer co-ops to establish a stronger root in local communities; and (3) barriers and challenges for consumer co-ops to be competitive and sustainable in local food markets.

Lead Department or Center: Community Development and Applied Economics (CDAE)

Community Partners: Organic Renaissance, LLC; Northeast Organic Farm Association (NOFA-VT), Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development

Project Timing: June 2009 – present

More Info: Kathleen Liang, Associate Professor, CDAECLIANG@uvm.edu

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Multifunctional Farm Operation: Linking Farm, Food, and People

November 13, 2010

Multifunctional agriculture is a new initiative to change agriculture from a traditional production model to a more balanced rural development model with more attention in producing public goods and services. Multifunctional farm operation provides systematic linkages and interactions in the “new global economic order” between People (farmers, local residents in farming communities, and consumers), Place [...]

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Local Growers Guide

August 24, 2010

The Local Growers Guide (www.vermontgrowersguide.com) is a searchable website that raises awareness about local food sources, links customers to local products, and supports local farms. The guide includes farmer-submitted information about their farms, their products, and where they sell. It is searchable by town, county, product (organically grown, certified organic, or conventional), farm name, and [...]

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Application of the Network Robustness Index to Identifying Critical Road-Network Links in Chittenden County, Vermont

August 23, 2010

The purpose of this project was to provide a comprehensive ranking of the network links for the Chittenden County Regional Transportation Model using the Network Robustness Index (NRI).  Using the results, we can identify specific links that are the most critical to the entire network, considering the most important uses of the network, like passenger [...]

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Information Exchange Network of Local Food Promoters in Vermont: A Social Network Analysis

August 19, 2010

This study aims to map the structural relationships among various organizations within the information-sharing network of local food consumption in Vermont. To examine the extent of organizational participation within the network, we will use social network analysis to calculate the number of ties, the distance, and the number of paths that each organization has with [...]

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Mapping Vermont’s Local Food System

August 16, 2010

The aim of this project was to map and analyze local food system density in Vermont. Lead Department or Center: Center for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) UVM Partners: Plant and Soil Science (PSS)

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Sustainable Food Sourcing and Distribution in the Vermont Regional Food System

July 1, 2010

The purpose of the Sustainable Food Sourcing and Distribution in the Vermont Regional Food System study was to explore stakeholder values and propose indicators of those values in the interest of increasing sustainability in the Vermont regional food system. Lead Department or Center: Center for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) UVM Partner: The Rubenstein School of Environment [...]

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Food Production Education VT Project Evaluation

June 29, 2010

The Friends of Burlington gardens Food Production Education VT Project will establish a state-wide school community gardening initiative that engages children and youths in growing fresh nutritious produce using land on or adjacent to school campuses. The project includes a mini-grant program to fund school community gardens and provide school community garden organizers and coordinators [...]

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New Working Papers on Terroir and Farm to School

May 3, 2010

Check out the FSRC working papers

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Slow Money National Gathering @ Shelburne Farms

April 5, 2010

The Slow Money National Gathering will be held at Shelburne Farms June 9-11. This gathering will help connect investors with local food systems, and provide inspiration via a diverse group of speakers. For more information, http://www.slowmoneyalliance.org/national-gathering.html.

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