Food Connects Welcomes New Food Hub Operations Coordinator
Food Connects is excited to welcome Deborah Sadler to their team as their new Food Hub Operations Coordinator. Deborah is the first in a series of new hires to support Food Connects’ continued operational growth. Deborah splits her time coordinating Food Hub pickups and deliveries and driving delivery routes.
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VT Breakfast on the Farm Awards $31,000 in Dairy Promotion Grants
A new grant program was created by VT Breakfast on the Farm to give Vermont farmers and industry organizations an opportunity to engage with the public about dairy farming.
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VT Community Loan Fund Announces SPROUT Loans Available for Vermont Working Lands Entrepreneurs
The Vermont Community Loan Fund is now accepting loan applications through its SPROUT program, a low-interest loan program for emerging Vermont working lands entrepreneurs including farms, food producers & processors, foresters, forest products businesses and others in the start-up and early stages of their operations.
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Vermont Technical College Agriculture & Food Systems Survey
Weigh in on ag and food educational program transformation planning at VT Tech.
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Announcing the Taste of Food Connects
Food Connects will host the first Taste of Food Connects from November 1 to 21. This event brings together over 90 local businesses throughout the Windham County and Monadnock Regions to celebrate our vibrant local economy. This unique event is part Local Passport, benefitting local businesses, and part Silent Auction, supporting Food Connects’ annual fund.
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Vermont Community Loan Fund Lends $384,807 in Q3 2020
In the third quarter of 2020, the Vermont Community Loan Fund loaned $384,807 to Vermont's small family farms, food and forest industry entrepreneurs and others, saving and creating Vermont jobs and boosting the state's economy.
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Who Grows Our Food: A Conversation with Mr. Henry
11.3% of farmwork in Vermont is accomplished by seasonal H-2A Temporary Visa farmworkers, a majority of whom are Jamaican—an estimated 400 individuals. Established in 1986 as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, the H-2A Visa Program allows agricultural businesses in the U.S. to hire temporary foreign workers for seasonal positions that they would have otherwise been unable to fill with domestic workers.
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FARMERS: Apply by November 20 to NRCS for EQIP and AMA Assistance
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Vermont announced that November 20, 2020, is the next cut-off date to apply for fiscal year 2021 conservation program assistance through the Agricultural Management Assistance Program (AMA) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
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Cafe' Business Opportunity at the Vermont Artisan Village in Shelburne
The Vermont Artisan Village continues to provide flexible spaces for thriving artisan producers, and we invite more culinary artisans to join our community. If you want to move your food business forward, now is the time to contact us.
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VHCB’s Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program Awards Nearly $1 Million to 30 Dairy and Livestock Farms for Water Quality Improvements
The Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program, a program of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, awarded a total of $956,000 to 30 farms in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Franklin, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington, and Windham Counties to support capital investments that improve water quality. Some of these awards will also support businesses in their recovery from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These grants leveraged an additional $3.1 million for capital improvement projects, including farmer investment, bank loans, and grant funding from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM).
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GMFTS Receives Grant to Deliver Local Food to Craftsbury and Albany Food Share Programs
The Green Mountain Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation has awarded a $5,000 grant to Green Mountain Farm-to-School (GMFTS) to support the purchase and delivery of local food for the Craftsbury and Albany food share program.
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Food Connects Builds Food Security Alongside Economic Recovery and Resiliency
Food Connects continues to grow despite COVID food supply chain disruption, proving the value of local food systems for resiliency and economic recovery.
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