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.
Read More 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.
Read More 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.
Read More 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).
Read More 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.
Read More 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).
Read More 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.
Read More 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.
Read More Black River Innovation Campus Announces Scholarship Program That Teaches Rural Residents New Digital Skills
“Especially during this uncertain time, we hope to reach learners from all backgrounds, whether they are young adults looking to build technical skills or established workers exploring a potential career change. The digital tech economy is the fastest growing industry in this country, and rural workers are underrepresented—we want to change that.”
Read More Food Connects Hires New Farm to School Coordinator
Food Connects is excited to welcome Michelle Pinter-Petrillo to their team as their new Farm to School Coordinator. Michelle is the third Farm to School team member and will support Farm to School teams in the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union, Windham Central Supervisory Union, and Springfield School District.
Read More Windham Grows Farm & Food Business Accelerator Accepting Applications for BIPOC-focused 2020-2021 Cohort
In the interest of creating equity in our food systems, and our continuing work to incorporate long-silenced voices of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) farmers and food-producers in our programming, our next Windham Grows cohort will be made up of BIPOC farmers and food entrepreneurs.
Read More Everyone Eats! Brattleboro receives boost in funding
Everyone Eats! Brattleboro (EE!B)—a restaurant stimulus and community food program—will continue through the end of 2020 thanks to a $654,210 grant from the state. The program brings nutritional relief, care, and comfort to the community and vital financial support to local restaurants.
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