Vermont institutions, hunger relief organizations, restaurants, and food retailers are limited in the amount of fresh, whole Vermont produce they can purchase, due to increasing food service labor shortages and the difficulty and cost of working with seasonal, perishable, and irregularly shaped produce. To limit the loss of this market share to out-of-state producers, Vermont processing facilities have begun to sell cut and frozen locally grown vegetables, but issues of capital, infrastructure, logistics, and communication have limited their expansion potential. Collaboration between producers, processors, and buyers, substantial infrastructure investments, and policies to support producer and processor expansion are needed to encourage in-state minimal processing and continue the growing momentum of local purchasing.
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