NEK Farms Rooted at Local Schools

Written by Shane Rogers

Green Mountain Farm Direct, a food hub run by Green Mountain Farm-to-School, is working to connect local farmers with schools, restaurants, and institutions across northern Vermont to increase the farm’s sales and boost consumption of local food in institutions and the overall region. Those partnerships have created a distribution infrastructure in the region that has helped to improve the community’s access to healthy, local food while also growing the local economy.

“The biggest challenge is finding an outlet,” says Molly Willard of Willow Brook Farm in Peacham, Vt. “It’s easy to grow the stuff, the hard part is figuring out the outlet [...].”

Started in 2008, Green Mountain Farm Direct has helped to facilitate over $1 million in sales for local farmers and food producers. With over 100 active customers, more local food than ever before is being featured in the meals of schools, hospitals, and other institution across northern Vermont.

A proud member of the Vermont Farm to Plate Network, Green Mountain Farm Direct’s work is helping to move forward several of Vermont’s Farm to Plate food system goals: increasing local consumption, increasing institutional consumption, ensuring farm viability, building a distribution network, boosting local food availability, and increasing local food access for all Vermonters.

Watch the video to learn more about the farmers and food producers working with Green Mountain Farm Direct to increase the amount of local food bought and consumed in Northern Vermont.

Learn more at www.GreenMountainFarmDirect.org.