Greetings!
We did it! OUR NEW WEBSITE IS UP AND RUNNING! This new tool is a networking dream and it elevates our marketing with easy to navigate options. The format, we believe, can best meet the needs our county partners while sharing our work with regional and national food, energy and finance networks. There is easy to access information, news updates, resources and insights that strengthen the county.
What's up with local food and ACORN? Lots it seems. The National Farm to Cafeteria Conference was held in Burlington and Addison County had excellent representation. ( See article below for AC tour update). Addressing food in our schools- well, it takes a county, or more appropriately, a country. Well represented were food service directors, farmers and food producers, advocates, philanthropists all convening to share support for local food and better business initiatives. The insights and perspectives were comprehensive, illuminating and at times well debated in opposing view points.
Earlier this summer, ACORN was asked to participate in a USDA Farm to School grant application for expanding purchases in the county. Working with existing Vermont food hubs and building on the results of the Stone Soup forums, we think we have a great chance going up against national competition.
Remember to save the dates of September 16 for the Tour de Farm and October 13 for ACORN fundraisers Bounty of the County. |
ACORN is a Vermont non-profit currently working on specific projects to broaden Addison County's impact in the arena of food, agriculture, capitalization of small businesses and renewable energy resources. We build connections; the links are meant to show the array of Vermont-based resources. Kindly share ideas that can support our effort. JOIN ACORN share the bounty of the county! |
 Busy Bees!
The Vermont Bee Keeper's Association is hosting the annual Eastern Apicultural Conference in Burlington August 13-17. EAS conducts its annual conference consisting of lectures, workshops, vendor displays, short courses for beginning and advanced beekeepers, and their annual business meeting. Over 400 people generally attend the conference each year.
There are workshops on everything from bee hive maintenance, bee health and how to make your own mead. If you are thinking about beekeeping on any scale the conference in Burlington will provide basic beginning or advanced information and opportunities to pollinate your network for learning. Find out more at the Vermont Beekeepers website too. The conference is a place to bee.
Here in Addison County we have wonderful bees providing us with the bounty of the county. Incredible beekeepers work the hives and each hive produces unique flavors: please support your local bee businesses. Farmer's markets, rural farmstands and local stores are great places to buy honey made from the work of our local bees. Beekeepers include but not limited to these "sideliners", hobbyists, or full fledged professional:
Champlain Valley Apiary
Dancing Bees
Heavenly Honey Apiary |
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Blueberries-Still Going Strong!
IT IS STILL AN EXCELLENT BLUEBERRY SEASON!
Clearly the bees were busy earlier this spring because the berry patches are still full of berries!
Are you are a buyer for a restaurant, store, school or institution? Or perhaps, you just love eating Vermont fruit. Now is the time to show your support for the little blue berry loaded with antioxidants. Not only that but blueberries are one of the all time easiest summer crops to purchase and put -up for later use.
Check out these producers with great berries pre-picked or as PYO (pick your own). Stop at area stores, the coop and small farmstands dotting the valley. Make your won tour using the new DigIn website. Take your family and friends for pick your own as a stop on an Addison County-wide Tour.
Last Resort
Norris Berry Farm
Woods Market Farm Lower Notch Berry Farm
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Historic Foods:
Wild Mushroom Workshop at Mount Independence
Sue Van Hook returns to Mount Independence to present a day-long workshop. She is one of the nation's most renown mycologists and is leading a day of learning dedicated to creating a home mushroom garden. In the morning Sue will talk about the various technologies and candidate species for home gardens. Participants will then join her on a foray to collect available specimens. After lunch there will be a demonstration of some easy cultures to take home and plant. 
The event starts at 9:30 a.m. and goes to around 3:30 p.m. The fee is $25 per person or $45 per couple. Please call 802-948-2000 to reserve your spot(s) or for more information. Bring your picnic lunch and enjoy the rich history of the site.
The mission of the Mount Independence Coalition is to support the efforts of the Vermont State Division for Historic Preservation to protect and interpret this unique historic and natural treasure. Located in Orwell, Vermont, Mount Independence honors the sacrifice, the ingenuity and the courage of those who rallied to their nation's defense.
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Why do People Think of Fall as Harvest Season?
Crazy. We are having one heck of growing season this year. It is full on SUMMER! Bounty of the County right now, is all about high summer with corn, potatoes, melons, radicchio, onions, scallions, beans, tomatoes, corn (yes, double rave on this year's corn!) potatoes, blueberries, apples, peaches, and that is only the top of the list. There are wonderful pork, chicken, beef and lamb products available too. Keep the grill ablaze for grilling vegies, fruit and of course meat! Go ahead and be crazy- you do not have to be Bobby Flay to be a grill master, just heat up the coals and get going.
If you are a buyer who needs to source local food...let me help you match farms with your needs. Of course you can always access wholesale producers through the ACORN Local Food Guide on our website too.
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Tour de Farm is FAST Approaching- Register Early!
 | | Jerry Lasky photo of tomato tasting at Golden Russet Farm |
The 5th Annual Tour de Farms is scheduled for Sunday, September 16th in Shoreham, Vermont. Eat. Bike, hangout, eat, bike, hangout! Our popular fundraiser event consistently draws 500+ cyclists who choose among three established routes, each of which have several designated stops for participants to sample the incredible bounty of food that is available in the area. New this year is a walking route as an option to enjoy the bounty of the county on foot.
ACORN partners with Rural Vermont & the VT Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition as sponsors of this one of a kind event!
Tour de Farm where participants taste the best of farm foods fresh from the fields or prepared by area chefs in outstanding on-farm tastings.  |
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Top Chef Competition:
Meals on Wheels Benefit
 Champlain Valley Agency on Aging holds an annual fundraiser for Meals on Wheels and senior advocacy. In this event, three chefs compete for Top Chef. Shawn Calley of Amuse held on to his title incorporating fresh pork from Meeting Place Pastures Farm.
Chefs from Addison County have competed over the years with the Bobcat taking Top Chef the first year. Addison County restaurants that have participated includ 3 Squares, The Bobcat, Basin Harbor Club, Swift House Inn. Other notable Addison County participants include Basin Harbor executive chef Rod Rehwinkle as a long standing judge, and Annie Harlow, coordinator for fresh ingredients and the "secret ingredient" selection. CVAA provides well-needed senior services service in Addison County. ACORN appreciates the wonderful food donations from farms in the county; with community support event the food available to the chef's was just incredible. The organizers recognize the contributions of these local food suppliers to the competition: Norris Berry Farm, The Last Resort. Champlain Orchards, Champlain Valley Apiary, Full Moon Farm, Sam Mazza, Arethusa, Half Pint Farm, Dana Forest Farm, Shelburne Farms. Shelburne Orchard, Green jam Man, Nutty Vermonter, Boucher Family Farm. Donations from a wide selection of food producers within the Champlain Basin make this a successful fundraiser. |
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Farm & Food Tour: Addison County Hosted National Farm to Cafeteria Tour
 25 attendees from the national F2C Conference joined ACORN board members Steve Colangeli and Annie Harlow on a tour illuminating student empowerment and insights into our local food system.
The tour provided a comprehensive perspective of ways students have gained access to experiential learning, entrepreneurship and community building. Enthusiastically attended by food service directors, teachers, school supervisors and others working for better food in our schools and institutions.
Our first stop, Last Resort Farm who for 20 years has been involved in bringing students to the farm and in supplying ingredients to area cafeterias. As always, Sam and Eugenie were perfect hosts teaching us the farmer perspective in school-farm relationships. Many students work on the farm and from this they gain practical business and horticulture experience paving the way for success in many careers.
Educators Steve Colangeli and Lynn Coale provided key insights into teaching students how to grow food a MUHS greenhouse and ag and business opportunities through the Hannaford career center . They provide greens for the cafeteria and business skills development. Two students, Asa and TJ, gave first hand accounts of lessons learned.
A meditative stop at the Middlebury College Farm- with commanding views of the green Mountains- reinforced the necessity of gardens as a place to gain nourishment in mind and body. The last scheduled stop was the Compost Project at Ferrisburg Central School where Donna Rusik shared terrific insights into a large scale project dependent on participation from the entire school body. We learned first hand what makes a successful educational project and how to build community support.
When in Vermont- do as a Vermonter. We ate well... with Garuka bars, a fabulous lunch from Otter Creek Bakery, and fresh fruit from The Last Resort. Then....We ended the day with an unscheduled stop for the terrific creemees at Vermont Cookie Love. Using fresh VT cream and maple syrup makes these truly exceptional- and of course cookies added to the camaraderie and sharing of the day.
Thanks to Jamie for taking pictures and to all who helped make the day a success. -Ahh
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Hops: Growing From a Farmer's Perspective
Addison farmer Kris Anderson shares his insights and best practices for trellis systems for hop production. Other topics include variety selection, harvest and post-harvest handling all geared to production to satisfy the home brewer or to reach the expanding craft beer marketplace.
Join Kris at his farm, along with UVM crop specialists in this short course August 23 from 3:00 to 6:00. Click here for more info on registration & information.
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Dinners with Love:
Summer Sampler Fundraiser
Dinners with Love, a non-profit based in Brandon matches local restau rants with hospice patients and their families within the same community providing nourishment of the body as well as the soul. Restaurants donate meals to clients which are then picked up and delivered to the clients' homes by a network of community dedicated volunteers. Sunday August 19th a fundraiser will be held from 4-7 at the Brandon Town Hall. Hors d'oeuvers and desserts will be provided by participating restaurants along with complimentary drinks and live music. It should be a lot of fun sampling the tastes of summer while giving to the community.
Cost is $20 with all proceeds going to directly administering the success of the program. Sheri Sullivan is the founder and president of Dinners with Love, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to organizing, facilitating and delivering restaurant member's meals to hospice patients and their families during their most challenging times. Dinners with Love gives a shout out to all the restaurant partners.
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F2I: Farm to Institution
Sunrise Orchards, long known for their exceptional apples with sales to coops and supermarkets, has embarked on a new business venture of frozen produce. They are now reaching the wider cooperative market yet, they have an eye on future sales to New England institutional outlets of universities, hospitals and corporate cafeterias.
Working in partnership with the Neighboring Food Co-ops Association, they recently completed the processing of about 6,000lbs of blueberries to be sold to the NFCA member food co-ops this fall and to several institutions throughout Vermont and Boston. The berries were frozen with an IQF freezer by Farm to Table in Kingston, NY.
They processe d an exceptionally high yield of berries from Harlow's Sugar House and Green Mountain Orchards in Putney, VT. Looking ahead, they will be processing green beans and sweet corn very soon, followed by broccoli and spinach in September. Addison County producers interested in becoming a future supplier for the regional market should contact David Dolginow. Sunrise is negotiating logistics and distribution with FoodEx, ACORN's partner in online research.
If you are interested in being a producer, you may want to build your farm and food safety plan with courses offered by UVM Extension. If you want to keep informed on upcoming trainings sign up with UVM GAP specialist,
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Job-Skills Development & Opportunities
The Patricia A Hannaford Career Center has trained many ag tech students over the years in such applicable courses as tractor mechanics, small engine and welding. Skill development is also directed to meat with courses in meat processing, butchering, fabrication, food safety and sanitation.
Sustainable ag practices are emphasized in a two year program for 11 & 12 graders. The course material encompasses the basics of food systems pertinent to local agricultural businesses, dairy and livestock producers, vegetable producers and consumers. Topics include business skills in entrepreneurship, sustainable livestock & dairy production systems, animal anatomy/physiology, food production and other elements of diversified agriculture. The Hannaford Center also offers short courses to the public through the Adult Ed Program.
Mountain View Equipment in Middlebury likes to know who is out there with top quality agricultural service technician skills. As a tractor dealer they also work to maintain a wide array of farm equipment. They have recently filled a position for a diesel, hydraulic and electrical specialist , but keep them in mind if you have the mechanical skill set and initiative.
Addison County Economic Development Corporation seeks a qualified individual to serve as our part time (20 hours/week) Marketing, Communications, and Events Coordinator.
Candidates should send resume, cover letter, and writing sample to our office or email to Robin Scheu
For further details, including a job description, please go to our website: http://addisoncountyedc.org
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B2B: Cookie Love Blog, Google Offers Workshop for Businesses
Do you want to know what it is like to start a small business? VT Cookie Love takes you through the steps from selling at farmer's market and scaling up to sell to the likes of Black River Produce and Sodexo. Join in the conversation at Suzanna's Blog!
The Chamber of Commerce wants you to upgrade your web presence! Google seminars provide the tools and resources for Vermont businesses to get online and succeed online. Google is coming to the Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury on August 17. The are free seminars for small businesses run by Google employees. Space is strictly limited to 25 people per session, so register now, register here!Morning Seminar - Advanced Marketing Techniques - 9:00-12:00
This morning session will quickly cover a wide variety of advanced marketing techniques that small businesses should consider implementing. Topics include Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Google Adwords and Social Media strategies to grow your business.
Afternoon Seminar - Get Online - 1:00-4:00
In this interactive afternoon session, Google will get your business a free website as well as set you up with Google Places - a great tool to increase online visibility.
Vermont Get Your Business Online is an easy, free, and fast way for Vermont businesses to get online. With professional templates and a few easy steps, businesses can create and publish a website in less than 60 minutes
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3 Revolutions: Local Food Crowdfunding
 Three Revolutions, is the world's first crowd-funding platform dedicated to farm and food ventures. They connect food and farm innovators, their stories and the fruits of their labors with people who wish to fund a small business.
The first project has been funded! A shout-out to Dancing Bee Gardens for being the first project successfully funded on Three Revolutions. By crossing the 80% threshold, Dancing Bee Gardens is assured of their funding. And they still have almost 30 days to raise additional funds for their important honey bee research project. See the details of the project here. If you wish, you too can get in as an early bird in supporting the growth of a local business.
Find out other food projects from 3 Revolutions, Such as Aqua Vitea Kombucha, Two Guys Soups and Bound Brook Rice Farm.
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