Greetings!
The signs are everywhere. We may have known it by instinct, or perhaps we read that the USDA has ranked Addison County, Vermont tops for local food sales. Either way, many intersections are telling you to go "this way".
If you are not one who typically stops at farmstands along your route, maybe this fall you will for the sheer novelty of how just how creative our farmers are at marketing themselves. It is well known that to sell fresh foods, many outlets are needed to capture the largest share of the consumer wallet . Ultimately, the consumer may be us as individuals or as patrons to a restaurant or market. By stopping at the farmstands you are privy to super fresh produce varieties and select cuts of meat found only at the stand.
Follow the signs and pick up ingredients. Perhaps you want a relaxing Sunday brunch enjoyed on your back porch or maybe it is a dinner. This is a spectacular month of squash and lamb, eggs and cream, apples, cheese and bread. Wonderfully fresh ingredients are all around us along our regularly driven routes.
If you have not already heard, the Tour de Farm is another way to enjoy the bounty of the county. In this unique event, you taste the delights right on the farm...then ride your bike to another great farm and the day culminates at the Shoreham Apple Fest. A Perfect day rain or shine!
Save the dates and support ACORN's fundraisers: September 16 for the Tour de Farms and October 13 for ACORN fundraiser: Bounty of the County. Please link the new ACORN website to your website or Facebook page to cultivate the connections between us. Thanks! |
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 shop the bounty of the county!  |
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Corn: You have got to love it!
Corn season began in early July with the abundance of sunshine and what turned out to be enough steady rain. I live in a corn-centric household, and the season is still in high gear. It is not over till it is over. We live corn season to the fullest.
Corn can have a presence in every meal. If  you aren't so sure about that consider this: corn and tomato omelets for breakfast, roasted corn & mixed vegetable soup or traditional chowder for lunch, and the ubiquitous corn on the cob for dinner. For the ultimate taste of the summer: homemade fresh corn polenta timely at any meal!
September varieties differ from early summer show stoppers. One thing I love about corn is that each and every ear has unique flavor. Cooking up four ears of the same variety and from the same farm yield nuances in sugar content that makes for excellent dinner conversations. Some call it terrior, some call it slow living. I call it corn season.
Stop by your local farmstand for corn "picked daily", leave your money in the box, and enjoy a dose of the valley's premiere versatile vegetable. Before you know it the season will be over! 
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Apples: Autumn's Signature
Apples are to fall, what corn is to summer. Just as I referenced the nuances of corn, apples too provide a range of flavors. Learning the varieties that tantalize your taste-buds is an exercise that takes time and initiative.
There is no month in Vermont quite like September. It is the month of apples, pie, cider, hardcider and the beginning of donut season. The Champlain Valley is loaded with orchards each with its own unique approach to growing and selling. If you want to learn more about what makes the best apple, it is all about personal preferences and how you intend to use the apple. 
While out and about stop by our large and small orchards for "pick your own" and for exposure to distinct varieties that don't make it to stores and supermarkets. If you take the initiative and stop more than once, you will become exposed to many fl avors all created by growing season, chilly nights and the length they stay on the trees.(PYO listing of apple orchards, by county.) By visiting local orchards such as Happy Valley in Middlebury you will become familiar with many varieties and unique farm visits. There are also festivities such as pie contest sponsored by Champlain Orchards at the Shoreham Apple Fest. Fresh hot donuts, unpasteurized cider (sold only at the farm), music in the orchards all add to the flavor of the season. A wonderf  ul opportunity to give to the Vermont Food Bank is through the Pick for your Neighbor program. This innovative program makes it easy to pick a bushel or a peck, pay for it and leave it at the orchard for the food bank to pick it up. Many local orchards participate and all can be found in the link above.
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Labor Day: Justice for All
This past Labor Day Weekend, nearly 500 hundred people gathered in Burlington to develop a broad grassroots vision to build a unified movement for human rights and economic and ecological justice for all in Vermont.
Covering a broad sweep of concerns, organizers target the Labor Day event highlighting issues for a stronger voice for all. Developing grassroots momentum and vision relies on many groups coming together to form state and regional impact for change.
Migrant Justice has been working as one of the host committee members and organized the 'Human Rights in the Food System' track. They have a strong footing in Addison County within the dairy sector providing dignity for our farm workers. |
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Tour de Farm is FAST Approaching- Register NOW!
 | | 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 is an Addison County "MUST DO event"
ACORN partners with Rural Vermont & the VT Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition as sponsors of this one of a kind day to enjoy the bounty of the county!
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What's On The Menu?
Local restaurants are on board with local foods. Our chefs are firing up some seriously good vittles and with the onslaught of autumn tourists, chefs often kick it up a notch. From pizza toppings to carefully crafted desserts, we have cooks busy in the kitchen preparing the best we have to offer. So if you are in the mood to dine out notice how well chefs are supporting your neighboring farms.
Vergennes Laundry uses Twig Farm Cheese & Elmer Farm produce to craft delicious tarts and summer salads. Seasonal raspberries make into a host of delectables! When in Vergennes, stop by the Laundry for freshly baked breads, dessert, lunch or a frosty cold kombucha from Aqua Vitea.
Rockville Farm loves the Bobcat Cafe, Bristol. Their produce is featured in every season in one form or another. Chef Sanderson incorporates cheese into the menu with specialties build around Orb Weaver and other select Vermont cheese producers.
Storm Cafe on the banks of the Otter Creek in Middlebury is another restaurant featuring local producers. Vermont Fruitful Fungi of Bridport provides their amazing mushrooms for the spectacular entrees and appetizers.
If you are bringing your friends out for leaf peeping and you are driving through Middlebury, think about stopping at the Otter Creek Brewery for a pint and sandwich. Incorporating local ingredients into their menu makes perfect sense. They have a little something for the tourist in all of us.
Are you a producer looking for a new market outlet? It is a good thing to be aware of ALL the possible markets for your products. Gain access to potential markets by reviewing the advertisers in ACORN Local Food Guide
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Wool2U: Warmth Matters
With our wonderful grasses, open fields, and ample brush it is no wonder we are seeing an increase in wool and fiber production in Addison County.
 Wool producers: did you know we have two businesses to help you form your bulk material into yarn or battens? VT Fiber Factory & VT Fiber Mill. There is also a new network for sustainable fiber producers, artists and consumers.
Support these new and expanding businesses.
When visiting your local farmer's markets, check out the unique woolies available for sale to keep you warm was the chilly nights approach. Saturday in Middlebury is a good day at the market with Doolittle Farm fully stocked with yarns, fleeces, sweaters and more!
Are you a wool-head? Please plan a trip to Tunbridge for Vermont's annual Sheep & Wool Festival on September 29 & 30th. Rather stay closer to home? Drop into the Pittsford Sheep Festival on October 7th. |
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F2S: Harvesting Opportunities
Middlebury Union High School, along with many county schools are harvesting from their school gardens a nd greenhouse. During the summer growing season students, along with teacher Steve Colangeli, tended the crops. Now, the fall harvest is ready and fresh carrots and greens were on the menu for opening week!
Dedicated food service workers purchase and prepare the student grown food, turning it into lunch for all to enjoy. The Mount Abe School garden has been selling tomatoes to the kitchen. Shoreham school had a great garden which became a place where families gathered volunteering to tend crops all summer. Students are now harvesting tomatoes and chard for school lunches.
Each of our schools is embracing the local harvest- be it by students or local growers. Robinson School in Starksboro, in addition to a school garden, also purchases from Lewis Creek Farm. The menu is refreshingly creative with more and more "scratch" cooking taking place. Look what's on the Robinson menu. School Garden Opportunities: Shoreham School will be looking for a volunteer garden helper for a few hours..for details on the Friday afternoon position contact Heather Best The Parent Child Center just received an exciting grant that will allow them to design and build a greenhouse with the hopes of growing salad greens, visit local growers, etc. If you want to be a volunteer helping this along, Contact Deirdre for more info 388-3171 Even preschoolers go to farms! Spencer & Jennifer Blackwell of Elmer Farm share where really good food comes from! Details here: Thursday, Sept 13, from 6-8:30 pm |
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Kimball Brook Farm:
Partnering for Business Expansion
Kimball Brook Farm produces and sells fabulous organic milk. To get to where they are today they sought out a partnership with the Farm Viability Program. From that experience, they have created a product to meet market demand.
With the help of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of  Vermont (NOFA-VT), JD and Cheryl DeVos approached the Vermont Farm Viability Program to seek help with their plan to transition their 220-cow dairy operation into organic production. With a focus on increasing profit and transitioning to organic.
The DeVos' also conserved their farm in 2004 with funding from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and the Federal Farmland Protection Program providing additional financial stability to the operation.
Cheryl and JD returned to the Farm Viability Program in 2009, this time to plan for a value-added milk bottling facility. For the DeVos family, the ability to bring a product to the market that isn't
reliant on unpredictable commodity prices is a key reason for pursuing the creamery. After a marketing survey confirmed the demand for local, organic milk, JD and Cheryl decided to go ahead with their plan to offer Vermont customers a unique product:
their own organic bottled milk. In 2010, they were awarded a Farm Viability implementation grant to purchase equipment for the new enterprise. By partnering with key resources, they have remodeled a portion of the former Saputo cheese factory in Hinesburg. In May of 2012 Cheryl and JD began processing and have since expanded their hiring to meet their expansion needs. It should also be noted that the Devos were the recipients of the 2011 Vermont Dairy Farm of the year! Congratulations on farming and business acumen.
If you wish to develop a stronger business plan built with one on one relationships, see if you quality for the Farm Viability Program. And, if you happen to be a buyer (or chef) and want to stock their products in your store please contact Kimball Brook Farm.
-adapted from the Farm Viability newsletter
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Serving Up Community Service:
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. Contact Sheri Sullivan if you own a restaurant and want to serve the community through Dinners with Love. To support their partners here is a list of all the restaurant partners.
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F2F: Helping Build Networks
Farmers are accustomed to sharing tips to improve efficiency that will lead to profitability. That happens daily in the Vermont Vegetable and Berry Grower online forum. As a service to its members, there is an online forum where insiders share tips, seek advice or share information.  Recently a farmer was seeking advice on plastic pallets for use in walk-in coolers. Food safety is a concern for producers. The ability to easily clean the equipment used in production, harvesting and shipping plays a role in choosing materials. Through the online forum, valuable input was offered up and feedback was shared. Wood vs plastic...I do not know the eventual outcome but through this network, farmers gain valuable perspectives, useful tools and new connections on everything from from tractor parts to pallets. Another very current example of building the network between farmers and will make a bride very happy if you can help out.... Is anyone growing Chinese lanterns this year? I have a Bride and Groom looking for around 40 stems. Boyd Family Farm 125 E Dover Rd Wilmington, VT 05363 (802) 464-5618 So if you are a vegetable or fruit grower and you are not yet a member, this resource alone is worth the money. The handy monthly newsletter also provides key insights for production growers. Don't let another season pass you by... join the VVBGA now!
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