ACORN Network

 

Cultivating Connections

FARMER 2 CONSUMER    

 Business 2 Business 

January 15, 2013
Articles of Interest in this Issue
ACORN Updates
Junior Iron Chef
F2S: Community Dinner
Farm Financial Mgt
Events & Goings-on
 

RAFFL  

     

UVM Extension   

 

NOFA VT  & VT FEED   

Food Education Every Day

 

Vermont Fresh Network    

 

Migrant Justice   

  

Green Mountain Farm to School 

 

 

FCS card fundraiser
Ferrisburg student art
           

 

Is your farm or food business listed as a food experience?  

 

 

 

ACORN  

ACORN HOME PAGE
FARMERS TAKE NOTE:  

  
A fully equipped, licensed vegetable and USDA inspected meat processing facility located in Waitsfield, Vermont. 

 

 
Farmers & buyers stay tuned for the next ACORN matchmaker to be announced soon!
    

Re-mineralize your soil with locally sourced rock dust 

Contact Tom Vanacore and Rock Dust Local  

 

"There is no beginning too small." Thoreau  

Human Rights Vote
After nearly a year of tireless grassroots organizing  the Legislative Study Committee moved to an  8-1 vote in favor of changing Vermont law so that undocumented residents can access VT driver's licenses and ID. They appreciate the state's   solidarity on this farm and human rights issue.



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Could you use a helping hand or new perspective for your business? Explore these resources:

Veteran's Business Support

SBDC Get your business started here!

SCORE
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Are you missing the Middlebury Winter's Farmer's Market? Head down to Rutland for excellent fresh food on Saturdays 10-2:00.  Shop the new indoor Farmer's Food Center! 

Greetings!

Looking ahead, 2013 will be a great year for collaborations within the county and around the state. Mark you calendar for the upcoming Stone Soup Summit where everyone with an interest in student wellness through nutrition come together. Following last years' success we will award student entrepreneurs for more local business and social justice highlights from the county.

USDA Farm to School grant will add greatly to trainings in food service mentoring, food safety and farm to school partnerships. These will build upon the county's  hugely successful programs among classrooms, community and cafeteria. ACORN is aligned with other organizations statewide to promote the farm-based economy.

We have a great new venture to promote! Farm to Preschool Salons. Designed as informal conversations to share ways to engage our youngest citizens to the path to healthy eating.  For upcoming meeting details contact Lea.  This new concept evolved through community interest and is the brainchild of FEED.

We also wish to remind all our readers of the wonderful volunteers and teachers who have promoted the statewide Junior Iron Chef. Congratulations to all Addison County teams participating. Good Luck!

We will be hosting a match maker event for farmers and buyers to meet up in march. Stay tuned for the details. All in all we wish to express gratitude for all our county partners, state, local non-profits and businesses building an enriched and vital agricultural business community.     
 

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

at area stores!     

 
6th Annual Junior Iron Chef 
Feb 2nd Champlain Valley Expo 

Junior Iron Chef VT is a statewide competition that gives teams of middle and high school students an opportunity to create delicious, local dishes and compete for the title of Vermont's Jr Iron Chef.

The event is open to the public and will feature fun activities for the whole family including chef demonstrations, activities, and entertainment throughout the day. The sponsors will also have lots of great samples and information!

Jr Iron Chef VT challenges teams to create a healthy, delicious, dishes that are replicable in school meal programs! How great is that! Judging criterion include:  
  • Taste- kid friendly and flavorful
  • Appearance- presentation on the plate
  • Creativity- ingenuity of the ingredients used, how dish is prepared, how it is presented
  • Best and Most Use of Local Ingredients- highlighting local and seasonal foods
  • School Food Service Appropriate- time/cost affordability, nutrition level

Best of luck to all our local teams competing

Vergennes Culinary Commodores

Vergennes Walden Project Garlic Planters

Mt Abe Soup-a-Stars

Mt Abe Whisking Wizards

Mt Abe Gourmet Girls 

 

Junior Iron Chef Details  

 

F2S:Community  Dinner Celebrating Local Food & Schools
 
Addison NE Supervisory Union Food Service Cooperative invites you to a delicious meal made by the loving hands of the food service workers in the ANESU. The dedicated cooks wish to share their love to cook and new menus with the locals with some ingredients provided by local farms.

This is a great chance to meet the wonderful staff and
taste the changes in the school menus. We all know that change has been taking place in all our school kitchens. Come celebrate the advancements made by the Cooperative Food Service team from Starksboro, Lincoln, Bristol, and New Haven schools.

Dinner is served at Mt Abe from 5:30 to 6:30 with special appreciation to farmers between 6:00-7:00. What a great way to celebrate the bounty of the county and as you can see, ties into the Junior Iron Chef teams too! Please reserve your space at 453-2333 ext 1004 .  
Farm Financial Management
ACORN is pleased to connect all farmers with this workshop.  Make this the year you bravely step into the world of farm finances. With three top-notch ag financial management specialist to lead the way, Intro to Ag Financial Management will help you approach farm finances fearlessly. 

This course provides farmers with the knowledge they need to understand and complete a balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement. Participants will learn the basics of budgeting and skills to anticipate the financial needs of their farm operations.

Attendees can choose to participate in a clinic with one-to-one assistance at no additional charge. Classes will be offered simultaneously in multiple locations in Vermont, with an on-site instructor at each location. This is a great option for anyone who wants to move from shoebox style to organized and deliberate accounting awareness.

It is not just for "New Farmers" and scholarships are available. For more information and to register visit www.uvm.edu/newfarmer and click on "Classes." You can also email or call Jessie Schmidt at [email protected], 802-223-2389 x 203.
Events, Opportunities & Jobs   

Hannaford Career Center
Winter/Spring Courses
NEW! Skilled Meat Cutter Academy
Many courses to choose including:
HACCP Food Safety Sanitation & Meat Industry Apprenticeship

Addison County Chamber of Commerce Community Mixer 
Thursday, January 17th , 5 to 7 p.m.
Rikert Nordic Center, Route 125, Ripton
COST: Gold members: Free / Members: $5 / Guests: $10

January's mixer is hosted by the Rikert Nordic Center. Come early at 4 p.m. and enjoy an hour of free skiing. Rentals are free too if you don't have your own equipment. Refreshments provided by Dakin Farm
 
VT Vegetable & Berry Grower's Association Annual Meeting
January 28 Capital Plaza Montpelier
One of the BEST farmer meetings held in Vermont
All the info is in this link

VT Farm Show & Forage Samples
January 29, 30, 31, 2013
Champlain Valley Expo, Essex
Vermont's largest agricultural showcase is a great event for all interested in VT Ag.

Please bring any forage/feed samples to your closest UVM Extension office by Noon on Monday, January 28th to be included in the Vermont Farm Show Forage/Feed contest.
Place silage/haylage/grain in a 1 quart large mouth mason jar or similar container.  Hay samples can be brought in plastic bags. Email questions to Susan Brouillette

Introduction to Ag Financial Management  
Dates: Feb. 6, 13 & 20, 2013
Locations: Middlebury, Berlin, St Johnsbury
Times: 1-4 pm.
Registration deadline: Jan. 30, 2013, Cost: $100
See above
 
Sessions will be held simultaneously in all three locations using a combination of distance technology and on-site instructors. Learn the basics of budgeting and skills to anticipate the financial needs of your operation. Offered at multiple locations in Vermont. Participants will complete balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements.
Course Info

Hops Conference
February 22, 2013 9:30-4:30
Essex Resort & Spa
Essex, VT

Grain Grower's Conference
Mach 14, 2013
Essex Resort & Spa
Essex, VT

JOBS
Food Hub Associate Job Opportunity

Green Mountain Farm-to-School Newport, VT  

Seeking a dynamic, mission-driven food systems professional with strong business and organization skills to support the growth of our organization. The primary responsibilities of the Food Hub Associate are to support and evaluate GMFTS' regional food hub, Green Mountain Farm Direct (GMFD), as it grows to meet the increasing demand for local food distribution from farms to institutions in northern Vermont.  


Seed Trial Workers
High Mowing Seeds, Wolcott, VT 
Seeking hard-working, motivated, conscientious and fun-loving people to join our trials crew for the 2013 growing season. Prior experience working on a diversified vegetable farm or a university trials farm is a huge plus. Full and part-time positions are available.

Opportunities exist for dove-tailing into a seasonal fall/winter position for year-round employment in seed packing, shipping or customer sales.
 

Work as a member of the trials crew: Greenhouse seeding; Greenhouse watering and plant care; Transplanting seedlings into the field; Direct seeding; Weeding and cultivation; Field work and field prep; Harvesting; Pest and disease monitoring and control.

 

 

Farm Hand
Twig Farm Goat Dairy, Cornwall, VT 
A small goat dairy with a cheese making business producing award-winning aged raw milk goat cheeses. All of our cheeses are made by hand and aged in our aging cellar.

Seeking part time help immediately for a position to become full time in mid - February 2013. Involves most aspects of running a small goat dairy/ cheese-plant, kidding, milking, pasture management, cheese-making, ripening, shipping and of course lots of cleaning.
 

Thanks to all of you for sharing links and information.   Because of your input, we keep growing and catalyzing our network. Please share our website to build the network widely! 

 

Annie Harlow
ACORN Network

802-922-7060  

[email protected]