May 2015  ACORN logo
Cultivating Connections 
ACORN's mission is to cultivate connections that promote the production and use of local food in Addison County, Vermont
Send events & items of interest for the newsletter to  [email protected]
 CALL TO ACTION! 
Gardeners are needed for summer school garden support across the county. Contact ACORN for details

 


ahh, Spring is baby animals 

   Meeting Place Piglet

Happy spring from Meeting Place Pastures!




Vermont Coffee Company is slated to open a cafe in Middlebury, this community meeting place will be outfitted with farm tables made at Monkton Ridge by   Michael Horner . He is hand crafting  tables from from wood hand selected from trees especially for the cafe.  Do you have a special wood working project in mind? Contact Michael! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOPE's Addison County Gleaning program is preparing for the 2015 gleaning season. Volunteers are needed for the field, for delivery, and for veggie processing.  Register at the Vermont Gleaning Collective website.  You will receive email alerts telling you about upcoming volunteer opportunities and the ability to RSVP to the event.  HOPE is preparing for a productive harvest and boosting the supply of local produce to the food shelf.  Need more info? 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Migrant Justice wants you to join the growing call for Milk with Dignity by taking action today in solidarity with farmworkers of whom many reside in Addison County. This program ensures dairy workers in your supply chain secure the fundamental human right to work with dignity that too many workers are currently denied. 
Sign and share the new petition calling on Ben & Jerry's CEO Jostein Solheim to join the Milk with Dignity Program!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` 

Congratulations to  Food Chains for winning the James Beard Award  for Documentary Films! 

When filmed in Vermont it hosted the largest turn out ever at UVM!  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Winter, Spring
After Winter, Spring

Vermont Premiere of After Winter, Spring

NOFA-VT and City Market present the film by Judith Lit, followed by a reception and a discussion with the filmmaker, on May 6th 7:00 PM at the Roxy in Burlington.

 

A portion of the proceeds from this event will benefit the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT). Tickets are $15 general admission, or $12 for NOFA-VT and City Market members, and  are available online (via nofavt.org) and at the door.


Orb Weaver   Orb Weaver bounty of the county...  world class cheese from Addison County! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   

Increasing local food sales through a strong network that includes ACORN

Is your farm or food business listed on the  VT Food Atlas? Why not!?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 7, 2015 12:00am

Vermont Technical College
Randolph Center, VT

Focused on the technical skills needed for successful blueberry production and crop yields. Find information on how to achieve the perfect pH and nutrient levels for your blueberries along with disease and pests problems. Properly install blueberry bushes and pruning techniques; the pruning will be a hands-on activity using VTC's blueberry plants.


 

Foodpreneur Bootcamp with Freedom Foods 
3 Day workshop covering everything you need toknow!

May 13, 2015 to May 15, 2015 

Three Stallions Inn Randolph, VT

Recipe for Success for Food & Beverage Entrepreneurs! Info & registration

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday, May 16

9:00 - 5:00 (Check-in starting @ 8:30)

Red Shirt Farm 60 Williamstown Road

Lanesboro, MA 01237

Contact: Jim Schultz 413-822-9250

Cost: $69 includes Lunch and Training Manual

Register online
Rural Vermont will be partnering with the The Vermont Young Farmers Coalition to host Small Farm Day Thursday May 7th at the Vermont statehouse. Help introduce legislators to small farmers  and the impact of  ag policy decisions  

 


An Evening at Lincoln Peak for Stone Soup







Coming Right Up! A night to network the network. 
ACORN has long been associated with bringing together the farm and food communities promoting farm to school. 

After last years' full day conference at Middlebury College, we scaled this years' annual gathering down to two hours of light fare and beverages at Lincoln Peak Winery. As always we will celebrate and be inspired by tales of folks doing great work within the community. Please join us in this wonderful and intimate setting on a great spring evening.  It promises to be another great spring evening and the bullfrogs will be croaking their songs of the season! Feel free to rsvp, the event is free with a cash bar for wine, other beverages available at no charge. Many thanks to our hospitality sponsors: Basin Harbor Club, Two Brothers, Sarah Anderson Catering, Champlain Orchards, Aqua Vitea

ACORN'S Annual Local Food Guide is hot off the press! Many thanks to the team who helps make this possible including our friends at the Addison Independent. Need a stack for your business? As part of your CSA share package? To place in your office? Contact us and we will get them to you lickity split. 
MUHS Seed Trials: Calling All Professional Growers 
 The Alternative Education students who manage the Middlebury Union High School greenhouse have been busy this spring running seed trials for early spring greens production. The students seeded greens in early March and have been recording data on time to germination, time to harvest, soil and air temperatures, as well as qualitative data on taste. Students have seeded many varieties of kale, spinach, and lettuce, as well as some unusual varieties such as Italian dandelion greens, garden sorrel, purple orach, as well as many others. There are several varieties of spinach being raise too: Space, Regiment, Shelby, Corvair, and Pigeon


 

The purpose of this trial was to record all the growth and harvest data and have it available to local growers that do early spring production as well as winter greens production. The data as well as actually getting to see the varieties growing, and the opportunity to taste the varieties should be valuable to anyone growing commercially.

 

The Alternative Education students are very excited to showcase the greenhouse and all their hard work. The open house will be Friday May 15th from 9:00am to 10:30am. Please park in the visitor's lot and sign in at the main office

 PLEASE RSVP Steve Colangeli , 802-382-1185  
 

 

ACORN Recognizes Junior Iron Chefs 

ACORN awards each Junior Iron Chef of Addison County with a kitchen tool. This year with partnership from Middlebury College Dining Service each student chef will receive a high quality sauce pan in recognition of their love of food and to cultivate a life time of culinary learning.  The chefs of Ferrisburg Central School were clearly happy receiving their pan! If you wish to be a  future sponsor next year, let us know. We are always seeking community support. Come to Stone Soup and hear first-hand how awesome JIC is for the kids involved. 
Harvest of the Month: Greens
EAT YOUR Greens! May is all about fresh spring salad ingredients. These small morsels pack a punch as mesclun or when they reach full maturity they are perfect braised, juiced or rolled into a mixture of grains to round out your meal. They are a perfect spring tonic to put to rest the winter diet.

Plan your menu at school,  your restaurant or home; June is the month of fresh herbs! Think pesto,  chives and of course, sauces for your favorite protein with herbs as the base! 
Spring Salad Greens Tasting for Childcare Providers:
 A Community Partnership 

June 1 6:30-7:30 MUHS Greenhouse

Taste tests are a great way to encourage young children to try new foods.  For the very young child these may be very simple and impromptu opportunities to talk about how foods smell, feel and look.  

 

Join us for a seasonal taste test workshop with Suzanne Young, Cook and Food Educator at Mary Johnson Children's Center. Using Green Mountain Farm to School's Harvest of the Month local and seasonal food publication: MIXED GREENS as our guide, we will explore a wide variety of salad greens at the Middlebury Union High School production greenhouse.  Under the leadership of Steve Colengeli students are growing, harvesting, marketing and eating six varieties of kale, six varieties of spinach and four varieties of lettuce as well as some other unusual greens such as Italian dandelion greens and radish greens. 

 

We'll take a tour of the greenhouse, sampling and discussing as we go.  Then we'll take a look at several ways of setting up taste test and make a few different dressings to add to our greens and to the excitement of making our own food. This is designed to experience a variety of flavors and ways to share encourage young children to experiment with new foods. 

A Vermont Gem: The VVBGA

The mission of the Vermont Vegetable and Berry Growers Association (VVGBA) is to promote the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of vegetable and berry farming in Vermont through education, promotion, and communication among growers.

 

The VVGBA plays a critical role for growers around the state, organizing workshops and conferences tailored directly towards commercial growers, organizing a listserv that serves as a forum for a range of questions, discussions, sales of equipment, produce, etc, and a regular  "reports from the field" from growers around the state. The VVGBA has also led the state on many key issues relating to the local food system, particularly relating to Food Safety. Thanks to the VVGBA, produce growers around the state have adopted simple technologies and procedures that help ensure that our local food remains safe and healthy for consumers.

 

Founded in 1976 as a non-profit growers' organization, the membership consists of large and small scale growers, industry representatives, University of Vermont extension and research specialists, and Vermont Agency of Agriculture personnel. Membership is open to any individual, business, or organization that is interested in the commercial production of vegetable and/ or berries. For more information, check out the website resources. The list serve is particularly valuable peer to peer sharing at its best. Thanks to VVBGA board member Becky Maden for this contribution.

Events, Opportunities & Jobs 

Growers please check out this FSMA survey! All Vermont producers who grow, harvest, pack, or hold fresh fruit or vegetables-even if primarily engaged in another type of farming or food production- should take the survey.

Spring cleaning your closet? Hauling out unworn clothes? Please bring current styles in clean condition to Neat Repeats in Middlebury, Tag them for a donation to ACORN to support our work

May 7 White River Junction
Similar to Financing the Working Landscape, a great opportunity to learn about capitalizing your food business for growth

ACORN's Farm to School Annual Gathering
Thursday May 7th 6-8:00 PM RSVP 

Are you looking for some summer work...Basin Harbor Club is accepting applications for several positions

Marketing in the Digital Age  

Friday May 15, 2015 from 9:00 to 11:30 AM 

Ilsley Public Library 75 Main Street, Middlebury

Addison County Economic Development Corp

Which marketing tools are the right fit for your business? Hear from experts and business users on the front lines for an interactive training session on establishing a social media presence for your business to accomplish your business goals.  

June 1, 6:30-7:30 Greens Tasting at MUHS 
See above for more info
Alternative Ed, MJCC and ACORN sponsored workshop for early childcare providers: taste testing at the greenhouse on the Middlebury High School campus! RSVP to Amethyst

Vermont Food Systems Summer Study

May 31-June 20 
3 College credits for 3 weeks of studying Vermont's food system Many VT colleges & UVM are participating

Hunger Free VT is hiring! They are actively seeking a Hunger Council Organizer to work to expand the effective county-based Hunger Council model across the state.  Find more info here

Looking for land? There is a 6 acre parcel of farm land available in Cornwall. Lots of potential for an entrepreneurial farm and food business! Contact John Burton for more info. 

06 - Farm to Plate
ACORN is part of Vermont's Farm to Plate Network We strive to network the network and our e-news links are meant to show the array of Vermont-based resources.

Thanks to all of you for sharing links and information. Keep me posted of things of interest to relocalization and Addison County. 

 

Annie Harlow

ACORN Network

802-922-7060  

[email protected]