Contacts:
Helen Labun Jordan, Agency of Agriculture, (802) 828-3828
Kelly Loftus, Agency of Agriculture, (802) 828-3829

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Randolph, Vt - On Monday, April 7th, the Langevin House at Vermont Technical College hosted a capacity crowd to discuss an initiative to bring more local foods to state government and institutions that receive state funding, such as the state colleges and university.

Governor Douglas welcomed the group with remarks reminding them of the many different ways that local foods can be part of larger state goals - from health to economic development to tourism. And the diversity of the audience reflected that range. The state employees and foodservice contractors in attendance covered organizations as diverse as the Department of Corrections, Department of Health, State Colleges, UVM, federal food assistance programs, Statehouse cafeteria, and the Agency of Agriculture.

“Nationally, Vermont has been at the forefront of the local foods movement. We lead the country in direct to consumer sales by a wide margin. We were one of the first regions to embrace a Community Supported Agriculture model and are now using that model as one way to get local foods to Vermonters year-round, in spite of our short growing season,” said Douglas. “Local food projects have brought together community volunteers, non-profit organizations, businesses of every size, consumers of every income level and policymakers throughout the state. Today is a benchmark in Vermont state government’s ability to support local foods and to benefit from buying local.”

State government has worked with local foods in the past, but the legislature’s passage of H. 522 (An Act Relating to the Viability of Vermont Agriculture) in spring 2007 placed a spotlight on the role government programs can play in supporting Vermont’s agriculture. That legislation asked the Agency of Agriculture and the Department of Buildings and General Services to evaluate current local food purchasing practices and set a plan for increasing those purchases.

“With the buy local momentum so strong in Vermont, this is the perfect time to push the envelope and see what new markets we can open for our local farmers,” said Roger Allbee, Secretary of Agriculture.

Helen Labun Jordan, one of the organizers of the event, described it as setting a foundation for future work. The conversations looked at big ideas and general areas that deserve more attention. The follow up of these sessions with different groups, such as producers and customers, will lead to a more refined strategy for supporting local foods purchasing in state organizations.

“At the same time, there were a number of areas we can start work on literally tomorrow,” said Labun Jordan. “In the group in which I participated [colleges and universities] we pinpointed numerous places where there is simply a communications gap – purchasers need to know what’s out there, growers need to know where the demand is from these larger buyers, and we all need a way to share best practices.” She expects progress to be made on these types of projects “very quickly.” Others will take longer to develop successfully. Some, such as processing and infrastructure have already received attention, but the input of buyers in state funded organizations is important.

Labun Jordan added that the Agency of Agriculture will post information to its new Buy Local in Government page, linked from www.vermontagriculture.com. Anyone who would like to stay informed about this project can use the page to access the most recent notes, a list of upcoming events, and relevant reports.