Projects
F2P Grantee Profiles
VSJF grants and technical assistance have supported a diverse mix of sustainable agriculture organizations, businesses, projects, and studies. From organics and community supported agriculture, to maple syrup and oilseed crops, over $2.0 million in VSJF grants, projects, and leveraged funds over the past thirteen years have contributed to a vibrant, diversified food system in the state.
Click HERE to see previous sustainable agriculture grantees.
Recent Sustainable Agriculture Grants:
In June 2011, VSJF awarded $40,000 in grant funding to five food systems organizations as part of its Farm to Plate Initiative. The funding was made available as part of the Vermont General Assembly’s Jobs Bill in 2010 (Act 78), which provided implementation funding for the Farm to Plate Strategic Planning process.
Funded projects include the following:
Highfields
Center for Composting (Wolcott)
Grant Award: $12,500
Highfields Center for Composting will purchase a Mobile Compost Screener which will be made available to composters around the state at a reasonable price. Screeners remove clumps, bones, rocks and any undesirable materials that may have entered the material, making it a more desirable product for farmers, gardeners and landscapers and thus commanding a higher price in the market.
Intervale Center (Burlington)
Grant Award: $10,000
The Intervale Center will use these funds to support the reconstruction of the 1920s era Dairy Barn as the future home of the rapidly expanding Intervale Food Hub -- a multi-farm CSA and local food storage, aggregation and distribution hub. This facility will house 8,040 cubic feet of walk-in cooler space, 1,000 sq. ft. of packing space, 1,000 sq. ft. of office and conference space, a public bathroom facility and wash sinks.
Mad River Valley Food Hub (Waitsfield)
Grant Award: $7,500
Mad River Food Hub, L3C is a new storage, food processing and distribution facility supporting local food producers in the Mad River Valley. The new facility will contain two meat processing rooms licensed by the Agency of Agriculture Vermont Meat Inspection Service and one vegetable kitchen constructed to USDA standards, and will be available for rent on an 8+ hour day basis by chefs, farmers and other food entrepreneurs.
Center for an
Agricultural Economy (Hardwick)
Grant Award: $5,000
Housed at the Food Venture Center in Hardwick, the CAE will purchase a 12’x8’x10’ walk-in cooler and a comparably sized walk-in freezer to store fruits and vegetables pre- and post-processing for area farmers who want to sell lightly-processed food to schools, institutions, and food cooperatives in Vermont.
LACE (Barre)
Grant Award: $5,000
The staff and Board of LACE (Local Agricultural Community Exchange) will use these funds to undergo strategic reorganizations which will include re-locating their existing programs to leased space, strengthening the sustainability of their programs which provide job training in food preparation through their F.O.O.D. program to low-income Vermonters, and putting their organization on sound financial footing for the future. Opportunities to further develop a multi-farm sourced frozen vegetable and vegetable-meat based product line for sale at area farmers’ markets and food coops will be explored.