Press releases, staff articles, and other news published by the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund features our efforts to accelerate the development of Vermont’s agriculture and food systems, forest products, renewable energy, waste management, and environmental technology sectors.
By Christine McGowan, Forest Products Program Director at Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund In the era of COVID-19, Vermonters are particularly fortunate to live in a rural state where access to the outdoors is abundant. Even people living in Vermont’s largest city and the epicenter of coronavirus cases in the state, most Burlington residents had access … Read More
We Need Your Input to Shape the Future Together By Jake Claro, Farm to Plate Director at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund MONTPELIER, VT – The Farm to Plate Network, managed by the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF), just launched a public survey that will help develop a new vision for farming and food, and … Read More
Upper Valley Produce Responds to New Needs of Vermont’s Food System By Geoff Robertson, Business Assistance Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund It’s no secret that the food industry has been among the hardest hit by COVID-19. The pandemic forced producers, farmers, and restaurants to adapt their business models—or close their doors—virtually overnight. In the middle … Read More
The Farm to Plate team at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund stands in solidarity with the Black and African American community in condemning the murders of and demanding justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others.
Start-Up Whiteout Solutions Piloting Forest Inventory and Mapping Technology in Northeast Kingdom By Christine McGowan, Forest Products Program Director at Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. Vermont’s first sawmill opened in 1738, nearly a century before the first chainsaw was invented, not to mention cars or telephones. And it was at least 150 years before that sawmill … Read More
Young Farmers in Vermont Met with Challenges and Opportunities By Shane Rogers, Farm to Plate Communications Manager at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund The landscape of farming is changing throughout the country, and Vermont agriculture is by no means an exception. To see this borne out, one only has to look to the dairy industry … Read More
The Rough Cut Issue No. 1, May 2020 By Christine McGowan, Forest Products Program Director at Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. Dear Network Friends, I hope this inaugural Vermont Forest Industry Network newsletter finds you healthy and safe. I’ve started to write this many times in the last few weeks, only to have the world change … Read More
One of Vermont’s oldest manufacturers shifts from wood products to personal protective equipment. By Christine McGowan, Forest Products Program Director at Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. As stay-at-home orders rippled through Vermont’s business community last month, one of the state’s oldest manufacturers, J.K. Adams began to experiment with cutting plastic instead of wood. “We have … Read More
Considerations and Tips for Communicating with External and Internal Audiences During COVID-19 By Kelly Nottermann, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Communications Director We are all connected and, now more than ever, we depend on one another for understanding, support and partnership to get through a worldwide event that none of us has ever experienced before. Some … Read More
Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) announces the selection of the Energy 2020 cohort of the DeltaClimeVT climate economy business accelerator. Nine early-stage energy companies from across the U.S. and Canada will work with climate economy leaders, industry experts, potential partners and investment professionals over the next three months while completing an intensive curriculum, developed by … Read More
By Christine McGowan, Forest Program Director, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund As a young entrepreneur, Sam Hooper carefully considers every decision he makes for his business, and every dollar he spends. So when Hooper, who bought the hundred-year-old Vermont Glove last year, was faced with replacing the building’s ancient heating system, he did his homework. “We … Read More
By Jake Claro, Farm to Plate Director at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund I encourage everyone to read through the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Plan recently released by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) and the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) in fulfillment of Act 83. The jointly created 2020 plan … Read More
