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.
Every October, food system leaders and innovators who comprise the Vermont Farm to Plate Network convene to review the progress towards implementing the State of Vermont’s Farm to Plate Strategic Plan and learn about the next set of challenges facing Vermont’s evolving food system. Approximately 300 individuals representing all facets of Vermont’s farm and food … Read More
Beautiful fields of sunflowers growing in Newbury and Shaftsbury, Vermont will have an unusual future: the flowers’ seeds will be converted to biodiesel and livestock feed. The fuel will be used in Green Mountain Power’s fleet of vehicles and for building heating, saving Green Mountain Power customers money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other … Read More
Local food entrepreneurs and investors in Vermont will have a new way to connect starting September 16, 2014. National Slow Money movement founder, Woody Tasch, Cheryl Devos of Kimball Brook Farm Organic Milk, and leaders of the Slow Money Vermont movement will trumpet the launch of the first Slow Money Network in Vermont. Slow Money … Read More
A new report evaluating grass biomass energy as a potential heating fuel has been released. Grass Energy in Vermont and the Northeast summarizes current research on the agronomy and usage potential of grass as a biofuel, and points to next steps for the region to fully commercialize this opportunity. The report was released last week … Read More
A report published this week in Nature Climate Change indicated that ethanol made from corn residue can reduce soil carbon and increase CO2 emissions, indicating the harvested leftovers from corn are “worse than gasoline for global warming,” according to the Associated Press, who released the study results. In Vermont the term “biofuel” and “bioenergy” are … Read More
Throughout the planning process developing Vermont’s “Farm to Plate” Strategic Plan, we heard many definitions about what the geographic boundaries of “local food” means to different people. Early localvores often used a 30, 50 or 100 mile radius, while others believe local to be a broader, more regional concept. Labeling food as local is important … Read More
Food entrepreneurs have added at least 2,220* new jobs and at least 199 new businesses to the Vermont economy since the 2009 launch of the Farm to Plate Investment Program. Over the same time period, total employment across all economic sectors grew by 7,654 new jobs. Food manufacturing jobs are at the heart of Vermont’s … Read More
There’s an exciting new tool for exploring Vermont’s food system – the Vermont Food System Atlas! The Food Atlas is the digital platform for advancing the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan, a ten-year plan assembled by the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund to strengthen Vermont’s food system. Local food movements around the world are springing up … Read More
More than one hundred food system educators, state officials, students, and business people met on Tuesday, January 15, to discuss how to better prepare students for careers in the expanding farm and food sector of Vermont’s economy. They were reacting to a recent study by the Education and Workforce Development Working Group of the Farm … Read More
A small revolution is happening in Grand Isle County, in the northwestern corner of Vermont. On a rainy Saturday in December, a small crowd gathered in Roger Rainville’s dairy barn-turned-energy lab. They were dairy farmers, organic growers, and landowners, but this year, this group of ten growers also tried their hand at making their own … Read More
From the expansion of Black River Produce into a 50,000 square foot meat processing facility and the 19 value-added food producers crafting away at the Mad River Food Hub, to Green Mountain Farm-to-School’s “Lunchbox” mobile farmers’ market and the emergence of several large in-state milk processors, Vermonters are working to “save the world in our … Read More
