Food for thought
Farm to Plate Initiative meeting set in Rutland
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Chef David Euber Jr. of Noel's Specialty Food and Catering begins preparing food on Thursday for Saturday's Vermont Sustainable Job Fund meeting at Rutland Middle School. Albert J. Marro / Rutland Herald |
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By STEPHANIE M. PETERS STAFF WRITER - Published: April 9, 2010
Hundreds of Vermonters are expected in Rutland on Saturday for the first taste of where Vermont's agriculture community might be headed in the next 10 years.
After months spent collecting data and anecdotal information from stakeholders throughout the state, the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund is ready to set to work writing the Legislature-commissioned Farm to Plate Initiative, a 10-year plan intended to strengthen the state's farm and food system.
But first, they want to put their findings to the public for one last feedback and brainstorming session, a statewide food summit that will be held at Rutland Middle School.
"What we have right now are a number of draft objectives, goals and strategies that we will be bringing forward for the folks attending the summit," said Ellen Kahler, executive director of the VSJF.
Kahler and Kit Perkins, the Farm to Plate Initiative project coordinator, will walk the audience through 20 goals for the state's agriculture industry, chief among them and essentially the point of the report, creating a framework for the industry.
Some of the questions Kahler said they will be addressing include:
Where do regional markets – versus national and international markets – fit?
What are some of the new opportunities emerging as new markets, such as hospitals and schools, develop? What will producers need to know to meet the market demand?
What kinds of additional processing will be needed to accommodate that growth over the next 10 years?
"Basically, we're billing this as a sneak preview," Kahler said. "We won't be able to cover everything and we're just at the beginning stages of the writing process so we're going to be humbly asking that participants recognize and acknowledge the state we're in."
The timeline set by the Legislature calls for the complete draft report to be completed by June 30, Kahler said.
At that point, it will be published in print and online for public comment. At the same time, the VSJF staff will work to prepare supporting documents to accompany the report and ready their final presentation before the Legislature in January.
From there, funding permitting, it will be up to VSJF to take the report around the state and again meet with the local stakeholders to help them understand, and adopt, its recommendations.
"This isn't for the Job Fund to implement, it's basically for everyone in the field," Kahler said. "I think the report will show that there's a lot of realignment that needs to happen, for instance in the technical assistance provider community."
Locally, Tara Kelly, executive director of the Rutland Area Food and Farm Link, said she's excited for the unveiling of the report's findings – not to mention Rutland will play host to this weekend's summit.
"I think we'll all get out of it some good information to back up the work that's been happening around the state," Kelly said.
Rutland County's growers and businesses will also be on display during the summit. Lunch is being prepared by Noel's Specialty Food and Catering, which worked with area farmers to find out what ingredients are available this time of year and craft a menu around those offerings.
The summit, which runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., will also feature Ken Meter, a national expert in food systems analysis who will talk about local food planning efforts around the country and how Vermont may serve as a model for others to follow.
There is still time to register for the event. To do so RSVP to heather@vsjf.org. Walk-ins will likely still be accepted at the door. A $10 donation is requested to help defray the cost of the lunch.
stephanie.peters@rutlandherald.com
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