Vermont Food System News

NOVEMBER 2017

Vermont's Farm to Plate food system plan (2011-2020) is being implemented statewide by the 350+ member organizations of the Farm to Plate Network to increase economic development and jobs in the farm and food sector and improve access to healthy local food for all Vermonters.

One of the strategic priorities being addressed over the next several years is to:

Meet Food System Employment Needs

in Positive Work Environments

As the farm and food economy grows, more jobs are created which creates workforce opportunities and challenges for both employees and employers. The Farm to Plate Education & Workforce Development Working Group is providing input into statewide workforce development discussions about food system workforce needs. Working group projects are helping to strengthen relationships between educators, workforce development organizations, and businesses. The working group is also creating tools to engage and prepare students for the growing needs of the food system workforce.

Workforce Development, Education, Business (WEB) Partnerships

The group has organized around developing WEB (workforce development, education, business) Partnerships to support labor needs in the farm and food economy and build networks at the regional level. Originally piloted in Washington County by the Business-Education Partnerships Task Force, WEB partnerships have expanded in 2017 to include Windham County and Lamoille/Northern Vermont to address regional diversity and meet the workforce needs in different parts of Vermont.

The Windham Partnership is utilizing the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporations Talent Management Pipeline (TMP) project to survey a variety of food system business sectors and identify the competencies needed in the labor market. These findings will be presented to the Center for Workforce Excellence and the Windham County Workforce Investment Board to strengthen the collaboration between food system businesses and workforce development, and to inform future action steps.

The Lamoille/Northern Vermont WEB Partnership project is hosting a series of events to identify gaps between the skills needed by businesses and the skills available in the workforce, and to provide this information to educators and workforce development organizations through workshops that provide professional development and continuing education credits.

Career Profiles Project


	Student Bree Laframboise of Hannaford Career Center and Kira Winslow of Middlebury Natural Foods Coop

The Career Pathways & Image Task Force has developed a curriculum for students to create food system career profiles , which will help with the overall promotion and awareness of food system careers. The first 12 profiles have been completed (with many more to follow) and will soon be distributed to guidance counselors and teachers across the state.

The project model and curriculum can be adapted

to fit many subject areas, class structures,and educational goals. Green Mountain Technology and Career Center, building on the model developed in the first round of profile creation, is developing a region-specific "coffee table book" as a collaborative project between the school's agricultural students and creative media students. The Career Profiles & Pathways Task Force will be working with educators around the state to integrate this project into their classrooms, to ultimately create a second round of profiles.

Farm to Plate Network Gathering

Workforce development and business succession were addressed at the 7th Annual Farm to Plate Network Gathering, held Oct 26-27 in Killington. Key takeaways from this year's Gathering include:

Perceptions surrounding the types of jobs and careers in the food system need to expand beyond farming and production to include the entire supply chain-manufacturing, distribution, processing, management, retail, marketing, education, finance, environment, and agricultural technologies.
A larger workforce equipped with the skills required by employers is necessary for Vermont farms and food businesses to grow. Deeper connectivity between employers and employees within the food system in needed, as well as an aligned statewide workforce development system.
Succession planning is critical for farms and food businesses who want to maintain or grow here in Vermont. Planning for ownership changes and exit strategies takes time and should become integrated into overall business planning (rather than retirement planning).

Read and share the press release, and check out the news coverage from Vermont Public Radio.