Cider pioneer and founder of Eden Ciders, Eleanor Léger started her business with purpose: to support Vermont’s working landscape and bring economic prosperity to the Northeast Kingdom. With the popularity of ice and hard ciders exploding in recent years, Eleanor has remained true to her mission. "Companies can operate in a way that has a positive impact on the world,” says Eleanor, "and consumers can buy from those companies that are not solely about turning profit, but also about supporting the planet and humanity.” Cheers to that.

A coalition of BIPOC leaders will be introducing one of the first pieces of legislation to the Vermont State Legislature this upcoming biennium that explicitly addresses systemic racism and BIPOC land ownership - the Vermont BIPOC Land Access and Opportunity Act.

The bill intends to acknowledge and address systemic racism by creating new opportunities for individual and collective land ownership for Black, Indigenous and other People of Color in every town across the State of Vermont.

If passed into law, it will create a BIPOC Land Access Opportunity Fund with a BIPOC-led board empowered to budget money as needed for down payments for single family homes, owner occupied rental units, and for land and farms through sliding scale grants. It will also institute a BIPOC-led "Every Town" committee to create permanent land access for BIPOC in every town in the state in collaboration with Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust. Finally, it will expand financial education and resource management programs, provide mortgage assistance for BIPOC land owners, and fund anti-racist mutual aid organizations that support BIPOC or are BIPOC-led.

Join the Vermont Grazing and Livestock Conference as they go virtual for 2021! Explore the skills and insights it takes to read the landscape and foster a thriving ecosystem on our agricultural lands. Sessions to choose from January 14-16, 2021. Co-hosted by Vermont Grass Farmers Association and the UVM Extension Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

The Policy in Plainer English podcast explores topics in Vermont health care policy. The current season is focused on food access as part of health care, and the latest episode looks at the intersection of barriers to transportation and barriers to food with Faye Mack (Hunger Free Vermont) and Maureen Boardman (Little Rivers Healthcare). It includes several resources developed by Farm to Plate to address transportation barriers to good food and a healthy diet. Access the episode here or on your favorite podcast platform. Check out the entire series at PlainerEnglish.org.

UVM Extension, host of the International Workshop on Agritourism (IWA), continues to offer a webinar series which provides virtual education, international adventure, and networking opportunities. This monthly series brings together diverse voices and industries to highlight the benefits of agritourism across various contexts.

Past recordings also available.

Vermont Food System News is published by the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund

Jake Claro, Farm to Plate Director

Sarah Danly, Farm to Plate Network Manager

Shane Rogers, Farm to Plate Communications Manager

Lydia Pitkin, Office Manager & Program Coordinator

Kelly Nottermann, Communications Director

Ellen Kahler, Executive Director