Small Bites
June 28, 2023
Creating opportunities to amplify & sell VT products to buyers in the northeast & beyond through regional relationships
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It is summer in Vermont. Produce fields are wavering between getting too much rain, or too dry. BUT crops are growing, processed, delivered, & sold.
Right now, things are looking bountiful at area farmstands & at farmers markets. Our local retail food stores love this time of year for all the connections with farmers. It makes receiving so much fun with local farm deliveries. It is an opportunity for engaging chats about the farm & real-life connection. Here is a short list of crops on stands now in Vermont, we have noted a few farms, but many have a range of vibrant crops selling DSD, DTC, & wholesale. In addition to these crops, every week is a bit different with a huge range of crops coming on.
Strawberries of course! Raspberries, Peas, Carrots! Yoder & Elmer! Hakurei turnips, Greens of all kinds Herbs of all kinds Radish several varieties Cucumbers Pete's Greens, Tomatoes yes that's right! Old Athens, & Woods have been selling at the Midd Coop too
Young beets with greens Napa cabbage Sweet onions with tops
Scallions Summer squash ... And the list goes on!
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Of These Times
It has long been observed at farmers markets, that women owned farm & food operations are plentiful. Just how many Vermont businesses are owned by women is a project of This Way UP. It is a campaign to identify & survey women who own & lead businesses all across Vermont.
It is unclear how many women-owned businesses are out there, but it is clear they are an important economic engine for the state. The data collected through the This Way UP survey will help support women’s entrepreneurship. Women should get their businesses registered on the map. So, what are you waiting for?
The Farm to Plate Food Justice Task Force created a self-assessment tool & resource guide for organizations & individuals to learn more about different approaches to improving food access. This includes hunger awareness & relief, food justice, right to food, & food sovereignty.
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It's Time to Shop the Dairy Stop!
This is so great! In Franklin County one can now shop at on farm "Dairy Stops". They are mini markets promoting the self-serve sale of farm fresh milk along with other Vermont products. The model makes milk pricing more advantageous for farmers & accessible for shoppers. The original focus was on milk but evolved to support other foods. Pumpkin Village Foods both makes the milk available to its customers while also selling VT products to the Dairy Stop. The new concept is proving so successful they will soon pop up in other dairy regions in the state too. Congratulations! Catch the story from NBC5
"I've been (working) two-and-a-half years on this project & I truly feel it's a game-changer," said Paul Godin, owner, operator & creator of the Dairy Stop concept.
-Paul Godin
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Old, & Not in the Way
The opposite of mass market stores like Dollar General are our historic country stores. They remain important parts of our rural communities while offering insights into small town life for travelers.
Up & down the state, our stores offer a range of products that support local producers from within communities, yet are also tied to the greater national supply chain via distributors with more & more are consolidation. These tend to focus on large scale contracts with national suppliers, but DSD from area producers help our rural stores nudge our economy by keeping dollars in state through the local multiplier effect. From Underhill to Putney to Orwell to Arlington, historic Vermont general stores continue to add value to shoppers & producers.
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The Good Egg
For those you eat eggs, there is nothing quite as good as a local pasture raised egg. They radiate the goodness of a full diet. For shoppers egg prices have gone crazy the past two years, for that, you can count a number of reasons.
Most of our stores across Vermont carry local eggs from Maple Meadow located in Salisbury with delivery to most corners of the state & sold to our large supermarkets. They also carry eggs delivered direct to stores from area producers. Savage Gardens pasture-raised chicken eggs are distributed widely to stores in the northern part of the state.
Eggs are a staple for their good source of protein & multiple ways to cook & utilize. Higher prices have been hard on folks with limited spending power. As of now prices have not dropped & there is concern about price gouging at the national level from large scale corporate companies in California, Alabama & Minnesota.
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Shipping: The UPS & Downs
Stores depend more & more on direct shipments from vendors. These may come from online purchases through wholesale marketplaces such as Mable. The roles & pricing shipping services play are crucial for helping food companies sell to stores of all sizes, including smaller ones hoping to purchase in partial case pack sizes.
USPS, FedEx & UPS all offer a range of services to meet our manufacturers. They are the fulcrum in a delicate balance of getting products to stores. What happens when a strike is approaching? We are on the verge of finding out at UPS. In essence drivers are pushing for better wages for warehouse workers & improved conditions in the trucks: think air conditioners. The trucks often exceed 105 degrees in many parts of the nation. If a contract is not reached by midnight on July 31 the current contract will expire putting at risk the delivery services of many of our food producers to stores.
With a month left before their contract expires, the union representing more than 340,000 UPS workers is calling for "practice pickets" nationwide.
In Louisville, Kentucky that means thousands of Teamsters Local 89 members will begin practicing a picket line Wednesday morning at Worldport, the largest sorting and logistics facility in America.
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Signs of the Times
In the heart of downtown Rutland is the food coop serving as the hub for folks seeking natural & local foods. The store has been community owned since 1995. There is a renewed vigor, post pandemic, that is uplifting for shoppers. They partner with the Neighboring Food Coop Association , Northeast Family Farm Partnership & accept SNAP benefits to serve all shoppers. Their community engagements include the collaboration with Rural Vermont on July 16th with a Larson Farm raw milk cheese workshop as detailed in the above picture.
In May they became members of the National Co+Op Grocers Association (NCG). As a trade group, it helps food coops optimize operational & marketing resources, strengthening its purchasing power.
This allows more leverage to lower the costs of purchasing products with the savings passed on to shoppers. The store now has more month-long sales items, & a Basics Program which are everyday type items for stocking pantries & refrigerators. NCG also offers professional services to improve merchandising, operations, & staff support.
Whether related to accessibility, race, gender, ethnicity, age, or sexual orientation, it’s important to find intentional ways to grow in our understanding and support of each other. We are diverse by nature and inclusive by choice. RAFC’s commitment to fostering an inclusive environment is of fundamental importance. Quite simply, we believe that diversity makes us, as individuals and as a community, stronger and more resilient.
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Many of our 15 VT coops are members of NCG |
Calling All VT Food Manufacturers
The deadline for entering the Good Food Awards is Friday June 30th! Not familiar with the Good Food Foundation? It is one of our all-time favorite organizations in the food world, & we at the Woodstock Farmers’ Market are proud members of the Good Food Merchants Collaborative. Many of the products we carry are made by members of the Good Food Guild.
The cutoff for entering is June 30th, so the deadline is coming up fast! Please consider submitting samples to the blind judging held in September. Good Food Awards, is the only national initiative to honor top makers that excel in both taste & sustainable, socially responsible production. The 18 categories include WFM store favorites chocolate, confections, pantry, snacks, grains, beer & cheese.
WFM has a discount code; use GFMC24 for $25 off your first entry here. Entry period closes Friday June 30th
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Category Mgt: Summer Protein
Let's think meat & meat substitutes for the upcoming July extravaganzas. Be it preparing for boating, family picnics, garden soirees, festival tailgating or camping, Vermont stores are all stocked for summer!
Babbette's Table a 2021 Good Food Award Winner adapt old world traditions for their premium charcuterie line of products. Producing high-quality meats steeped in tradition. Their tag line…. Come together, slow down, & enjoy life with those you love. Shipped direct to stores & restaurants nationally, including locally at Mad River Taste Place.
Robie Farm is located in NH across from Vermont. This farm serves not only the Connecticut River Valley with meat sold DSD, their beef, chicken, & pork products are inventoried or shipped BOL via Upper Valley Produce & Associated Buyers. As usual each distribution outlet will have a unique product mix based on the relationships cultivated & products are subject to change.
Maple Wind Farm, pasture raised meat is running long on chicken drumsticks. Who needs a good deal for their store cafe or as a fundraiser for a 501C3 organization? Ask Beth for food service pack size details.
Rounding out the protein category, vegan & vegetarian products are available from VT Bean Crafters. Their products are 'grillable' & top sellers at many farmstands, inde & coop food stores. Some SKU’s are available through Upper Valley Produce.
Earth, Sky, Time sells the Goldburger. It is a blend of fresh carrots & potatoes with whole raw flax, sunflower & sesame seeds, oats & short grain brown rice for soy free, nut free, vegan, wood-fired beauties. Available in bulk food service & retail pack. Contact the farm for distribution & pricing options.
If you need product ideas to expand your VT foods, reach out to us at the Grocer Project of Farm to Plate. We have been updating the producer database to help buyers find local companies. - we can find VT products to fit your needs.
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Reminder: ADA Compliance
'More than 50 million Americans with disabilities are potential customers for retail businesses across the country. These 50-million-plus customers, along with their families & friends, patronize clothing boutiques, mall outlets, grocery stores, & more, if the businesses are accessible. This market grows even larger if the 78 million baby boomers in this country - who do not always require but benefit from accessibility - are included. Accessibility makes good business sense: an accessible retail establishment brings in new customers & keeps them coming back again & again.'
Being in compliance & having on hand supportive staff, minimal aisle obstructions, & carts adapted for the disabled make shopping at your store more accessible to all. Learn more about compliance in the ADA.gov archive.
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It's a Sad Kind of Riddle
What is in 47 states, has 19,000 stores, hires more than 158,000 employees, is increasing by 3 stores per day, sells very little fresh food, is forcing the closure of rural independent stores, closing stores in urban areas serving already underserved communities, & is a dark cloud over many workers?
Did you guess Dollar General?
It is THE business that has infiltrated Vermont. Despite the architecture that 'leans' rural, 'dollar stores' are not always desired by communities. There is a fight against the invasion of the three top selling "dollar stores" from building in our state & other states. The insidious structure of the business model is marketed as helping people afford products, but the reality is we need to stop their ability to use their position to overrun competition. They benefit from weakened anti-trust laws, including the Robinson Packman Act, which was mentioned in Small Bites a few weeks ago. More of 'dollar store' impacts from ILSR:
In both small towns and urban neighborhoods, they are edging out locally owned businesses, freezing out entrepreneurs, and shifting profits from local cash registers to corporate investors’ pockets. Their impact is particularly harsh on the grocery sector. But it isn’t just their market dominance — fueled by consolidation in the grocery and finance industry — that hurts communities. Their poor labor practices, lax security, and sloppy safety protocols harm workers. They single out towns and cities with high concentrations of low- and fixed-income residents, particularly Black and Brown residents. They exacerbate traffic. They displace good jobs with lower-paying ones, and they often use tactics that trick shoppers into believing they are getting bargains. Through predatory tactics, the dollar chains are killing off grocery stores and other local businesses, leaving communities with fewer jobs, diminished access to basic goods, and dimmer prospects for overall well-being.
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Local Food Platform Sells to International Business
Maine based Forager an online wholesale "local food platform" originally conceived in 2014 has successfully sold to Local Line, a Canadian venture capital backed acquisitions company. Both attest to moving the local food needle through streamlined technology. Read more about the late breaking story out of Maine & Canada.
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Why it Matters
In Vermont & across New England farmstand sales are instrumental for DSD vendors. These suppliers oversee all aspects of quality control from production through to delivery & sometimes even shelving the product. This ensures their brand integrity is maintained.
Our small 'relocalizing distributors' maintain their quality standards because when they lose a vendor / supplier or a store drops them, they lose out on reaching their target margin goals. Product selection needs to match store client preferences for them to be successful. When one vendor drops or changes to another distributor, there is a domino effect. Depending on the size of the operation, one loss can really matter when it comes to the value of each product to revenue & contribution margin. This is especially true for solo truck operations or small-scale distributors.
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Farm & Food Businesses
Hit the Big Apple
The 2023 Fancy Food Show in NYC this past week saw our large & emerging brands gain exposure to brokers, store buyers, & distributors. This is a huge event for brands. It is a costly investment to "professionalize" & not appear so frumpy that attendees pass you by. There are so many food businesses represented you must stand out. It's a big deal to be in the Big Apple.
This year VAAFM offered ‘market development’ trade show grants & trainings to assist Vermont companies gain sales acumen & experience. The support helps our brands gain sales, which requires not only strong marketing footing but also understanding the roles operations & capitalization play in reaching larger regional & national accounts. Some of our companies have been selling nationally for years, yet there is still value in presenting the business in front of potential buyers.
Congratulations to the many businesses that stepped into their specialty food show booth & commanded attention!
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Farmer as Retailer
Farmers that attended the USDA funded winter retail training have worked on their marketing & merchandising. The Farm to Plate sessions provided insights to improve sales & profitability through retail.
The same principles incorporated by large stores are used by our farm retailers too. Bread & Butter Farm showcases VT products for summer evening picnics. By having this as a front display they set the tone with their displays mimicking standard merch practices to showcase products.
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Farmers Supporting Farmers
Our seasonal farmstands round out their inventory by purchasing from other producers. It might be salad dressing, ice cream, or tomato sauce. These sales help support the farm operations of the supplying farm vendor & the retail farm operation. Juggling product mix is an art & a science as our farm-store season is short by all accounts. Area distributors play valuable roles in getting farm-based products to other farms as well as do direct shipping through UPS, USPS or courier services.
Depending on location, farms have been inundated with rain this June also known as 'strawberry season'. Rain on weekends is a true bummer for PYO operations. Not only is it tough going for family fun, but the flavor is often watered down, making for less sugar development. BUT everyone still loves our berries which make it onto store shelves at stores like those owned by AGNE, coops & local country stores. These sales help offset the loss of PYO.
Farmstands are ready for the upcoming July 4th push for summer folks visiting. Adams Berry Farm is making sure all their wholesale customers have their farm-made popsicles for on-farm joy this holiday week. Jubilee Farm, Pete's Greens & Bear Roots Farm Market are a few farm stores stocking these refreshing summer treats! Now, let’s have some sunshine to enjoy along with the popsicles!
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The ACORN Food HUB has been helping farmers gain traction. Local producers across food categories are finding some new markets, yet there is more to be done to nudge buyers. ACORN has received a $50,000 economic development grant to explore the feasibility of getting more food to more people by supporting expansion & adding a community kitchen.
Vermont Way Foods is lining up sales of products to sell to stores. As a Vermont branded line of produce & other products, it supports marketing so farmers can focus on production. It has the potential to widen product availability that rounds out the local inventory. A marketing & branding line is an opportunity to access new store accounts expanding building distribution ranges. This type of arrangement happens as relationships grow between the farmer/producers & the VWF staff selling a line of products to wider market channels & new distribution options.
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Is it Time to Learn How Food Moves?
How food gets from farms through to stores is a seriously complex network. We often think about our local trucking services, but before that we have ALL the considerations of how supplies, packaging, labels, adhesives, & chemicals go into every aspect of manufacturing.
There is an entire language to learn when sourcing for our businesses which includes the language of logistics. This circles back to the economic decision-making trees to sourcing & shipping. Transportation, third party logistics, new & ever-changing technology, e-comm solutions, pallet requirements, insurance, & compliance are all part of getting products to market. If you want a deep dive into this global world, check out the Inbound Logistics magazine. It will open your eyes to many national & global variables with articles on solutions to unique growth related issues.
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Vermont Has Jobs to Fill
Farm to Plate has a jobs board. Have you checked it out? Find the listings & poke around till you find one &
If you want to take what you learned here in VT & head elsewhere, become the executive director at the Local Food Hub in Charlottesville, VA.
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Are You Tired of the New Normal?
Ready for big transformation to reclaim small food & food adjacent businesses?
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Small Bites comes to you via USDA & High Meadows grants. Content is created for farmers, food manufacturers, distributors, & grocers to increase VT food sales
Small Bites supports the New England State Food System Planners Partnership
Contact: Annie Harlow
smallbites802@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, photo credits are from company social media, websites or Annie Harlow
Special thanks to Peter Cameron & Eileen Bradley, Woodstock Farmers Market & Pumpkin Village Foods
All info is subject to change; thank you to all who contributed to this issue
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