Small Bites
July 12, 2023
Creating opportunities to amplify & sell VT products to buyers in the northeast & beyond through regional relationships
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We are taking a detour to talk about the impact of the flood & the role communities play. The rains that began on Friday & stormed into the state with full force on Sunday & Monday are the talk of the town & the nation.
Each town impacted has at its core caring & competent people helping each other be safe during uncertainty. All our emergency workers are key to the safety & even survival of their constituents. Also of note is the role other community members play. The rural general store, which you have read about in past Bites, really takes the lead as a supplemental source of information & solace. Our local food producers also play key roles in our communities & have been recognized as such with many helping hands to bring in crops in from the fields before flood waters wiped them out. Food manufacturers as employers in towns struggled to protect their businesses from fast-moving muddy water as best they could, with mixed results across the state. Our delivery drivers are faced with significant road closures & disruptions of indeterminant lengths.
The Cambridge Village Market, located along the Lamoille River, recently changed ownership. A post on Tuesday expresses so much gratitude for the community support through all the trying decisions they have made these past few days.
'We want to send a HUGE thank you to the community for the amount of support and love we have received these past 3 weeks we also want to thank our staff for being so flexible and helpful during this transition. Change is never easy, but we are so grateful for the warm welcome from you all!" And then, the rain came. The flood came. The community came out to continue to support the new owners as they saved all the food they could off sending it off site to be donated to those in need.
We take a side road from the content we had planned for this Bites, instead sharing resources, quotes, pictures, & gratitude for all the helpers who are working tirelessly during the event & as we begin to regroup. The fallout will be months & maybe years of recovering in some places. Our farmers & other food producers, distribution systems, & stores will be impacted depending on many factors. And our communities will continue to be strong & committed to service. #Vermonting
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Juggling In Plain Sight
We in the food business often think in operational terms. It is in our DNA; the giant puzzle of getting food to shoppers. There is a joy of dynamic tension making things work that lead to profitability in a characteristically low margin business.
Our managers & store owners always wear "more than one hat". Imagine what it is like under the circumstance of a disaster where they are concerned for their families, friends & community members, while being responsible for decisions around staff safety & making quick business decisions.
When a devastating event occurs, stores are at the mercy of uncertainty. With roads closed can staff safely travel home or back to work? Can their food orders be delivered by large trucks? How long the roads are passable can change in an instant. Work arounds & detours, do drivers know the local roads to get to the desired location? Here is a real-life distribution scenario from Hardwick today:
AGNE delivered today. They followed an employee on dirt roads in. They said they don't know when they can get us another delivery. UNFI says they are delivering tomorrow. We will see. Black River keeps postponing its deliveries. All major roads into Hardwick are washed out at this point. The town manager hopes to have Rte 15 towards Morrisville open tomorrow.
Distributors wear many operational hats too. They have food coming in & going out at a fast clip. What happens to them when a catastrophe strikes? A chain of events that's what. Because of road closures they cannot get to their store accounts to deliver. Back at the warehouse possibly unloading trucks that were positioned to be out for delivery, then restocking & re-inventorying products back into their computer system followed by shifting priorities, trying to sell perishable items to other accounts not impacted. And these are just a few things!
As much as they need to get the food for their communities in the extenuating times, store managers know that roads need to be traveled safely. Truck drivers have key relationships with stores & they can strengthen during trying times as the stress is vast & ever changing with each days’ new variables.
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Goodman's American Pie hung on by a thread in downtown Ludlow. On Wednesday they will be baking pizzas for the community of helpers. Anyone helping can enjoy some slices. They have a huge fan club offsetting community wide cleanup costs by donating via Venmo & a QR code. #Ludlowstrong
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Signs of the Times
With road closures on Route 2 in Middlesex Red Hen Bakery was closed on Tuesday July 11.
"Please stay safe & stay tuned for updates regarding tomorrow & beyond. Thank you!"
When a food business must suddenly close there is a multiplier effect of disruption. Manufacturing schedules are tied to delivery schedules & when staff cannot get to work; the impacts can be operationally thrown into a tizzy of uncertainty for days. There is also the variable of the flood waters contaminating workspaces. The cleanup from floods is physically arduous & emotionally exhausting, often encompassing lots of community support.
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Safety in uncertain times pays off at South Royalton Market. The Coop took heed of the state of emergency declaration. It knew that safety needed to override sales. Decisions can be tough to make, but the early Sunday announcement from the Governor was all they needed.
Our valleys can be very unpredictable, so can shallow rooted trees toppling across roads when 5-9 inches of rain falls in a short amount of time. Erring on caution is the way to go. Well done SORO. We know that you will have a lot to catch up on, & that customers will be ready to shop when the stores appreciating the products &b service that will be available.
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Community in These Times
"One of the few buildings with its power still on around noon was the Cambridge Village Market, where owner Ron Frey was out back trudging through the water. Frey said he told his employees to stay home Tuesday, but he was keeping the store open so that locals had a place to gather if needed."
2:30 Update from Cambridge Village Market- things are just about gone. Thank you all, we are overwhelmed with the love we have felt from you all. We have emptied the store into trucks & are bringing them to Erica's American Diner in Fairfax to donate to the public. Anyone in need that needs food. Please come down around 3:00 & the trucks will be there!! If you have space to be able to take food to bring to the food shelters, please do so. We would rather give all of this food away than have it ruined.
Thank you SO much to everyone that made a donation for the food. We are just so grateful to be in such an amazing community. We are at a loss of words of how many people came out to support us. -Linda & Ron Frey, Erica Hayes. We are so excited and honored to be the new owners of The Cambridge Market! We can't wait to meet more of this amazing community!
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Grateful in Johnson
In light of the devastation in the heart of Johnson, our hearts go out to those affected by the devastating flooding in Vermont. Thank you so much to our wonderful community for your continued support during these difficult times. We will keep you updated as we are able to assess the damages. Stay safe everyone! -Sterling Market, Johnson
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The Store is Safe
Every town impacted has a strong sense of community. In hard hit Jamaica, the store, as the heart of the community, had no option but to keep open as a communication & calming center. Though the Monday-Tuesday period was tiring & exhausting, it was necessary. Facebook posting from West River Provisions on Tuesday morning:
"Store's open early & ready to serve coffee. Unfortunately, with the concerns about the dams spilling over, we will not be opening a deli today. We would like our staff to stay home & safe in case the roadways quickly become impassable. If we are able to put some food out as a morning goes on, we will. Please let us know if there's anything anybody needs!"-West River Provisions
Jamaica, July 11
"Thanks for providing great updates and a hub for the communities."-from an appreciative local
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The situation reported by Hardwick's Buffalo Mountain Coop can be easily transposed to other communities with perhaps some slight variations of impact.
"The co-op is ok. We got some silt in the loading dock door. The water was a couple feet up the door but not much got in. We came close to losing our compressors. The store is open and we are super busy as most people are stuck in town and we are one of the only stores open. I believe Tops and Dollar General suffered considerable flooding so they might be closed for a bit. The folks in the center of Hardwick can get here and we are busy serving them. I know several employees who think it will be days before they can come to Hardwick."
"The store is safe but surrounding roads are still flooded and impassable. We will be closed today to assess and let all of our staff rest and regroup."
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From Woodstock Farmers Market
"As you may know, our Woodstock store was hit hard by torrential rainfall and flooding that began in the early hours on Monday, 7/10, and continued until nightfall. Although the store fared better this time around than after Irene in 2011, we still have major cleanup and repair ahead of us.
Our hearts are with our farmers, producers, and fellow Vermont businesses also impacted by the storm.
Our Woodstock location will be closed for the remainder of the week as we assess the situation and put together a reopening plan. We will update you as soon as we have more information. "
Below, cleanup began on Tuesday morning
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It’s absolute devastation.
*** we are closed today.
Never thought we would kayak around the farm.
July 11, 2023
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Uncertainty Ahead
From the bottom to the top of Vermont, farms have been impacted by the flood. It is not going to be known for a while the economic impact of crops & animal losses or the impact of the flood on grazing, haying, & corn production
Below is a picture from High Meadows Farm in Putney there was 8 inches of water between their carefully manicured fields.
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Long Term Impacts
Farmers of all types of products are going to be facing extensive & uncertain impacts from the storm.
Flood waters carry a wide array of contaminants that deleteriously affect crops grown for fodder. Corn & hay are crops commonly grown in flood plains & fed to cows & other ruminants. Vegetable crops also face the same effects of contamination & the additional damage to crop integrity. NOFA Vermont seeks flood info & the Vermont Community Foundation has created a new fund to help Vermonters recover from flood damage.
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Deep Root Coop located along the Lamoille River was inundated by water on Monday & Tuesday. The building & their delivery truck were under significant water.
Local delivery service utilized by many farmers & food manufacturers, Farm Connex is scrambling to figure out how to get produce delivered to stores. In Hardwick there is wide spread road disruption at this time. Other distributors are helping as they can. ACORN Food Hub based in Addison County which was one of the least impacted parts of the state are willing to step up in any way their storage or delivery services are needed for farmers or food manufacturers whose operations have been compromised.
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Resources for Vermonters
Vermont 211 report flood damage & get information on shelters for people affected by the storm
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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
Unless otherwise noted, photo credits are from company social media, websites or Annie Harlow
Special thanks to Emily Hershberger Buffalo Mountain Coop, Dennis Melvin, Lesser Distribution
All info is subject to change; thank you to all who contributed to this issue
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