Small Bites
March 10, 2022
creating opportunities to promote
& sell more VT products
to more buyers
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Our last issue was a good one, at least that is what you told us! And since that issue was released to the world, a war is underway, global supply lines have new impacts, financial markets are in disarray & globally there is sorrow & pain for so many reasons linked by our humanity.
There are good things happening too. Local bakeries, restaurants, & stores with prepared meals programs are highlighting Ukrainian foods & fundraising. The US Committee for Refugees & Immigrants Vermont is gaining exposure & receiving an influx of donations. In the war zone, World Central Kitchen is feeding those fleeing Ukraine with restaurants & volunteers ensuring food is available.
The longer days are helping the psyche of the long winter feel a bit in the rear view mirror. Businesses are looking ahead & actively engaging in staff training, deep cleaning, planning store visits, & building up their teams. Local food manufacturers continue their outreach with attendance at in person food shows & winning awards for their crafts. As the seasons change it is time to dig into some resources for success. In this issue we beam some light on community action & partnerships, & good ol' Vermont food which of course includes Governor Scott celebrating maple & mud.
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Increase Purchases & Promote
VT Menu Items
We may have lost significant snow making the ski season shorter than usual but stores along mountain roads are planning for a busy March & April. Snow this weekend will definitely bring folks up to shop our local stores.
Each store plays host to locals & travelers with strong sales of Vermont products. West River Provisions in Jamaica looks to Slipstream Farm for local mushrooms featured in their recipes. At Killington Market the team continues to crank on sales. With maple season upon us, displays feature maple syrup in all sizes & as ingredients in sweets & treats.
Stores with prepared foods have leaned into the concept of signature Vermont dishes. Think comfort food staples with our local ingredients. Food service pack sizes from our producers helps move this concept along. Just Cut the minimally processed produce program out of CAE in Hardwick is one way to up your local game as is buying VT raised meat. Think Shepard's Pie with VT beef & CAE potatoes or Mac & Cheese with VT Cheddar or a signature cheese blend.
Grab & Go from your prepared foods is one way to increase your support of VT producers across all food categories. Tell us what you are doing with your signature menus.
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Are you looking for a new cheese to round out your local cheese selection? Nothin' But Curd in Troy, Vermont might be just what you need.
Single sourced from their herd, this small batch cheese comes in several flavors perfect for that maple season pick me up for when you are all sugared out! Nothin’ But Curd’s recipe for fried cheese curds is a fantastic way to enjoy the changing seasons & easy to promote in your store or cafe.
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Supporting Local Farms:
The All Souls Way
All Souls Tortilleria is a small but growing manufacturer in Burlington. For its tortillas they use a recipe thousands of years old consisting of only corn, water & mineralized lime. Of course, more modern equipment allows production in volume to reach markets across New England. Each item is gluten free, vegan, & supports local corn producers with special batches of heirloom varietals such as Black Dakota Popping Corn & Wapsie Valley from Yoder Farm; Floriani Red from Scott's Orchard, & Flint's Flint from Borderview Farm.
They are well positioned to take on new retail accounts seeking to drive sales of VT products. Support our local farms & food manufacturers with these products shipped to area stores through
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Exciting Times Up in Hardwick!
The greater Hardwick community has come together to support the expansion & move of the local coop.
The fundraising reached its goal to proceed with the purchase of the former Hardwick Village Market. In keeping with the needs of the community, the coop is renaming the new venture as Buffalo Mountain Market: Cooperatively Owned. Their purchasing decisions will meet the needs of its community.
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Meanwhile in Bennington County
If you aren't from the southwestern corner of VT, you may not be familiar with The Shires. This region is host to numerous family farm operations producing a wide range of food.
Now more than ever collaborations are a systems approach solving farmer access to new markets, addressing shifting shopper trends, focusing on food security needs of the Shires.
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Seasonal Shifts in Your Produce Department
It is full-on March here in Vermont- some days feels like sandal weather, somedays it is -10 wind-chill or a 12 inch wet snowfall. Elsewhere around the world seasons are shifting too.
Produce department buyers need to really think about what is coming onto the market. The change of seasons means diets are shifting to lighter fare for home cooks, more greens & fresh baby root crops from our greenhouses, & the big global fruit shift.
Pay particular attention to what is being offered by your distributors: are they dumping older end of season product with great sale prices? If you buy into the sale can you move the product fast enough before quality drops or shoppers reveal fatigue? Note that our area apple producers such as Champlain Orchards utilize controlled atmosphere (CA) products that are shipped with quality still intact. Buyers should still maintain a tight inventory to maintain quality because once they leave CA they are subject to ethylene which speeds up respiration & deterioration of the fruit.
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Available in retail & 15 LB pack sizes through Performance Food Group/BRP & can also be shipped direct to your store or farmstand operation. Great for baking off in your store for quick sales. Each cookie is filled with love, which we need to send out into the world.
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Regional Sales VS National Distribution
We know reaching a national market channel is the goal of some of our VT food businesses. That's cool. We get it.
What is also cool is keeping a scaled operation that allows for grass-fed regenerative agriculture to find its place in the regional food shed. That is a business goal of Ice House Farm in the foothills of the Green Mountains.
Consider their ethos as an attainable goal. They are an established goat dairy in Goshen scaling their operation to meet the niche of the goat milk, probiotic, regenerative ag, grass-fed aligned shopper. Their goat milk kefir & yogurt are gaining recognition at area coops. With support from the Working Lands Grant , they received funds to expand their operational efficiency to meet new markets.
Now to that part: Expanding sales means working with store buyers committed to supporting their brand. With a little research or digging into national brands, buyers become aware that products sold by national distributors may be marketed in a way that disguises ownership or production methods. Buyers can align & choose local products to meet shopper expectations.
The Ice House mission is to introduce shoppers to their values which includes animal welfare, soil regeneration with all milk single sourced from their herd.
Store category managers could drop a national brand of goat products for this local farm. The national leader in goat kefir & other dairy products is Redwood Hill Farm, owned by Swiss dairy giant holding company Emmi, which also owns Cowgirl Creamery, Cypress Grove, among other brands of goat milk products. Unlike the single sourced milk from Ice House Farm, Redwood Hill is no longer the quaint farm in Sebastopol, CA. They are a super sized operation with six dairies in Nevada & California.
Store Buyers! You have the power to shift shopper preferences by featuring VT producers' values with the expectations of your shoppers. A knowledge-based buying protocol matters for other small, local farm operations. (think Ice House vs Redwood Hill)
Buy local to support our land & the multiplier effect on our economy. Do you really want to support the global holding company in your choice to stock your shelves? Can you find alternatives here in Vermont? Need help? Reach out to us!
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Store Buyers & Promo Teams
Stores can help their staff become more informed on organic production practices & national brand penetration. The staff can in turn help shoppers understand that “organic” may actually be contrary to their expectations. Real Organic family-scale operations should be differentiated from national brands. Learn about organic discrepancies & promote your local farmers & food manufacturers sourcing from our local farms.
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It's Maple-Mud Season!
Maple producers & lovers of all things maple really watch the weather this time of year. Small operations need all hands-on deck to bring the sap to the sugarhouse, followed by hours of boiling to reach the perfect sugar content.
Some of us love the comradery of the sugarhouse. The late nights. The chatter & banter. The easing of omicron couldn't come at a better time for yarning it out at the evaporator.
Cheers to all our forest workers helping manage sugarbushes, the lines keepers & bucket emptying teams & those just bringing out some good food for the makers. It's as good as it gets here in Vermont. Enjoy the wild ride we call sugar season which of course overlaps with mud season
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Community Matters
This week Brownsville Butcher & Pantry's supper club is for Ukraine with fundraising for the World Central Kitchen providing direct-action food security. They are donating $35 from each dinner to support the organization founded in 2010 by Chef José Andrés.
It is imperative BBP use their platform, small as it may be, to bring people together to support those in need right now. The menu this week is intended to be an homage to the food & culture of the Ukrainian people.
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Northwest Grown VT:
Making Matches
The guide is one resource to help buyers onboard new local products. Another way is for area buyers to meet farmers & makers at the March 28th Networking Event co-hosted by VT Fresh Network at the 14th Star Brewery in St Albans. Northern buyers are encouraged to attend & meet food producers one on one!
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Down on the Farm: Who Knew!
For 20 years VT farmers have been producing a fall ginger crop. It takes significant planning, proper handling & preparation to bring it to market. (Oh, & much patience in developing the market).
At Clear Brook Farm in Shaftsbury this week they are beginning to prepare their ginger while also getting their greenhouses opened & planting seeds.
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Outreach: Resources & Services
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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
Contact: Annie H Harlow
smallbites802@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, photo credits are from company social media, websites or Annie Harlow
Photo credit: Brooke Wilcox Nuttin But Curd Retail
All info is subject to change; thank you to all the folks who contributed to this issue!
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