Scanning my farm mail, this nugget from the Center for Rural Affairs newsletter jumped out at me.
In late October, Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture organized a “Matchmaker” event to encourage better relationships between farmers and buyers.
The event was set up speed-dating style, with farmers meeting with buyers for supermarkets, restaurants and food co-ops.
CRA notes that “The event was created to provide an opportunity for buyers who do not know how or what is available at a local level and sellers who are not always sure how to tap a larger market.”
“It’s a rare opportunity to have a mix of buyers and sellers in one place with time set aside to focus on local foods,” said Farmer Bill Suhr, owner of Champlain Orchards. “Setting up a meeting with just one of these potential buyers could have taken my business all day. Now we’re all in a room and the potential momentum is incredible.”
The event attracted between 110 and 170 sellers and buyers, according to this tourism brief in the Rutland Herald and a release after the event.
[Note that in this Rutland piece, there’s mention that if Vermonters simply buy 10 percent of their food from local sources, they’d return more than $130 million to the local economy.]
Way to go Vermont.
Virtual Farmgirl 