Community Food Network Development

Start-up support strategies in include:

• Identifying and cultivating interested farmers and food vendors.
• Inventorying of existing food infrastructure and potential markets.
• Identifying and organizing potential community food buyers (Institutions, stores, restaurants, buying groups.
• Cultivating low-cost solutions to aggregating product within communities.
• Building easy-access on-line markets to aggregate product and billing, and provide market reporting (visit www.windhamfarmandfood.org to see an example).
• Available for ongoing trouble shooting for start-up food networks/markets.
• Available for public presentations on local food networks cultivation.
• Consulting on practical food safety plans and GAP certification for Vermont farms selling to wholesale markets.

Contact

Hans Estrin
Local Food Network Coordinator
hans.estrin@uvm.edu
UVM Extension, 11 University Way Suite 4, Brattleboro, VT 05346-4423
802-257-7967 or 1-800-278-5480 (toll-free in Vt.)