Producer Spotlight: Grafton Village Cheese
Nestled in the quiet towns of Grafton and Brattleboro, Vermont, Grafton Village Cheese is a longstanding business within our community. Founded in 1892 by a cooperative of dairy farmers as a means to utilize surplus raw milk, Grafton Village Cheese remains a vital part of Vermont’s dairy industry. President and CEO, Ruth Anne Flore, took some time to answer our questions and teach us more about this great local business.
What makes your products unique?
Grafton Village Cheese is considered one of a handful of legacy cheese companies in the country. Grafton never wavered from its handmade, small batch production and its commitment to producing a traditional New England style cheddar; a cheddar with "bite." Our flavor profile remains distinctive. All of our milk comes from Vermont family farms.
What is your favorite product?
Tough question...I love our 1 and 2 year-aged cheddars for their versatility and Grafton's signature "bite." For grilled cheese sandwiches, mac 'n cheese dishes, burgers… the Truffle cheddar or Smoked Chili cheddar absolutely elevate the experience! Our cave-aged cheeses, Clothbound, Shepsog (mixed milk - cow & sheep), and Bear Hill (washed rind 100% sheep's milk), are incredibly special and shine on any cheeseboard.
Why is selling locally and the local food movement is important to you?
As a Windham Foundation-owned enterprise, Grafton Village Cheese communicates a sense of place. When buying locally produced cheese, you are supporting not only the teams that make it happen, but the dairies from whom we purchase our milk, and the local retailers, country stores, inns, and restaurants who include locally produced cheese on the shelves and menus.
How does working with Food Connects help your business?
The choices we make have a direct impact on our communities. Working with Food Connects enhances our ability to educate not only students but teachers, health care, and food service professionals of the importance of using local, sustainable foods produced in our regional community.
Could you share with us some of the new business changes at Grafton? What are some of your hopes for the future?
In early April, as a result of COVID-19, we experienced a significant drop in volume and made the decision to move our block cheddar production from our Brattleboro location to the original Grafton facility. We continue to operate our cut and wrap operations, as well as our retail store and logistics from Brattleboro. Over the years, our volume and growth ambitions for the plant have unfortunately never been realized. The Retreat Farm's interest in acquiring the property to further its mission around local food production, agricultural products, job creation, and outdoor recreation would allow us to become an anchor tenant—relieving us of long term debt and enabling Grafton Village Cheese to become financially sustainable. In May, at our Grafton facility, we completed a months' long project of building new caves which will give us running room to increase production of our award-winning cave-aged cheeses. Combining our block cheddar and cave-aged production in Grafton, a much smaller facility, will allow us to re-focus our efforts to right-size the company.
Any events coming up or fun fact about your business/products?
Our new branding is working its way into the marketplace. It's bold. It's bright. It's exciting. We are CHEESE ON A MISSION!
Our most important "ingredient" is our cheesemaking team, led by Mariano Gonzalez, our head cheesemaker. Mariano is one of the country's best award-winning cheddar makers. Dedicated to his craft, Mariano's cheesemaking skills are recognized worldwide.
Our cave-aged Shepsog is the Algonquin word for “sheep”, which once covered Vermont’s hillsides during the booming wool industry of the 19th century.
Our sheep's milk cheese, Bear Hill is named for the scenic bluff overlooking the Village of Grafton.
Building an Alternative Food Supply for a Post-COVID World
The COVID-19 crisis shocked the nation’s food industry, resulting in forced closures of meat processing plants, reduced capacity at large distributors, and disrupted long-distance supply routes, shining a bright light on our efforts to decentralize local and regional supply chains. Food Connects and its producers and customers believe in the importance of strengthening transparent, source-identified regional food systems—if we didn’t, we wouldn’t be doing what we do!—and now we have a chance to prove it as community partners, old and new, are looking to Food Connects to lead the charge.
The coming year is Food Connects’ most important year yet. In New England, household shoppers aspire to replace more items on their shopping lists with products that have real names, faces, and stories behind them. One of our top priorities is to meet these demands by building a stronger, more diverse catalog of fresh and value-added foods from both our immediate area as well as from around Vermont, New Hampshire, and the rest of New England. To do that, we look for producers with a discerning eye for quality, capacity, and consistency. Here are a handful of key elements we will seek in our new producer relationships:
The product(s) serve an unmet need with our customers.
The product is high quality, something that inspires lots of “Wow!”s and repeat purchases.
If the products are geared toward retail sales, they must be packaged and labeled in a presentable and professional manner that meets regulatory requirements.
The producer already has enough extra capacity to serve our customers with room for growth, OR the producer has a good foundation and wants to push on growth to match ours.
As a small but rapidly growing food hub, we’re looking to work with producers as eager as we are to step into this moment. It’s our chance to prove that there is a viable alternative to conventional supply chains and food systems—a new system, built on decentralized, transparent sourcing from small and medium-sized businesses with real people at the helm. Thanks to all of you who have been part of our journey so far! Let’s explore this new model of food, together.
June 2020 Food Hub Flyer
Producer Spotlight: Kitchen Garden Farm
If you’re looking for incredible produce and local srirachas and salsas, look no further than Kitchen Garden Farm in Sunderland, MA. The farm is local on 50 acres of rich river bottom soil on both sides of the Connecticut River, in Sunderland and Whately. Owners Tim Wilcox and Caroline Pam are dedicated to keeping their farm certified organic and growing healthy soils by cultivating a wide range of biodiverse crops, improving crop rotation and cover cropping.
And this is what really makes the farm unique. “We are one of few farms growing such a diverse array of crops at such a large scale,” says Lilly Israel, Sales Manager at the Kitchen Garden Farm. “We also are one of few producers making organic shelf-stable products from ingredients we grow on our own farm.” On top of all of that… they grow over 100 varieties of peppers on their farm. We can’t even name more than 15 different varieties! Holy smokes!
And their value-added products are out of this world. Our Marketing Manager may have overdone it on the Giardiniera one too many times! Lilly said it’s hard to choose her favorite. “Each season brings new crops that we can't wait to cook and eat with friends and family. We have a special interest in Italian specialties like radicchio and broccoli rabe, and of course, we love hot peppers! Our original sriracha is a testament to our farm and community's love for flavorful spicy food.” We always keep a bottle or two of the sriracha in the Food Connects staff fridge!
“We started farming because of our love of food and the way it brings people together. Growing and producing food for our local community makes our hard work feel especially rewarding.” And we couldn’t agree more and that is why we are so proud to work with such a mission-aligned farm. We brought the Kitchen Garden Farm on in early 2019 and haven’t looked back since! “Food Connects helps link us with buyers in Northern New England who we previously had no way to work with,” says Lilly. “We love creating new partnerships and adding to our list of restaurants and stores to visit!”
Every September, Kitchen Garden Farm hosts a hot pepper festival called Chilifest. “This weekend celebrating all things spicy features a chili cook-off, a hot sauce competition, spicy food, local beer, and great live music! The fate of this year's festival is unclear due to COVID-19, but we look forward to celebrating hot peppers in the future.” And we hope so too!
Meet Our New Sales Associate—Beth Lewand!
Food Connects is excited to welcome Beth Lewand to their team as their Food Hub Sales Associate.
Beth joins the team with over 10 years of experience in the food industry. Most recently she was the Operations Manager at Cricket Creek Farm, a grass-based dairy and artisanal cheese producer in Williamstown, MA. Previously, she and her husband Chris founded, owned, and operated Eastern District, a food shop specializing in craft beer and artisanal cheese, in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY.
“I think my experience as both a producer and a buyer will give me a greater understanding of our partners' needs, and hopefully help me to help them succeed,” says Beth. “I love the fact that this is a nonprofit food hub, rather than a traditional distributor, and that education and other community efforts are prioritized.”
Food Connects focuses on local food, so we asked Beth why the local food movement was important to her. “I care about it for so many reasons: because of its impact on environmental and economic sustainability; for its potential to deliver fresh, healthy food throughout the community; and because of the simple joy it brings us to connect with the land and the people who feed us.”
Beth’s passion for local food and drive to increase its impact will help propel Food Connects into the future. As a rapidly growing organization, it is important to continue to diversify products and increase the number of local producers and customers they work with. Beth’s experience will help bring on new customers and partners, offer more local products, and expand the network that Food Connects is a part of.
When Beth isn’t working with Food Connects she spends time gardening, cooking, listening to music, sewing and other textile arts, hanging out with her husband and cats, and spending time outdoors. And her favorite food, by far, is cheese! She’ll fit right in with the rest of the Food Connects crew!
And now some of the fun stuff:
If Beth was shipwrecked on a deserted island, but all her needs—such as food and water—were taken care of, she would bring along a universal jukebox and a gigantic set of Legos. And when she was little she wanted to be everything when she grew up—from a doctor to a ballerina, to a window display designer. “Oddly I never daydreamed about the food business as a kid, but now I know it's the best!”
“I'm grateful to the Food Connects crew for a warm welcome, and I'm really looking forward to meeting all of our customers, producers, and partners!” And we are excited to have you on our team, Beth!
May 2020 Food Hub Flyer
Producer Spotlight: Hall Apiaries
Sugar! Oh honey, honey! That’s right—spring is here and we are thinking of something sweet. Have you tried any of the tasty honey from Hall Apiaries yet? We checked in with Troy Hall, owner of Hall Apiaries to learn more about them!
Hall Apiaries is located in Plainfield, NH and offers something pretty unique—honey harvested and bottled from an apiary that is not using any chemical inputs.
“It is a rarity,” says Troy. “Not that conventional and organic chemicals are "bad" nor if managed and applied properly do they impact the integrity of honey. It’s just nice to know that there are a few of us "working it out" among the bees with a paradigm that is treatment-free. If you are an individual who cares about food purity and integrity then I can stand behind the honey I harvest and sell knowing that it is what the bees intended it to be.”
And Hall Apiaries is more than just honey. Troy specializes in breeding queen bees—they are his partners in this endeavor. “If I can lump together all the things I produce in my apiary the queens would be it. You will not find them on the shelf next to the honey, but if you are a fellow beekeeper I may be able to help you out. Outside of the bees themselves I really enjoy the honey regardless of what size container its sold in. Every year the honey takes on different color and flavor profiles, all due to the nuances of the growing season, rain, flora, and fauna in bloom along with sugar content in the nectar.”
The local food movement is extremely important to Troy—he is a native of the Upper Valley region. “As a small farm/apiary, rooted where I live, [the local food movement] its what I am. If there was no local food movement I don't think my vocation would be in bees.” And we are certainly glad there is one! We proudly carry Hall Apiaries honey and supply it to nourish our community.
“Food Connects helps me hold to my primary goal and focus. From the beginning I wanted to keep the honey local, available to those seeking out good quality honey. For the most part, Hall Apiaries is a one man show. Having a local distributor like Food Connects helps me reach the markets I don't have the bandwidth to reach.”
April 2020 Food Hub Flyer
Producer Spotlight: Old Friends Farm
They may be called Old Friends Farm, but they are new to Food Connects! We are excited to have Old Friends Farm on as one of our newest producers. Owned and operated by longtime friends, Missy Bahret and Casey Steinberg, Old Friends Farm is located in Amherst, MA.
Their four Core Values are Integrity, Balance, Harmony, and Fun and exemplify those values through how they treat their employees. “We chose,” says Casey “to prioritize our employees in our business making decisions. One such way we have done this is committing to a $15 minimum starting wage as of 2019.”
Old Friends Farm is Certified Organic and is proud to be the recipient of multiple Good Food Awards (Winners and Finalists). They are widely known for pioneering Northeast-grown Ginger and Turmeric, and for the Specialty Products they make with these powerful roots. Which makes their products that we carry unique—the delicious certified organic ginger and turmeric which they grow on the farm!
Casey couldn’t decide on a favorite product. “That is always such a difficult question, as we love them all! We try our best to avoid 'playing favorites' because we want to make sure to give each product the full attention it deserves.” Our Marketing Manager, Laura Carbonneau, highly recommends the Elderberry Tumeric Honey to add new flavor to your favorite drinks.
Why is selling locally and the local food movement is important to Casey and Missy? “We strongly believe in knowing from where (and by whom) our food comes,” says Casey. “When you choose produce and products grown and made by Old Friends Farm, you know you are supporting a local business that prioritizes its employees above all else. In our eyes, sourcing local is only part of the equation. Other vital parts include fair pay to employees and owners, responsible stewardship of the land, collaboration between local and regional networks, and creating a positive, thriving workplace for all involved, and being financially secure.”
We just love the products we are able to provide from Old Friends Farm. They are, of course, delicious, but something unique to our customers. And Casey likes working with us too! “Food Connects helps us access customers and communities with whom we would otherwise not be able to reach. Our energy is best utilized by focusing on our farm, our production, and our crew. We are grateful for Food Connects for its strength in distribution and connecting with our larger food system community. It allows us to do the things we do well, and still having the confidence that someone else is doing the marketing, connecting, and distributing well. Thanks, Food Connects!”
Be sure to follow Old Friends Farm Instagram: @oldfriendsfarm and sign up for their newsletter on their Website: www.oldfriendsfarm.com.
A Message from Food Connects regarding COVID-19
3/17/2020
Due to the quickly changing situation we are adjusting our operations accordingly to continue to provide you healthy, local food, while also mitigating risk to our staff. We have two important updates for you.
1 of 2. Update to Safety Protocol: No-Contact Delivery Policy
In order to help ensure the health of our staff, our customers, and the general community, we now will be tightening up our delivery protocols to eliminate as much direct person-to-person contact as possible. Details are as follows:
We will be dropping deliveries outside of customer facilities in order to minimize our drivers' contact with public surfaces.
Upon arrival, our driver will knock on the receiving door to get the receiver’s attention. If necessary, the driver will telephone the receiver.
Food Connects will no longer require a signed order slip at delivery. We will leave the customer copy of the invoice with the delivered boxes. If you need to verify the load before our driver leaves, please tell our driver in advance.
If there is any issue with a delivered order, please reach out ASAP to Julicia (orders@foodconnects.org, 802-451-0550) to resolve the issue.
In order to help this system run smoothly:
Please send us the best phone number for your receiver, if possible!
Please do not ask our drivers to enter your facility.
Please let us know if you have specific directions regarding where to leave deliveries outside your facility.
Thank you for helping us make this temporary transition smoothly!
2 of 2. Temporary Delivery Schedule Change: NO Friday Delivery
We are reducing our operations to one delivery cycle per week, offering deliveries on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on your usual delivery route:
Wednesday: Southern VT, Southern NH
Thursday: Upper Valley (VT + NH)
Friday: NO DELIVERIES, FOR NOW
Please refer to the ordering schedule below, and please reach out to us with any questions or concerns.
If your delivery location or procedure has changed or closed, please let us know. We are happy to figure out alternative delivery solutions to ensure your Wednesday or Thursday delivery is as easy and safe as possible.
Order Schedule: For delivery on Wednesday or Thursday
Monday: Place order through order platform, text, call, or email by 10:00 am (usual order procedures apply). Bread orders are due the Friday Prior by 10 am.
Tuesday: Order picked up from farms by Food Connects
Wednesday: Delivery to main distribution areas per usual delivery routes
Thursday: Delivery to Upper Valley customers per usual delivery route.
Friday: NO DELIVERIES, FOR NOW
We truly appreciate your flexibility as we work to keep our farmers, customers, and staff safe and feed through this ever-changing period.
Thank you!
Food Connects
3/12/2020
Dear Valued Food Hub Customers,
We’re writing in response to the growing concerns regarding the COVIOD-19 outbreak. We acknowledge the serious concerns for the health and safety of our communities as the situation continues to develop. Our #1 priority during this time is to support our communities through continued access to fresh, local food. As of now, we intend to continue our operations, as usual, maintaining our regular pick-up and delivery schedule. We will keep you updated if anything changes.
Please let us know how we can help you through this time and know that we are taking precautions to keep you and our drivers protected.
Starting this week, we have intensified our food safety and handling hygiene practices and enhanced sanitation protocols along our routes and within our warehouse. We’ve taken the following steps to minimize risks associated with product handling and transportation:
Our food storage and staging areas are outfitted with hand sanitizer, as normal.
No non-food hub staff will be allowed in food storage or handling areas at Food Connects.
All delivery vehicles have been stocked with hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes for surface, and single-use latex gloves.
Drivers have been instructed to:
Thoroughly wash their hands as often as possible at locations along delivery routes.
Disinfect hands with hand sanitizer before and after every pickup and delivery.
Use disinfecting wipes multiple times per delivery shift to wipe down high-contact areas inside delivery vehicles.
Avoid physical interactions with persons along the pickup and delivery routes.
Ask receivers to use their own pens to sign documents and generally avoid handing anything back and forth.
Notify us immediately if they feel any symptoms associated with coronavirus. Drivers with symptoms will be relieved of driving responsibilities.
If you, or someone within your facility, are feeling sick, please arrange for alternative receiving procedures. We are happy to work with you on adjusted delivery directions or point-of-contact, or any and all, other contingency plans to ensure your continued deliveries, while also ensuring the safety of our staff.
We know these are trying times, and we’re here to help.
Sincerely,
Food Connects
March 2020 Food Hub Flyer
Producer Spotlight: The Bread Shed
With International Women’s Day right around the corner, we are featuring a women-owned business as our Producer Spotlight this month.
From sliced bread to mini loaves to cookies., the Bread Shed in Keene, NH has a delicious array of baked goods to satisfies your whole family. Brittany Migneault, owner and founder of the Bread Shed, has baking in her blood—she grew up learning from her aunt and uncle who owned a traditional Italian Bakery. In 2011 Brittany opened the doors of her own bakery.
Their products are handcrafted and all-natural. They use only ingredients that can be recognized and that belong in real food. They offer a wide variety of shapes and sizes of products so that each customer can find the right size product to suit their needs. It is a product that you can feel good about serving.
It is hard to choose our favorite Bread Shed product (well maybe not for our Marketing Manager), but Brittany knows what she loves: “My favorite product of ours is the Toscano, hands down,” says Brittany. “It always has been and always will be. The Toscano is one of the first breads that I learned to bake from my uncle, but it isn’t my favorite just because of the nostalgia. I absolutely love the interior texture and the flavor of the wheat. The Toscano has a thin outer crust with a soft chewy interior. We offer it as our Rustic Baguette or our Toscano Deli loaves (which are spin-offs our traditional Italian Toscano loaf) and are more geared toward restaurants and cafes.”
You can find the Bread Shed in many grocery stores and schools in the area. And selling locally is important to Brittany. “I believe selling locally and the local food movement are important for many reasons. To start with, the food is cleaner. When you are buying from your local farmers and neighbors, the food is fresh and there aren’t any added preservatives. It’s also important that we put good food into our bodies. Also, I think the food is just so much more delicious! I also love seeing small businesses and my neighbors thrive. Great local food is becoming so much more accessible and it’s helping us build a stable foundation in our communities. It’s important that we can offer healthy, wholesome breads to our community and that we’re able to make it more accessible for everyone. I love being a part of the local food movement as a producer and a consumer.”
”Food Connects helps us reach territories that we currently do not distribute to. We do all of our own deliveries with exception to Food Connects, so we do not deliver very far beyond Southern NH and VT. Food Connects offers us an opportunity to share our products with more people which we love!” And we love working with them!
This incredibly delicious woman-owned business currently has 10 team members. “Our crew is extremely dedicated, and I couldn’t be luckier to have the team I do. We have been in business for about 9 years now and will be celebrating our 10th year next Spring.”
And if you are looking for something new from the Bread Shed, you’re in luck! “We have a newer product that has been exciting and popular. We make pretzels from spent brewers’ grains from local breweries. It’s a great way to reuse a product that otherwise will go to waste and they are amazing! We sell them to restaurants and breweries that freeze them and then bake them off and salt them as needed. They have been very popular and a fun recipe to develop!”
Local Gelato Company Donates to Keene State College
Frisky Cow Gelato (FCG), a gelato company based at Stonewall Farm in Keene, NH is donating to a new fund at Keene State College that supports activities to increase access to local food, bolster sustainability initiatives, and address issues of food insecurity for students.
On March 3, 2020, FCG introduced a new custom flavor, called Mint Owl Crunch, to retail stores. The new flavor, described as “dark Belgian chocolate with all-natural mint flavor and crunchy red and white candy “owl pellets”, was developed by gelato artisan and company owner, Linda Rubin, as a special tribute to Keene State College (KSC).
“Keene is a college town and I’m proud of the many roles KSC plays in helping to make our region of the state a very special place to live, learn, work and play in,” says Rubin. More than 400 students, faculty and staff were involved in the creation and naming of the dedicated flavor with special support from the college’s food services provider, Chartwells. According to Rubin, $.15/pint of the sales from the Mint Owl Crunch will be donated to KSC for activities that address environmental and food insecurity issues.
Frisky Cow Farm Products, Inc is a woman-owned business and an NH Benefit Corporation with a triple bottom line. In addition to growing profits, the company is also dedicated to being a force for good in the community and the environment. The company also donates $.15/pint of sales from other flavors to local non-profits working to grow our local food system.
Frisky Cow Gelato is sold at Keene State’s Lloyd’s Marketplace. It is one of several local products offered to students since Chartwells’ Higher Education became the new food service provider in August of 2018. According to Director of Campus Life, Jennifer Ferrell, KSC is nationally recognized for its commitment to sustainability which includes supporting projects that increase access to local food for students and faculty.
“One of our foundational values as a public institution is sustainability,” says Ms. Ferrell. “Our partnership with Frisky Cow Gelato is in direct support of our plans to increase access to local food, bolster sustainability initiatives, and address issues of food insecurity amongst our students. According to the 2019 #RealCollege survey, administered by the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice and taken by nearly 167,000 students from 171 two-year institutions and 56 four-year institutions, 39% of respondents indicated they were food insecure in the prior 30 days.
“I think it’s critical, especially in rural communities, for people to invest in their local economies, take care of each other, support products, farms, restaurants, colleges, shops, and salons that bring color and vibrancy to our neighborhoods and towns and strengthen our local economy,” says Rubin.
Frisky Cow Gelato is currently being sold in 30 grocery stores, coops, restaurants, farm stands, and farm stores in parts of MA, VT, NH, and CT.
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For more information, visit www.friskycowgelato.org, email at lrubin5010@gmail.com or call 603-757-2522. Instagram: #eatfrisky; Facebook: @friskycowgelato
About Frisky Cow Gelato: Frisky Cow Gelato is a small batch, premium, artisan gelato made from organic milk, sourced from local New Hampshire farms practicing regenerative agriculture. It is a healthier and more flavorful alternative to American ice cream with half the saturated fat, fewer calories, and less churned-in air. Everything is made from scratch using organic and local ingredients (ie, coffee, maple sugar, berries) are used when possible.
Frisky Cow Gelato is a woman-owned NH Benefit Corporation dedicated to growing profits and being a force for good in the community and the environment. FCG is made at Stonewall Farm in Keene, NH using organic milk from their herd. Stonewall Farm is the “Scoop shop” for the company during the summer months. A percent of sales are donated to area non-profits working to improve access to local food. Environmental goals strive to minimize the company’s carbon footprint.
February 2020 Food Hub Flyer
Producer Spotlight: Mayfair Farm
Photo by Kate Preftakes Photography.
Tucked away in the quiet town on Harrisville, NH you will find a beautiful and family-run farm. Mayfair Farm, owned and operated by Sarah Heffron and Craig Thompson, is a mix of sustainable farming, culinary experiences, and spectacular events. Sarah, the chef, and Craig, the farmer, make for an excellent pairing and bring the delights of their farm to members all throughout the community.
“When I think about Mayfair Farm, I want it to be the type of place my grandfather would recognize from his farming days,” says Craig. “That means sheep on pasture, pigs in the woods, and diverse ventures including fruit trees, hay, and maple syrup. I also want it to be the sort of place that is welcoming to the public, a place where you might run into a friend or make a new one. I think we’ve accomplished that.”
Photo from Mayfair Farm.
Mayfair Farm produces a variety of products, from meats and veggies to cakes and syrups. It is hard for us to chose a favorite! For Craig, it’s about the process “I like raising lambs more than anything. There are a lot of reasons to farm, but finding newborn lambs in the barn on a chilly morning has to be at the top of the list.” But for Sarah, it is a bit more difficult. “Choosing a favorite product is like choosing a favorite child: not possible! We love how versatile our cakes and brownies are. They are delicious as is or can easily be dressed up for a fancy dinner with whipped cream, ice cream, or fruit compote or coulis. Making made-to-order-cakes is always a special treat. We love sending out biscotti and our own maple syrup to friends across the country. And we also work with local designers to offer custom Mayfair products like tote bags and bandanas. Our customers can buy our products at retail outlets (thanks to Food Connects), online, and at the farm in our farm store.”
No matter what their favorites are, they enjoy sharing them with the local community—and the local food movement is particularly important to them. “New Hampshire is a place where small, family-owned businesses still thrive. That goes for farms, too. It means something to us to know that we are a part of our friends’ and neighbors’ holidays and special occasions and that we’re not shrouded by anonymity or distance from our customers. We have a connection with our customers because they’re also our friends and neighbors.”
At Foood Connects, we are thrilled to start selling Mayfair Farm cakes after working with them as their vendor. “We spent the past few years breaking into the Boston market with our cakes, in December we introduced a new mini-almond cake for Whole Foods at their request, and now we are especially excited to find new outlets closer to home. We are happy customers of Food Connects, so we know how competent the organization is are and it is an exciting new relationship for us. We are thrilled to be able to share the local products that we love to make with all our regional neighbors.”
On top of the delicious food they provide, Mayfair Farm hosts events throughout the year. Owning and operating a farm increasingly more and more difficult. Sarah and Craig understand the need to diversify their offerings and embrace agritourism. “The demand for weddings hosted and catered by Mayfair has never been higher. We love working with clients to create a unique, local menu and memorable event. Families and guests not only appreciate our sustainable approach, but also love our party barn, firepit, Airbnb rental house, hilltop view of Mt. Monadnock, and more. Weddings have become an integral part of our business model, alongside our farm store, farm dinners, and our diverse products sold through Food Connects.”
Photo from Mayfair Farm.
Sarah and Craig take pride in feeding their clients like they feed their family. “Everything we create is ethically produced and made completely from scratch with ingredients from our farm and other local farms. That means our lamb, pork, sausage, cakes, and desserts not only taste great but support the local economy and are kind to the environment.”
So what are you waiting for? Try out their amazing, local products today!
January 2020 Food Hub Flyer
A Year in Review
This last quarter marked the end of a banner year for the Food Hub, a year in which we:
Julicia and Scott on the road.
Built and moved into our new cold storage facility;
Transitioned 100% of our operations to our central location in Brattleboro;
Hired a new Sales Manager and two new Operations Coordinators;
Launched new delivery routes to the Burlington, the Upper Valley, and to the Mt. Sunapee area of NH;
Purchased a second refrigerated delivery van;
Brought on more than a dozen new producers.
Nathanael on the road with a new refrigerated van,
In 2019 the Food Hub sold $562,840 of local food to local customers, representing approximately $465,000 of revenue paid back to farms and food producers in our area and 41% growth over total sales in 2018. In our largest sales week of the 4th quarter 2019 we sold, aggregated, and delivered $18,400 of food.
All of this change and growth sets the stage for building Food Connects into a gateway for moving smaller-scale, specialty food products from northern New England to larger population centers to the south. In Q1 and Q2 of 2020, we will launch a new software platform for managing inventory, e-commerce, and accounting. This tool will revolutionize our ability to generate sales through promotions, maintain traceability for food safety standards, accurately track and price in overhead costs, and coordinate everyday product movement logistics in our local service area and beyond. In partnership with Equinox Food Brokers, we will lead an initiative to create a “catalog” of specialty products from VT and NH food hubs and start sales and delivery of those products to retailers and distributors in MA, CT, RI, and NY.
Inside our new cooler.
In all, we expect that 2020 will be a year of seeking out—and capitalizing on—new opportunities to push the boundaries of what a rural New England food hub can do.
December 2019 Food Hub Flyer
Producer Spotlight: Terra Nova Coffee
If you wander slightly off of Main Street in Keene, NH, you will find a a small Roastery and Espresso Bar attached to an antique store. This hip little space, a hidden gem for many locals, is home to Terra Nova Coffee. Now owned by Jeff and Eliza Murphy, Terra Nova Coffee is a staple of many residents frequenting the Brewbakers Cafe on Main Street.
Terra Nova Coffee is unique in that it is one of the few 100% USDA Organic and ethically-sourced coffee roasters in New England. “We are able to track every bean all the way back to the origin, which includes USDA certification in our facility, but also to international organic certifications at the source,” says Jeff Murphy. “What makes us unique though, is the people behind the product. This includes every hand along the supply chain, and most directly—our passionate team of roasters and baristas. We roast in small batches in our beautiful manual roaster in our tasting room where we customers are able to sample any of our coffees via pour over or our custom La Marzocco espresso machine.”
Jeff particularly loves their single origin Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, with its complex floral, tea, and blueberry notes. But he finds that he has different "favorites" throughout the year. “Coffee origins can change from lot to lot based on growing conditions each season. It's always exciting to cup new lots and experience these variances and adjust our processes to best suit their profiles.” And if you want to try something a little different, Jeff recommends the delicious espresso blend in their Vanilla Cardamom Latte with local Manning Hill Farm milk.
Choosing to be part of the downtown Keene community and selling locally is important to Jeff. “Downtown Keene is a special place. I am amazed every year how many visitors we see coming from around the country, and around the world to experience our quintessential downtown. It is beautiful and unique, and we have a culture in Keene of support for existing and new businesses that operate in our growing footprint of downtown. It is the partnership between our citizens, businesses, and city officials that has really fortified downtown Keene as a key point in our local economy. We are excited for the growth and development that is slated in the coming years in Keene!”
Jeff not only sells locally, but buys locally as well. As a downtown business, he knows how important it is to support his friends and neighbors. “The local food movement and economy is important to me because it is what makes our region unique and special. By supporting local businesses; you are supporting your neighbors, helping to create jobs, reducing our carbon footprint, and supporting a strong network that can not be replaced by giant corporations or Amazon. The local food movement is important to me because fresh and direct is always best! I love interacting with our local farms and producers; learning about their processes and seeing behind the scenes of their work, knowing that our support goes directly to local families and individuals.”
“Being a small business owner wearing many hats every day,” says Jeff. “I have found Food Connects to be a valuable partner. They have helped us reach out to dozens of new customers by identifying potential sales channels, distributing samples, and marketing assets. Our wholesale customer base has grown throughout our time with Food Connects, and with two weekly deliveries we are able to get product to our customers quickly and maintain the freshness that we can stand behind.”
We are excited to continue to grow with Terra Nova. Be sure to stop in to one of their locations next time your are in Keene to meet the unique people behind the coffee. And keep an eye out for their seasonal Fireside Blend to hit the shelves this holiday season!