Food Connects Fresh Bites: August 2022

August Newsletter

A Day in the Life at the Food Connects Food Hub Part III: Deliveries

Producer Spotlight: Jack’s Crackers

NH Eats Local Month

We're Hiring

Customer Referrals

Food Connects Fresh Bites: July 2022

July Newsletter

A Food Connects Cheese and Charcuterie Board

Producer Spotlight: Simple Gifts Farm

Join Us for A Film Viewing and Discussion of GATHER

New Producers of 2021 and 2022

We're Hiring

Producer Spotlight: Simple Gifts Farm

Food Connects has been supplying the Simple Gifts Farm store with regionally-produced products since March of 2021. The partnership expanded this April when Food Connects began distributing fresh produce grown by Simple Gifts to other buyers in the area. We’re thrilled about this new, mutually-beneficial partnership centered around a love for fresh, local food. 

We had a chance to talk to Jeremy Barker Plotkin, Founder of Simple Gifts Farm, about the farm’s unique story and inspiring approach to working with their animals, land, and community.

How was Simple Gifts Farm started? What was its inspiration?  

Simple Gifts Farm started in 1999 when I moved to Massachusetts from Maine.  I had just finished graduate school (in agriculture) and wanted to produce something more tangible.  I started farming at the New England Small Farm Institute and bootstrapped the business from a half-acre up to 5 acres of vegetable production.  In 2006, I moved the operation to Amherst and was joined by my business partner, Dave Tepfer.  We took on the stewardship of the newly preserved North Amherst Community Farm.  We met as interns at the Land Institute and have always been motivated by a desire to incorporate ecological principles into an integrated farm system (I run the vegetable cropping, and he raises livestock.).  The North Amherst Community Farm property was the perfect site to also add a strong sense of community to our operation, as it is located within a residential area about a mile from UMass and was preserved by a tremendous effort from the community. 

What makes your products unique?  

My initial main marketing outlet was farmer's markets, so I have always been motivated to produce beautiful and flavorful vegetables that stand out amongst the other vendors.  Salad greens and heirloom tomatoes are particular specialties of ours and really represent both a visual and culinary feast.

Can you tell us more about your approach to farming? 

Our partnership was founded on the idea of rotating our land into pasture and using livestock to dramatically improve our soil health.  Since 2019, we have taken our soil health program to another level as we are transitioning into organic no-till production.  We are now at about 70% of our cropland in no-till production and are seeing definite improvements in the tilth of the soil.  We are hopeful that this change will help us to adapt to increasing climate disruption by making our soils more resilient to extreme weather.  

What is your favorite part of farming? 

I love harvesting the produce; it is the moment that all of our hard work leads up to.  

What is one of your favorite recipes you make with your produce? 

During tomato season, I make a tomato-bread salad whenever I'm invited to a potluck or party.  I typically use somewhat stale bread, broken up into pieces and then mixed with chopped heirloom tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, olives, garlic, and basil.  The bread soaks up all the juice, and it is delicious.

Why is buying and selling locally and the local food movement important to you?  

I love the idea of keeping our food and our economy as localized as possible for sustainability reasons.  Over the last couple of years, the value of a shorter supply chain has been made clear as local businesses really stepped up to keep their communities fed during the pandemic.  I see this need as likely to increase in the years to come. 

How does working with Food Connects help your business/what are you excited about in this partnership?  

We mostly produce food for sale through our farm store, but we also enjoy doing a larger quantity of a few crops to round out our business.  We have sold some of that extra produce to Whole Foods Market, but their corporate structure has become increasingly hard to deal with, and we increasingly feel that that outlet is at odds with our values.  Working with Food Connects gives us the opportunity to provide crops that will strengthen the local food system.  We are also using Food Connects to supply our farm store with products that we don't produce ourselves, so it feels like we are completing a circle.

Any events coming up or fun facts about your business/products?  

We do a Front Porch Jam every month at our farm store and will be doing a Harvest Festival in September.

Anything else you would like me to feature? Anything that you are doing to respond to the COVID-19 crisis? 

Our Farm Store became a real fixture locally during the early days of the pandemic.  We brought in a lot of produce from other local farmers, went to online ordering only, and really felt moved by the huge level of support that we had during that time.

Food Connects Fresh Bites: June 2022

June Newsletter

Warehouse Behind the Scenes

Frisky Cow Gelato Certifies as a B Corporation

We're Hiring

Eat Indie Local: Call for Partners

Join Us for A Film Viewing and Discussion of GATHER

Food Connects Brings Regional Food to MA Schools

How New Hampshire’s Food Hubs Working Better Together Means More Local Food on Your Plate

Food Connects Brings Regional Food to MA Schools

Food Connects, a non-profit Food Hub in Brattleboro, VT, is excited to share its newest partnerships with schools across the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts.

Food Connects is a catalyst for food systems change—centering food consumption, education, and distribution around community-based food systems. The organization delivers source-identified foods to schools throughout the Connecticut River Valley. With a strong foothold in Vermont and New Hampshire, Food Connects has looked towards Massachusetts for ways to provide more value to school nutrition programs through regionally-grown and made foods.

And Massachusetts schools are literally eating it up! In the 2021-2022 school year alone, Food Connects has delivered more than $30,000 in regional products to Massachusetts schools. From beef, pork, and chicken to granola, yogurt, and gelato—the variety of regionally grown and made foods now on students’ plates is tremendous. 

Both public and private schools throughout Massachusetts are shifting to regionally sourced food. Food Connects is thrilled to see the diversity of locations and types of schools—ensuring that all students have access to the same great food.

Private Schools

Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) is a private boarding school and one of the leaders in the local food movement. When D.L. Moody founded the girls’ and boys’ schools, the schools’ farms were at their core, feeding the student body. And though the farm isn’t the only source of food for the school, it is still a core part of its culture and heritage. 

On Friday, May 6th, 2022, NMH hosted its first Food Systems Teach-In since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a day when the high school curriculum centered on food and food systems. And the classrooms weren’t the only thing full of food systems thinking—the dining hall menu for the day centered on regionally sourced foods.

Food Connects offered many regional products from regional producers, including:

• Deep Root Organics

• Frisky Cow Gelato

• Hurricane Flats

• Maine Grains

• Red's Best

• Big Picture Beef

• Boyden Beef

• Vermont Bean Crafters

• Czajkowski Farm

• Old Friends Farm

• The Bread Shed

Tom Brewton, Food Connects Institutional Sales Associate, tabled at the event during lunch hours and was able to share with students and faculty about the regional products featured on the menu. Laura Carbonneau, Food Connects Marketing and Outreach Manager and NMH alumnae, joined students in the classroom, speaking about the Farm Bill, climate resiliency, food, and food systems. The response from students in the dining hall and the classroom was enthusiastic and engaged—lots of “yums.”

Deerfield Academy (DA), located in Deerfield, MA, is another boarding school for high school students in the Pioneer Valley. DA is proud to boast a Farm Team, a group of students who help out at two local farms with harvesting and garlic preparation projects. Working with DA for the first time this school year, Food Connects has delivered various products, including strip loins from Big Picture Beef and burger patties from Robie Farm.

Eaglebrook School is a 6th through 9th grade all-boys boarding and day school also located in Deerfield, MA. This year alone, the school has purchased 3,672 pounds of ground beef from both Big Picture Beef and Boyden Beef.

Public Schools

Food Connects has a history of working with public schools throughout Vermont and New Hampshire, providing high-quality, regionally-sourced foods. The Food Connects team takes pride in extending those same products and services to public schools throughout Massachusetts’s Pioneer Valley.

Greta Shwachman, Food Service Director for Greenfield Public Schools (GPS), is passionate about integrating local products into her menus. This is no surprise, as she was previously the Farm to School Program Coordinator for the Chicopee Public Schools. Her passion for Farm to School has made adding regionally sourced foods to her menu seamless. 

“Institutions like K-12 schools hold a lot of purchasing power,” says Greta. “I prioritize buying regionally-sourced foods to ensure that this power is used to support the local food economy. I enjoy the opportunity to meet farmers and producers, and help local food businesses grow and scale to have more success in the institutional market.”

Food Connects has supplied the GPS, which consists of 6 different schools, with ground beef from Big Picture Beef, bulk yogurt from Narragansett Creamery, and granola from True North Granola Company. And not just food but also promotional marketing materials, so students can connect with their food and the farmers.

“I believe that students should know where their food comes from,” says Greta. “And I enjoy working with Food Connects because they understand the importance of putting a face and a name with a product. I have appreciated the signage they have sent us, which includes background on the producer, and even the number of miles the product traveled to reach our cafeterias.”

Earlier this year, Tom met with Michael Onorato, Food Service Director of the Pioneer Valley Regional School District (PVRSD). Coincidentally, Michael was already familiar with Food Connects—he was previously the Food Service Director for Conval Regional School District, another school district Food Connects serves. To date, Food Connects has supplied the PVRSD with various products, including apples, potatoes, carrots, and eggs. 

Food Connects is also working with Massachusetts Farm to School, whose mission is to “strengthen local farms and fisheries and promote healthy communities by increasing local food purchasing and education at schools.” The organization, aligned with both the Vermont and New Hampshire Farm to School programs, serves as a vital lifeline for Massachusetts schools to access support, curriculum, and other resources to develop Farm to School programming.

Food Connects will participate in the Local Food Networking Session on Thursday, June 16, from 3:00 to 4:30 PM in Greenfield at the John Olver Transit Center. This event will be a spring get-together for K-12 school nutrition professionals in Franklin County. The event will include vendor displays, sampling, presentations, and discussions. And while the focus will be on local food procurement, there will be discussions on other topics. The event is being co-organized by the Partnership for Youth at FRCOG (Franklin Regional Council of Governments), Greenfield Public Schools, and Western Mass Food Processing Center at the Franklin County Community Development Corporation. If you are a school nutrition professional and want to learn more, you can register for the event today. 

If you are a food service director, work in a school, and would like to integrate more local foods into your menus, Food Connects would love to support you! At this time, their customer routes go from Brattleboro, VT, down I-91 as far south as Northampton, MA. Know that our routes are quickly expanding so we would be happy to hear from you even if you don’t fall within our existing geographic reach in MA. Please reach out to their sales team at sales@foodconnects.org.

A Day in the Life at the Food Connects Food Hub - Part II: The Warehouse

By Kristen Thompson

Our Food Hub Warehouse Specialist extraordinaire, Raymond Johnston, finds me in the staff kitchen at the end of my lunch break. I’m going to shadow Raymond as he prepares for tomorrow’s deliveries. 

Raymond picks up a stack of printed stickers with customers’ orders in the warehouse, checking for any missing stickers or mistakes by comparing them to the invoices. Then, we walk over to Cooler 1, which is, unsurprisingly, pretty chilly. 

(Left to right) Food Hub Warehouse Specialist Raymond Johnston and Marketing Coordinator Kristen Thompson are your guides on this “day in the life” doing picking, sorting, and staging in the Food Connects Food Hub warehouse.

This afternoon we’re preparing orders for Friday morning deliveries, which often include stops in the Brattleboro area and up towards Rutland. Some of the customers we’re preparing orders for today include Loaves & Fishes, The Putney Town School District, and Mountain Energy Market.

I’m eager to keep my feet moving and follow Raymond around the warehouse as he picks, sorts, and then stages the orders.

So, what is picking? Picking is the first stage of organizing orders. Raymond and the other Warehouse Staff take printed stickers of ordered items and sticker products in our warehouse. 

A few decisions go into what inventory items Raymond picks. First, of course, only safe food in good condition is kept for delivery. He picks the items with earlier sell dates first so they can make it to our customers before they’re too old to sell.

While Raymond is busy picking, I ask him about his journey to Food Connects. Raymond tells me he’s been working in food distribution for years, but he didn’t always feel like the distributors he worked for supported the sustainable and ethical food system he wanted to help build.

“In the training videos [for my previous employer], they were picking up from small local farmers and producers. By the time I was working with them, they’d gotten too big for that kind of work. I thought, ‘I wish I were doing that.’” 

Raymond reads over the inventories for a delivery.

At Food Connects, Raymond finally gets to support local farmers and producers. He feels good about the work he does. And with the knowledge and experience he brings from his years working for larger distributors, Raymond has brought important insights to our warehouse operations.

Raymond has done a lot of work to improve the warehouse’s internal recordkeeping and organizational processes.

“If Scott [our Food Hub Warehouse Coordinator] and I had to leave suddenly and someone had to walk into the warehouse and pick up where we left off, you want them to be able to see what has been done and what to do next.”

One of the ways the warehouse team keeps organized is by labeling items consistently during the picking process. On bagged products, like bulk beets, carrots, and potatoes, we put the stickers next to the labels producers have stuck onto the bags with general product information. We attach stickers to the short end of the boxes on boxed products. These little details save the team time later in the process, whether they’re sorting products or pulling them out of a delivery truck.

Raymond also goes over the products that aren’t in Cooler 1 with a highlighter on the invoices. We come back to those items at the end.

When we’ve stickered all the items in Cooler 1, we walk over to Cooler 2, where we have Basin Farm potatoes stored in an area kept cool but not cold—the ideal conditions for potato storage. These items come back to Cooler 1, where we’re ready to start sorting.

Raymond brings potatoes to Cooler 1 for sorting.

To sort, we begin to pull out and group stickered products by type on a big set of pallets. Emma Bliss, Food Hub Operations Coordinator, joins us in the sorting process and sets up a Bluetooth speaker with music.

Raymond sets out pallets and sorts stickered products.

Some of the items we’re sorting are the same items Emma and I picked up from producers earlier that day on the Westminster Pick-ups Route. Harlow Farm carrots are piling up on the pallets. Other items have been waiting in inventory in the warehouse, like the Basin Farm potatoes.

Once we’ve pulled and sorted all the items, it’s time for the final and most complicated step in the process—staging.

Deliveries are staged on pallets, organized by which route and, therefore, which vehicle the team will load them into.

A pallet of sorted produce in Cooler 1.

Staging is a bit counterintuitive if, like me, you’ve never thought about the logistics of unloading a delivery truck before. Raymond attempts to explain the logic of how we stage at Food Connects, and I do my best to follow.

“We actually sort in the opposite order of the delivery list so that the last stops will be in the very front of the truck, and the first stops will be in the back. It makes it easier for the drivers to unload.”

A pallet of staged products ready to be loaded onto a delivery truck.

So, each pallet is organized in the opposite order that deliveries will be unloaded. Each pallet has a clipboard with an invoice placed on top, so drivers know what they’re looking at when they pick up the pallets in the morning. The organization gets quite detailed here. Raymond fills out a form with information about which deliveries are on the left or right side of the pallet to make it easier for drivers to find them once they’re loaded into the truck. Most vehicles will have multiple pallets, so he writes numbers on the invoices that indicate where to pack each pallet in the truck.

What Raymond and his teammates do in the warehouse is all about making it as easy as possible for the next person in the process to shepherd our food towards its final destination successfully.

At the end of my time shadowing Raymond, I’ve concluded that the warehouse is where a lot of the hidden food distribution magic happens. Most people in our supply chain won’t ever see inside this process, but the efficiency and accuracy of our deliveries are all dependent on diligent and transparent warehouse operations. Moreover, the warehouse is where our food has a home until it’s ready to be delivered. The warehouse team keeps our food in fresh and delicious condition and ensures only safe, high-quality food ends up in our delivery trucks.

I’ve had an eye-opening look into the Food Connects Food Hub’s daily operations, with still more to come! Next week, I’m driving with Tracy Lake on our Monadnock Delivery Route, where I’ll see how our local and regional food finally makes it to our customers.

Frisky Cow Gelato Certifies as a B Corporation

Frisky Cow Gelato has been certified as a B Corporation joining 12 other NH B Corp businesses, committed to the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility.

Keene-based gelato producer, Frisky Cow Gelato has announced today its certification as a B Corporation (or B Corp), joining a growing group of companies reinventing business by pursuing purpose as well as profit. 

Frisky Cow Gelato has been certified by B Lab, the not-for-profit behind the B Corp movement, as having met the highest social and environmental standards which represent its commitment to goals outside of shareholder profit. To receive this certification, Frisky Cow Gelato underwent a rigorous assessment that measures and verifies the entirety of a business's operations and covers five key impact areas of Governance, Customers, Community, Environment, and Workers.

“We wanted to focus on more than just the bottom line with Frisky Cow Gelato, which is why we incorporated as a NH Benefit Corporation in 2018,” says owner, Linda Rubin. “This means we were legally committed right from the start to doing environmental and social good.” 

According to Ms. Rubin, the B Corp certification process took nearly two years requiring the business to reach a benchmark score of over 80 while providing evidence of socially and environmentally responsible practices relating to energy, supplies, waste and water use, worker compensation, diversity, and corporate transparency. In addition, every company must legally embed their commitment to a purpose beyond profit in their company articles which Frisky Cow Gelato did when it incorporated in 2018.

Frisky Cow Gelato is now part of a community of 4,600 businesses globally (13 in New Hampshire) who have been certified as B Corps. The B Corp community in the US, representing a broad cross-section of industries and sizes, comprises over 900 companies and includes well-known brands such as Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., Cabot Creamery, King Arthur Baking Co., Tom’s of Maine, and Pete & Gerry’s Organics. In New Hampshire, Frisky Cow Gelato joins well-known local corporations including Badger and Mascoma Bank.

Frisky Cow Gelato has a history of social responsibility. Since its inception the company has donated a portion of its revenue to nonprofit organizations building the local food system including Food Connects, the Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition and the Cheshire County Conservation District. In 2021, the company launched a Keene State College signature flavor – Mint Owl Crunch – and donates a portion of the sale of every pint to address food insecurity among KSC students. 

“As a NH Benefit Corporation sourcing ingredients, services, and other goods from local companies was extremely important to us, says Rubin. “Donating a portion of our revenue to area non-profits was also high on the list.” 

Jorge Fontanez, CEO of B Lab US and Canada, says “We are delighted to welcome Frisky Cow Gelato to the B Corp community. This is a movement of companies who are committed to changing how the business operates and believe business really can be a force for good. We and the rest of the B Corp community are really pleased to support Frisky Cow Gelato in paving the way for a new way of doing things in the food sector”. 

“When businesses are intentional about meeting social and environmental standards—and focus on more than just the bottom line—we can all affect change while making ourselves more competitive along the way,” says Ms. Rubin. “That’s what the B Corp movement is all about, using business as a force for good.”

About Frisky Cow Gelato Founded in 2018, Frisky Cow Gelato specializes in creating premium artisan gelatos that are dastardly delicious. Their products are sold in more than 50 retail stores in NH, VT, and MA. They also operate a gelato scoop shop in Keene and provide a gelato bar for weddings, parties, and community events.  Frisky Cow Gelato creates all its gelatos from scratch at its licensed NH dairy processing facility on Krif Rd in Keene.

Frisky Cow Gelato is a NH Benefit Corporation and certified B Corp and donates 2% of its annual revenue to local organizations working to build the local food system, fight food insecurity, and address environmental issues. 

About B Corporations Certified B Corporations are leaders of a global movement of people using business as a force for good. They meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. There are more than 2,000 Certified B Corporations in over 130 industries and 50 countries with 1 unifying goal – to redefine success in business.

About B Lab B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Its vision is that one day all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the Best for the World®, and as a result society will enjoy a more shared and durable prosperity. For more information, visit www.bcorporation.net and www.benefitcorp.net.

Food Connects Fresh Bites: May 2022

May Newsletter

A Day in the Life at the Food Connects Food Hub Part I: Pickups

Producer Spotlight: Peachblow Farm

Culturally Relevant Foods

Food Hub Special Schedule: May-June 2022

Meet our New Marketing Coordinator

Promos: Chi Kitchen: VT Bean Crafters, Katalyst Kombucha

Food Connects Receives Agency of Agriculture Grant

VT Open Farm Week

Culturally Relevant Foods: Bringing Halal Chicken to Our Community

Over the past few months, Brattleboro has welcomed Afghan refugees into our community. We have seen community members rallying behind our new neighbors, providing a variety of support services—it’s been truly inspiring.

Food Connects has been eager to support our new neighbors, as well. Some of our staff members have cooked meals, and our Farm to School team has supported efforts in schools to welcome their new Afghan students. And now, our Food Hub has the opportunity to make an impact as well.

At Food Connects, we value inclusivity in our food system. That means access to nutritious, culturally relevant foods and participation in the food system. We believe that individuals should have the right to self-determination and food sovereignty—the right and access to make decisions over the food they eat. If you haven’t had Afghan food before or do not know a lot about it, there are flavors and cultural differences that are crucial to honor. One significant barrier to our Afghan neighbors accessing and cooking traditional dishes was the lack of Halal-certified chicken.

First—what is Halal? 

According to the American Halal Foundation, “Halal (also spelled halaal) is an Arabic word that means ‘lawful or permitted.’ It is a term that is used in the Islamic religion in contrast with the word haram (which means ‘unlawful or not allowed’). These terms indicate which life practices are allowed or not allowed for those who practice Islam (Muslims). While halal refers to much more than just Islamic dietary practices, the term is most often thought of when talking about food, drinks, and other products.”

Second—where can you get Halal products? Well, in the case of chicken, there was a resounding silence in terms of local production. So, when the Vermont Foodbank approached Food Connects about sourcing options for Halal chicken, we were on the case. Food Connects worked diligently with Common Wealth Poultry to create a source for this much-needed chicken. 

We had the opportunity to talk with Zach Hebert, Associate Manager of Community Engagement: Southern Region for the Vermont Foodbank, about the project to learn more about how this partnership came to be and its significance for the Afghan refugees. We also talked to Trey LaPorta, Wholesale Manager from Common Wealth Poultry, about the process of certifying their chicken. Check out the conversation below.

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Tell us a little bit about how this partnership came about.

Zach: A few months ago, back in the thick of winter, when Afghan refugees began arriving in Brattleboro, I had been in close conversations with the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) about ways the Vermont Foodbank could support our new neighbors with nourishing and culturally relevant foods. We took some initial actions, such as partnering with the local Everyone Eats program to make familiar meals and preparing welcome boxes full of familiar foods. As our new neighbors began to settle in our community, one need we continued to hear was a demand for halal meat products. To try to meet that need, several staff members at the Vermont Foodbank started exploring regional Halal meat options that met the scale of the need for our communities across the state.

You can read more about the Vermont Foodbank’s work here.

Why did you decide to reach out to Food Connects?

Zach: Food Connects has been a close partner of the Vermont Foodbank for many years. While we haven’t been a direct customer of its Food Hub until the past two years or so, its Farm to School Team has always played a vital role in improving food security within our local community. The staff there have always been close thought-partners and change-makers for our work.

From a purchasing perspective, the Vermont Foodbank has a strong commitment to working with Vermont and regional producers whenever it makes sense, and it aligns with responsible stewardship of our donor’s donations. Having a pre-existing vendor relationship with Food Connects, after they became a Vermonters Feeding Vermonters partner with us last year, made the decision to reach out to Food Connects around sourcing this product a no-brainer for us.

In this particular format of working with Common Wealth Poultry, this partnership came about after some exploratory conversations between myself and Tom Brewton, Food Connects Food Institutional Sales Associate. Tom and I are close friends outside of work, and it is always a nice confluence of “small-town life” when we’re able to come together to create something where both Food Connects and the Vermont Foodbank can play a vital role in supporting our community. After a few initial conversations, it became clear that there was a mutual interest in sourcing some halal meat for the local community, and that Food Connects would be well-positioned to identify the best producer to do that.

What excites you about this partnership?

Trey: We are very excited to be working with Food Connects for many reasons but most importantly, to be working with people who share many of the same values as the folks at Common Wealth Poultry. Especially those around creating a culture of transparency, honesty, and getting everyone the opportunity to have the highest quality food and to know where it comes from. We love working with people and companies that are passionate about the products they produce and distribute.

Why are culturally relevant and appropriate foods important?

Zach: Culturally appropriate foods are important because everyone deserves to have nourishing and comforting food in their lives. Food is so much more than just calories we consume—it emotionally recharges us, provides nourishment, and acts as a facilitator for equally healing moments of connection and conversation. Everyone deserves food that is appropriate for the culture and the dining room where they prefer to eat and build community. In this situation, where our new Afghan neighbors are dealing with so many unknowns as they enter a new part of their life, this feels like an important step in remaining committed to making their meals that much more accessible and familiar.  

Why are you eager to help support our Afghan neighbors?

Trey: We love our Afghan and African neighbors because many of them are included in the Common Wealth Poultry family. Our employees come from around the globe, so for them to be creating food that gets put directly into their culture and community brings us so much joy.

How has access to the Halal chicken impacted your lives (or the lives of your community members)?

Zach: While I can’t speak directly to the impact this has had on people’s lives, I know from how quickly our first order moved out of our warehouse that there is a clear need in the community for the halal chicken. The first “pilot” pallet we ordered has already been mostly distributed to our food pantry partners (and from there on to our neighbors). From the feedback I’ve heard, this Halal chicken has allowed families to prepare well-rounded meals for their families. I can’t speak to the specific challenges of our Afghan neighbors, but I know that transportation barriers are a constant challenge for the folks we work with, so I’m sure being able to access this chicken from the same place they are already going for other foods without having to spend precious time and resources searching multiple stores or locations has been a huge relief.

What did the process look like to become Halal certified?

Trey: We started our Halal slaughter specifically to allow our employees to enjoy the products they make every day. We want our employees to be proud of the work they do and to be able to bring it home and enjoy it with their families, which fortunately leads to a whole new community of people we are able to service.

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Food Connects is incredibly proud of this great community partnership as a way to welcome our Afghan neighbors and create a thriving and inclusive food culture in our community. We hope that this story will help inspire you to get to know our new neighbors and support their transition into our community. 

Are you interested in working with Food Connects to create Healthy Families, Thriving Farms, and Connected Communities? Reach out to us at info@foodconnects.org on ways we can work together.

Photos courtesy of Common Wealth Poultry.

A Day in the Life at the Food Connects Food Hub - Part I: Pickups

By Kristen Thompson

Stops on this late March Food Hub pick-ups route.

Emma Bliss, Food Hub Operations Coordinator and sometimes driver for Food Connects, already has Food Hub Van 2 packed when I arrive. I hop into the van, and Emma sets up her music. 

“Music is essential,” she tells me.

We’re driving on the Food Connects Westminster Pick-up Route in late March. Emma tells me March and April are the hunger months—when the storage crops are running low, and spring produce isn’t ready to harvest yet. We’re stopping at Harlow Farm today—an especially important producer this time of year because they grow many storage crops. We’ll also be picking up from True North Granola, FinAllie Ferments, Basin Farm, and Green Mountain Orchards. This is one of our shorter pick-up routes, but in the summer, with more fresh produce in season, this route will be much busier with stops at farms like Allen Brothers.

(Left to right) Food Hub Operations Coordinator Emma Bliss and Marketing Coordinator Kristen Thompson are your guides on this “day in the life” doing pickups for the Food Connects Food Hub.

We pull out of the parking lot at Browne Court and head towards downtown Brattleboro. Our first stop is The Cotton Mill, home to several start-ups and small producers, including True North Granola. As we drive through downtown Brattleboro, I ask Emma about the Food Hub’s business model as an entrepreneurial non-profit.

“We really prioritize the farmers and producers,” she explains.

In 2021, Food Connects returned over $1,270,000 back to farmers and food producers in our community.

At The Cotton Mill, we park the van by the main loading dock and head inside. Across from Tavernier Chocolates, we find the door to Truth North Granola’s facility and knock. One of the True North Granola Team members brings our order out to us. We can carry this week’s order in one trip, but orders vary from week to week.

We thank them and head out to the van, where it’s starting to drizzle.

Emma drives Food Hub Van 2 through downtown Brattleboro.

Back on the road, I ask Emma whether there are ever any deliveries on this route. We do have a Westminster delivery route, but as Emma explains, “it’s logistically complicated to do pick-ups and deliveries together, so we try to do them separately.” Some farms, such as Scott Farm, are on our delivery and pickup routes, Emma tells me. It’s exciting to see partners participating as both producers and customers in our food system network.

This route usually has many Just-In-Time pickups, meaning we pick up fresh produce to fill customer orders we received that week—saving on food waste and ensuring fresher produce for our customers. Food Hub employees have told me, “It’s more work, but it’s worth it to provide the freshest, highest quality produce for  our customers.” 

Our next stop, FinAllie Ferments, takes us up 91 North to Bellows Falls.

As we pass through downtown Bellows Falls, Emma points out the opera house, where you can get a great deal on movies and snacks, and the thrift shop she likes.

Emma picks up our FinAllie Ferments order.

“If you ever want to plan a day trip in the area, I can give you a full itinerary,” she tells me. Emma grew up in Southern VT, making this tour an introduction to Food Hub pick-ups and the region Food Connects calls home.

As we pass the Bellows Falls Middle School, we start talking about the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union and Farm to School (FTS). FTS is where Food Connects began, and it continues to be a core component of our work, including in our Food Hub.

“Bellows Falls Middle School is a big delivery for us, and they also did a summer food box program for students. It’s really important for students to have proper nutrition. I think people are starting to acknowledge that more than when we were students.”

We arrive at the warehouse where we pick up FinAllie Ferments, and Emma looks up the code to enter the building. We stack the many boxes of Curry Kraut, Black Garlic Kimchi, and more onto the handcart we’ve taken out of the van—where it usually sits seatbelted against the wall. 

Part of the art of pick-ups is keeping the products organized by flavor so the team can easily organize the boxes when we arrive back at the warehouse. We put flavors of the same type in stacks together at the front of the van.

Emma picks up our FinAllie Ferments order.

Behind those, we’ll be loading our Just In Time orders from Basin and Harlow Farms. Those pickups take us to Harlow’s barn-turned-warehouse in Westminster, VT. Harlow is holding both our orders from them and Basin. It’s one of those simple but inspiring examples of cooperation among our partners.

Before pulling up to the loading dock, Emma stops the van and gets out to open the back doors. Then we back the rest of the way up to the dock and splash through the muddy road to the barn's side door. We’re the only ones there, but Emma knows the routine. We open two sliding doors and use a pallet lift to carry our pallet of carrots and potatoes to the van.

Emma tells me about the benefits of partnerships with our comparatively larger producers like Harlow.

“They’re a very key central producer for us, making up a lot of our produce for the whole season,” Emma explains, “And they’re glad to have someone distributing locally so they can sell their products locally.”

As we approach Green Mountain Orchards, Emma lets me in on a secret—they have the best cider doughnuts and the nicest people of all time.

Emma brings our Green Mountain Orchards order to the van.

When we arrive, I meet Andrea Darrow, Co-Owner of Green Mountain Orchards, who steps off her elliptical to greet me. She tells us about all the delicious food that people like to come into their store for, which is also, in some ways, a museum—with old cars and farm equipment displayed around the room.

On the road home, we pass one of our customers, the Putney Food Co-op, and Emma offers to stop to pick up snacks. Riding along with Emma on her route, I feel just how close-knit our network of producers and customers is.

Emma says she hears good feedback from the customers she meets.

“The feedback is that we’re very communicative and friendly at all levels [of the organization].”

There’s one more stop today, the Food Connects loading dock, where we’ll see our pick-ups safely to the warehouse. More of the Food Hub Team is ready to help us when we arrive. Scott Berzofsky, Food Hub Warehouse Coordinator, and Raymond Johnston, Food Hub Warehouse Specialist, carry pallets over and begin unloading the van with Emma.

Emma and Scott Berzofsky, Food Hub Warehouse Coordinator, unload Van 2 at the Food Connects Food Hub loading dock.

I’m at the end of my trip shadowing Emma on the Westminster Pick-up Route, and there’s a lot to take in. Even though Emma drives these routes alone, I’m struck by the connections she facilitates and participates in within our community food system. It truly takes the whole team of customers, producers, drivers, warehouse coordinators, and more to build this system of healthy families, thriving farms, and connected communities.

But my day isn’t over. Next, I’ll be shadowing Raymond in the Food Hub warehouse and learning about yet another crucial piece of the local and regional food distribution puzzle. But for now, it’s time for my lunch break. Stay tuned for more!

Producer Spotlight: Peachblow Farm

One of our favorite parts of running the Food Connects Food Hub is distributing local and regional food to local and regional people. Peachblow Farm shares this mission, focusing on crops that thrive in our region and that local customers demand. With Food Connects customers, that’s their hardy and delicious asparagus! We had a chance to ask Heidi Fuller of Peachblow Farm about the family farm and their approach to growing food in New Hampshire.

How was Peachblow Farm started? What was its inspiration?

Peachblow Farm has been in the Frizzell family for almost 100 years, and it spans four generations. Theodore and Martha Frizzell purchased the farm, and for many years it was dairy and poultry breeding. It was passed to Robert (Bob) Frizzell in the late 1960s and was primarily dairy at that time. In 1988, the dairy was sold out to a federal milk surplus program, and the focus shifted to crops. Pick-your-own strawberries were started prior to this and continue to this day. Asparagus, hay, and seedless straw have also been added.

What makes your products unique?

Robert Frizzell was born and raised on Peachblow Farm. He has seen the progression of the farm from animals to crops and has enough experience with all of it to know what works best.  Our products come out of his 84 years of experience and expertise.

Can you tell us more about your approach to farming?

Our approach is threefold—we seek out crops that grow well in our area; they must be crops that are in demand, and they must fit into our labor availability.

We have found success with asparagus because our land has the right type of soil and our family has expertise in how to successfully plant it. So in the past 30 years, we have grown to about 10 acres of asparagus, with some of the fields still gaining in production as they mature.  This is the product we sell most to Food Connects. We have found that there is a great demand for the asparagus as we seem to be one of few farms in the area growing it. It fits into our labor availability because it is the only crop in the spring.

What is your favorite part of farming?

Robert believes that to be a successful farmer, you have to be an inventor of sorts. In order to make machinery that fits your fields and does all the required tasks, you must be able to create new and unique pieces of equipment.  Robert enjoys this part of the farming, and it is what has enabled him to have a farm that fits the Farm of Distinction criteria for the state of New Hampshire.

What is one of your favorite recipes you make with your produce?

Our favorite way to eat asparagus is to steam it and top it with a family aioli recipe.

Why is buying and selling locally and the local food movement important to you?

As we said in our approach to farming, we choose crops that grow well and are in demand in our area. That feeds right into the philosophy of the local food movement.

How does working with Food Connects help your business/what are you excited about in this partnership?

As our production of asparagus has grown, we are not able to sell it ourselves and need to find outlets like Food Connects that have the market for what we are producing. In that way, we can continue to focus on increasing the production and make sure it is satisfying consumer demand.

Any events coming up or fun facts about your business/products?

Our asparagus runs into our Pick-Your-Own strawberry season coming up in late June. This year we may also have pick-your-own sunflowers to add.

Anything else you would like me to feature? Anything that you are doing to respond to the COVID-19 crisis?

One of the by-products of producing strawberries was the production of seedless straw to mulch the strawberries. That has become its own market because, without seeds, the straw can be used in many more applications such as landscaping, straw bale gardens, and even home insulation material.  You can read about the harvest process for seedless straw on our website, PeachblowFarm.com.

We found that Pick-your-own strawberries was very popular during COVID-19 because it provided families with a wholesome activity they could do safely outdoors. Our family has had Pick-Your-Own strawberries for over 40 years, and we welcome children. We have people who picked here as a child bringing their own children. It is very gratifying for us to be able to continue this tradition.

Food Connects Fresh Bites: April 2022

April Newsletter

Crafting a Local Lunch: How Windsor High School is Shifting School Meals

Spring Produce Preview

Food Hub Special Schedule: May-June 2022

Vermont Way Foods: A Catalyst for Change

Producer Spotlight: Hosta Hill

Promo: Frisky Cow Gelato; Bear’s Fruit Kombucha; Jaju Pierogi, Boyden Beef

Food Hub Special Schedule: May-June 2022

We've created a special summer order and delivery schedule to accommodate Food Hub holiday closures. Download the schedule below!

2022 Food Connects Food Hub Summer Holiday Schedule

Monday, May 30: Monday deliveries will proceed as usual. The Food Hub office will be closed.

Tuesday, May 31 - Friday, June 3: The Food Hub office will be closed, and there will be no deliveries.

Monday, June 6: There will be no Monday deliveries. The Food Hub office will be open.

Pre-orders/Special Orders:

* Bread Orders: Bread orders will be due by 11:00 AM on Friday, June 3, for the week of June 6, as usual.

* Cheese Special Orders: Cheese special orders will be due by 11:00 AM Monday, May 23, for delivery the week of June 6. Bell & Goose cheeses will not be available for this order cycle.

Questions?

Contact Sales@FoodConnects.org

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2022 Spring Produce Preview

We’re on the edge of our seats, anticipating new spring produce! But are you wondering what to plan for your menus and orders? We’re here to help! Here is our 2022 spring produce forecast to help you get the most from the season!

April

Throughout April, we’ll still be at the cusp of spring harvests in our region, but you’ll be able to purchase indoor and high tunnel-grown crops and storage crops! Here’s some of what you can expect…

• Mushrooms

• Potatoes

• Salad mixes

• Spinach

• Baby bok choy

• Beets

• Carrots

• Greenhouse tomatoes

• Microgreens

May

The first new field produce will start to pop up in May! You’ll find these fresh veggies on shop.foodconnects.org…

• Asparagus

• Fresh herbs

• Kohlrabi

• Lettuce

• Radishes

• Rhubarb

• Salad turnips

Please note: Food Connects will be closed for spring break the week of May 30th. There will be no deliveries that week.

Early June

Spring has fully sprung, and summer is just around the corner! We’ll have lots of new fresh produce coming your way…

• Beet greens

• Broccoli raab

• Chard

• Collards

• Escarole

• Kale

• Mustard Greens

• Pea shoots

• Strawberries

Late June

Some of our favorite early summer treats will show up in your shopping cart! Get ready for…

• Celery

• Cucumbers

• Garlic scapes

• Fennel

• Napa and Tiara cabbage

• Sugar snap peas

• Summer squash

• Squash blossoms

• Zucchini

• And maybe even some broccoli and broccolini!

Producer Spotlight: Hosta Hill

We love ferments in any season, but as storage crops empty out and we hold our breath for spring produce to ramp up, we’re incredibly grateful for Hosta Hill’s delicious ferments. They’re so crunchy and flavorful, they have customers saying, “it tastes so fresh!” Host Hill is a family-owned, women-run business based in the Berkshires. Their business is all about making delicious and nutritious food to sustain communities in the Northeast. Maddie Elling, co-founder of Hosta Hill, took some time to share their story with us.

How was Hosta Hill started? What was its inspiration?

Abe and I started Hosta Hill in the spring of 2011. We were working for a blue cheesemaker and started selling the cheese at a farmers' market in Connecticut. At the time, we were inspired by the food scene in the Berkshires and wanted to start something of our own, specifically related to food and farming. On the side, we were playing around with growing food, raising animals, and fermenting things—tempeh, krauts, and beer. We realized that no one locally was making veggie ferments (or tempeh, which was a product we sold in the first few years of the business). Every week we went to the farmers’ market, we thought ‘we could have so much more on our table!’ We eventually got organized and started selling our sauerkraut, kimchi, and tempeh (a cultured bean product). Being young and ambitious, we also grew the vegetables for our ferments. The goal was to be vertically integrated. We farmed on our own and then in collaboration with another farm until about four years ago when it got to the point of being too much work and needing to focus on our product line of ferments. Since then, we have moved into a larger kitchen and facility that we rent, which has allowed us to scale up. We are figuring out what's next!

What makes your products unique?

People often say our ferments are so fresh tasting, which makes me laugh because they are usually aged four to six weeks at a minimum. That said, I think what makes our products stand out is the fact that they are vibrant and crunchy, giving that feeling of “freshness.” Over the past ten years, we have built our brand organically and with lots of love—literally with blood, sweat, tears, and support from our community and families. I think that shines through the product in a way. We make our food for the people and love to offer a delicious and healing product. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Can you tell us more about the farmers you work with?

The vegetables that go into our ferments are sourced from regional, organic farms. This means we process in line with the harvest season. We have about four farmers we set up contracts with, and they grow specifically for us. This gives both us and the farmers security around growing and sourcing. MX Morningstar Farm (Hudson, NY) and Whistle Down Farm (Hudson, NY) grow the bulk of our daikon radish. Atlas Farm (Deerfield, MA) and Markristo Farm (Hillsdale, NY) grow most of our napa, red and green cabbage, carrots, and onions. Then we have an array of farmers who will call us up (or vice versa) if they have a bumper crop of something we use or if one of our farmers has an issue with a crop. Luckily we have many talented farmers to call on to supply us.

What is your favorite part of making ferments?

Capturing the harvest! When we receive pallet bins of freshly harvested cabbage and turn it into a bunch of kraut that same day, that is very satisfying! 

What is one of your favorite recipes you make with your ferments?

I love pairing the ferments with so many foods at all mealtimes. Simple ways like curry kraut or kimchi on an egg sandwich are classic. I also really like our crimson kraut on middle eastern foods like falafel or hummus plates—the crunchy, sour veggies complement the savory falafel flavors very nicely. 

Why is buying and selling locally and the local food movement important to you?

I believe buying and selling locally is going to become more important over the next few years. Between climate change and supply chain disruptions, what we can grow or produce in our region and work in collaboration to distribute to communities is going to be (needs to be!) commonplace. As a business, our model has been to process regionally grown ingredients into locally made products and sell them within our region, and we plan to keep it that way. We don't plan to go national anytime soon (though, to be transparent, we do ship from our online shop across the US, but 80% of our sales are in the Northeast and New England). There are veg ferment companies our size doing the same thing in California, Florida, and Colorado, so we figure: keep it local!

How does working with Food Connects help your business/what are you excited about in this partnership?

There are distributors who are all business, and then there is Food Connects. Working with Food Connects feels more like a partnership and less transactional than some of the larger distributors we work with. We feel like we can call up Food Connects with a question in relation to our distribution or to talk about a challenge we might be facing, which allows each of us to understand each other more holistically. We value these human connections and feel that the future will be better with more understanding and collaboration within like-minded businesses, which I hope will ripple out into our communities for the better.

Any events coming up or fun facts about your business/products?

We attend our local Great Barrington Farmers’ Market each season, so we’ll be there on Saturdays from May to November. It’s a great farmers' market and a good reason to visit the Berkshires! Many festivals are coming back this year, and we hope to be at the Bennington, Vermont May Fest on Memorial Day weekend. Fun fact: we used to head up The Berkshire Ferment Festival, a lively one-day festival in the fall featuring an array of fermented food vendors, workshops on all things cultured, music, and more food. It was a super popular event we are considering bringing back this year. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or signup for our newsletter to be in the know about all things happening with Hosta Hill!

Crafting a Local Lunch: How Windsor High School is Shifting School Meals

“90% of the cooking we do in our kitchen is from scratch,” Craig Locarno, Director of Food Services for the Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union (WSESU) told us. “I am lucky to have a great team. I’ve been in school food service for almost 19 years, and I have the strongest team that I’ve ever had.” 

Food Connects began delivering to Windsor High School at the start of this school year. While Food Connects delivers to the high school, Craig distributes the product across all his schools. And you might be surprised to hear the impetus of this partnership was… bread.

With the closure of the Vermont Bread Company, Craig Locarno was looking for a way to continue providing the students in the WSESU with locally made bread. Although the food service program is independently run and does a lot of scratch cooking, baking bread isn’t part of their daily routine. Luckily, Food Connects already has a partnership with a great local bakery that makes delicious sliced bread—The Bread Shed, located in Keene, NH.

Since our partnership with the WSESU began, we have delivered more than 1,000 loaves of bread from The Bread Shed. Food Connects and The Bread Shed worked together to develop and offer an affordable, child-friendly bread loaf that meets the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) nutrition requirements for school lunches. Craig was one of the first school districts to jump on this opportunity. In the past few weeks, he has increased his standing bread order from 45 to 75 loaves per week as part of their new soup and sandwich day on Thursdays—which has been a hit!

Craig is always open to new products that could be integrated into his menus, so he didn’t just stop with bread. Throughout the school year, he has purchased eggs from Maple Meadow Farm located in Salisbury, VT, and potatoes from Szawlowski Potato Farms located in Hatfield, MA, among other producers (read the interview below to hear about more). We are also connecting Craig with Carissa Brewton, from Grateful Greens, to introduce him to their Food Access program—an initiative to make sunflower greens more accessible and affordable for schools.

We had the opportunity to talk to Craig about the WSESU nutrition program to learn more about what has been a success in schools and why increasing the students’ access to local food is important to him. Check out the interview!

Can you tell us more about WSESU's independently run food service?

I think what makes us different is that we emphasize supporting local and making that a priority. We’re creating a program around what we can purchase locally. Of course, we are still a public school, so we have to follow the rules of USDA, consider cost restraints when buying from food contractors—but making education and supporting local farmers a priority. And I think there are a lot more directors doing that. A lot of directors believe in the same story and the same mission. It’s still pretty new, so I think we need to push the envelope, show this story, and show what’s possible. I think it starts with the administration and board. Thankfully I’m in a school district that cares about Farm to School. 

What made you decide to work with Food Connects?

You’re the closest to me in the Upper Valley. It is important that I connect with the biggest liaison between farmers and schools. And Food Connects can help me to continue to build and grow a quality program.

What products have been successful so far?

So, I think The Bread Shed bread is a big hit. It’s the only bread we offer! Our vision and mission are to support local producers. If we continue to always give them the local and the commercial options, they’ll probably choose the commercial because it’s familiar. But we’re here to educate kids and expose them to farmers and food producers in our larger community. We make maybe 600 sandwiches a week on The Bread Shed bread. And the kids are enjoying it and come back the next week and get the same sandwich.

The fish sticks from Red’s Best were a huge hit. We haven’t served fish sticks in a while since COVID-19 hit. It’s really good to hear the positive feedback about them compared to some of the more processed fish stick options. We also served Vermont Salumi’s sausage, and the kids really enjoyed it!

We hear you have an upcoming pilot of Grateful Greens. What interests you about this product for the kids?

Sprouts are a tough sell in school, but my schools are small enough that I think it will be a good fit for the two programs we’re testing it out in.

We’re going to have Carissa from Grateful Greens come up and do a sampling in April. We’ll probably introduce it that day when she comes in, and then we’ll probably run it in the fruit and veggie bar to get the kids used to it before working it into salads like our soup and salad days for our spring menu.

Why are you interested in having regionally-sourced foods in your cafeteria?

I think it’s a combination of supporting local agriculture and educating kids. They are our future, and we need to educate them about what sprouts from a local farm taste like, what fresh asparagus, and what green beans taste like and look like. I’m in school food service to show kids what local Vermont food tastes like.

It’s nice to be able to support the good things in the communities, and it’s important for kids to understand the importance of eating good local food. We still have a lot of work to do on educating kids. We’re looking for more promotional materials for the local farmers and producers for students to help them learn more.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

We do Harvest of the Month taste tests, and we do a lot of other Harvest of the Month work. Plus, we’re in the middle of trying to get school compost up and running.

Food Connects Fresh Bites: March 2022

March Newsletter

Behind the Scenes: Just-In-Time—How Food Gets From the Farm to Your Shelf

Support Milkweed Farm's Land Transition!

Let’s Rejuvenate the Sullivan Country Store

Producer Spotlight: Hudson Valley Fisheries

Promo: Barrett’s Garden