Day 3: Farm to Institution was immersive for us

Today's activities epitomized immersive learning; our meals, lecture presentations, and tours aligned perfectly.

Hunt Middle School's 1/2-acre school garden.

We ate breakfast at UVM's Harris Millis dining hall, then learned about Farm to Institution (FTI) from David Conner and UVM's food procurement through Sodexo and participation in the Real Food Challenge (RFC) from Jennifer Porter, Caylin McKee, and Alison Nihart. We learned about Vermont Farm to School (FTS) from Abby Nelson of VT FEED and Linda Berlin of UVM Extension, then proceeded to visit three Burlington schools' gardens and even ate a real school lunch in Burlington High School's cafeteria. Lastly, we spoke briefly about Farm to Hospital (as part of FTI) and had dinner at Harvest Cafe at UVM Medical Center, a member of the Vermont Fresh Network and one of the first hospitals in the country to sign the Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge, committing them to serve local, nutritious, and sustainable food ("Dining Services").

Burlington High School's front garden with
beautiful lettuce. The sign in the background
says, "This is food!"

Although we spoke with so many different people in such different contexts, clear themes of farm to institution stood out. FTI and FTS both focus on (1) procuring local, regional, sustainable food, (2) working with farmers and producers to expand their markets and strengthen their businesses, and (3) providing educations about food and farming. Most themes relate to other aspects of food systems we've been talking about: defining values, supporting farmers, helping children and adults make behavioral changes regarding food, and the importance of partnerships and collaboration. We have also been hearing food systems challenges repeating themselves: high costs of local food, small and local farms not being able to produce enough to keep up with institutions' demands, seasonality, lack of infrastructure for distribution and storage, and defining and prioritizing different types of values without being contradictory or imposing on others.

Tightly-packed lettuce and salad greens at the
Integrated Arts Academy. These raised beds
line the edges of the playground, so the kids can
pick snacks during recess!

Meanwhile, economics can be somewhat opposite of values, but proves even more important in some ways. Conner taught us economic theories (product differentiation, distribution models, and transaction cost theory) to show why institutions are buying local food. FTS faces major challenges in trying to integrate local, sustainable foods into the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) because of the need to stay below the federal reimbursement rate, which is currently $2.98 per lunch, and the need to comply with NSLP nutrition guidelines (U.S. Department of Agriculture). Yet metrics are crucial to demonstrate the success and economic viability of these programs, so we can push for more resources and support from well-established organizations and the federal and state government.






"Dining Services." The University of Vermont Medical Center. Accessed June 3, 2015. https://www.uvmhealth.org/medcenter/pages/Departments-and-Programs/Dining-Services.aspx

U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food and Nutrition Service. Notices. "National School Lunch, Special Milk, and School Breakfast Programs: National Average Payments/Maximum Reimbursement Rates." Federal Register 79, no. 136 (July 16, 2014): 41534. http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/cn/NAPs14-15.pdf

Day 2: Catamount Educational Farm and Vern Grubinger

Today's tour of the UVM Catamount Educational Farm opened our eyes to a careful blend of farming for market and farming to educate the next generation of our country's farmers. Their farmer training program on a small 10-acre plot provides young people with a skills-based, experiential education in sustainable agriculture. Not only do they produce fruits and vegetables for market, but they also have time to receive additional instruction on farming practices and learn about food systems from a holistic view.

Our tour provided us with a holistic view as well, as Susie Walsh Daloz, Farmer Training Program Director, spoke to us about their role in all aspects of food systems, including relationships with customers like Sodexo, what cover crops work well in Vermont's climate in the summer, the experimentation their students do on the hand-scale garden, and where some of their students come from.

UVM Catamount Educational Farm field.

The tour made me wonder how common educational farms are, and if there's widespread interest around the country in participating in farmer training programs. This related well to our conversation with Paul Costello at VCRD yesterday about training young people to farm, while also attracting them to rural Vermont and giving them reason to stay here. It also relates well to our conversations about aging populations in farming, which coincides with the declining number of US farms in recent years. In 2007, US farmers averaged 57.1 years, which is up from 48.7 years in 1945, the first year the US Census on Agriculture collected data on farmers' age (Zulauf 2013).

UVM Catamount Educational Farm field.

Vern Grubinger's lecture was an excellent summary of food systems from a truly systemic perspective. He touched on a variety of aspects, such as geographical scales, market levels and pressures, the oligopoly of food corporations, consolidation and commodities, and non-monetized values, among others. Most significantly, he compared food systems to a multi-dimensional house because you see very different things from different angles. Yet, he stressed the importance of being aware of what exists in other perspectives and how your actions have implications in unseen areas. In this systems view, we must ask: what are the connections and boundaries that matter?


Zulauf, Carl. "Putting the Age of U.S. Farmers in Perspective." The Ohio State University Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics. October 23, 2013. http://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2013/10/putting-age-us-farmers-perspective.html

Day 1: VT Values and Policy

Coming into this program, my knowledge of Vermont is pretty much limited to its great skiing and amazing maple syrup. Today's meetings were an overwhelming introduction to both Vermont and its food system, but I enjoyed the focus on policy and state-wide, systemic planning.

Awesome graphics on the wall at VSJF, the
backbone organization of Farm to Plate.

The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD), Agency of Ag, and Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) all discussed a strong Vermont identity surrounding community, nature, and a strong local economy. Coming from the New York City area, I've never experienced or imagined a state-wide set of values. It's really interesting to see these values being incorporated into politics, state planning, business models, and of course, food systems. I found Chuck Ross' (Secretary of Ag) comments on values-driven food systems particularly compelling - the idea that there's a small area where values and economic viability cross paths, and while this area can be difficult to find, economic viability is crucial in order for food policies to pass and receive funding.

I am considering a Minor in Statistics, so I was also intrigued by the data analytics on the Farm to Plate website, as well as Scott's visualizations and graphic design at VSJF. In an increasingly technological world, having data on every single aspect of Vermont's food system in one central website is extremely valuable, and I was impressed by its user-friendliness and wide range of information.

I am participating in this program as part of a sustainable food systems internship for one of my professors, and one of my internship focus areas is bringing ideas back to Duke in regards to how Duke can play a role in North Carolina's regional food system. So far, I can definitely see how unique Vermont is, and it would be nearly impossible to replicate the innovative work happening here, due to differing circumstances. It's clear, however, that keys to success include strong support from the state government and elected officials, Vermont values-driven programming, a viable landscape for food production, community participation, and cooperation among various public, private, and non-profit groups.