(Host) Some Vermont non-profit organizations that support multiple farms and enterprises in their regions will receive $40,000 in grant funding, thanks to the state’s recent jobs bill.
That measure passed back in 2010 has freed up money for the state’s Farm to Plate Strategic Planning program. The funding will mainly go toward new equipment and infrastructure. Among the five funded projects are the Intervale Center in Burlington and the Mad River Valley Food Hub in Waitsfield, which will open as a new storage and distribution facility.
(Kahler) "They will be supporting local producers throughout the Mad River Valley and probably beyond. They are going to be located in an old industrial park."
Ellen Kahler is the executive director of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, and she says the Food Hub and four other grantees were chosen because of their potential to nurture other food-related businesses.
(Kahler) "We’re very excited about them because they’re in all different parts of the state. We have one in Waitsfield; one in Burlington; two that are up in the Northeast Kingdom and then one in Barre."
Kahler says there will be additional funding that was set aside in the 2011 jobs bill. She says continued investment in Vermont’s food system is important because it will increase local production capacity and create jobs.