UVM Food Feed

Vermonter Ed Behr’s New Book Takes Readers On a Gustatory Tour of France

Posted by Guest Author | August 4, 2016

By Hailey Grohman

Vermont is lauded for its beer, cheese, and cider, but those aren’t the only food-related features that set us apart from other states. We’re also the home of several award-winning food publications and writers: Eating Well magazine in Shelburne, author of food and nature books Rowan Jacobsen, and perhaps best known, James Beard award-winner Ed Behr and his magazine The Art of Eating.

Behr, a resident of the Northeast Kingdom, publishes not just a respected quarterly magazine but also books on food culture and history. His food writing reflects the Vermont values of authenticity and quality while exposing readers to tastes from around the world.

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Posted in Vermont | Tagged diet, farming, food culture, local foods | Leave a comment

Investing in Open Space for Community Food Programs

Posted by Guest Author | August 2, 2016

By Travis Marcotte
Intervale Center Executive Director

The USDA Forest Service estimates that 6,000 acres of open space in the U.S. are lost to houses and other development each year. We also know that, due to an aging farmer population, 70 percent of American farmland will change hands in the next 20 years, leaving even more open space extremely vulnerable to development.

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Posted in Environmental, Vermont | Tagged Environment, farming, local foods, Vermont | Leave a comment

Food Loss Study Reveals Opportunity for Increased Use of Locally Grown Food

Posted by Erica Houskeeper | July 29, 2016

About 14.3 million pounds of wholesome vegetables and berries grown in the state go uneaten every year, according to a new study.

The first empirical study of food loss on Vermont farms was conducted by Salvation Farms and Isgood Community Research. Salvation Farms began the study last year in order to understand the scope of food loss, which is defined as edible, quality crops that are neither sold nor donated. The Morrisville-based nonprofit has worked with farmers for more than a decade to capture and distribute un-marketed crops.

Photos by Salvation Farms
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Posted in Economic | Tagged Economy, hunger, local foods, UVM | Leave a comment

On-the-Farm Dinners Draw Food Lovers to Valley Dream Farm in Cambridge

Posted by Erica Houskeeper | July 27, 2016

Anne Tisbert is a farmer, entrepreneur, tour guide, and mother.

At Valley Dream Farm, which she purchased with her husband, Joe, in 1992, she rises early each day to tend to organic produce—red beets, sugar snap peas, rhubarb, and tomatoes—that grow in the shadow of Mount Mansfield in Cambridge.

As any farmer knows, survival is a challenge. The family first ran Valley Dream as a dairy farm and later shifted gears to become a certified organic produce farm. Not long after making the switch, the family was supplying vegetables to local restaurants, running a CSA and farm stand, and offering a pick-your-own flower field.

Four years ago, Anne saw another opportunity to raise the farm’s visibility and diversify. She started “On-the-Farm” weekly dinners on the barn’s rustic front porch. The dinners, which feature local chefs from the area, are open to the public Tuesday nights between June and October. At a recent dinner, Topnotch Resort chef Cortney Quinn prepared a seven-course meal to about 40 guests using produce from Valley Dream Farm and other local products.

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Posted in Vermont | Tagged local foods, Vermont | Leave a comment

UVM Alumna Creates Inspiration at the Google Food Lab

Posted by Erica Houskeeper | July 22, 2016

Eva Antczak ’07 is program manager of the Google Food Lab, a platform for people in food policy, farming, corporate food service, healthcare, technology, corporate food companies, and academia to use their knowledge to solve pressing food system issues.

We talked to Eva about her senior thesis on Vermont cheesemakers, managing the Google Food Lab, and why technology and innovation are critical to a sustainable food system.