Small Bites December 9, 2021

dedicated to creating opportunities to promote & sell more VT products to more buyers
With our second holiday season and the range of challenges from covid, businesses realize staff are tired. We are living in a time of uncertainty that is hard to navigate. The staff shortages, covid quarantine at schools, trying to maintain high standards, & operational disruptions makes for collective weariness.  
 
Some stores & manufacturers are giving staff a well-needed extended break to recoup energy. With Christmas on a Saturday, some are closing earlier than usual on Christmas eve & taking Sunday the 26th off. Others are going full steam ahead through December then closing for a week, providing a well-needed break for all. As a means of staff appreciation, this is a paid time off to acknowledge how challenging this past year has been. It may take a hit on cash flow & service, but customers are being prepared that this will benefit service in the long term with 2022 anticipating significant challenges ahead. The decisions being made for time off for all staff to get a break are well thought out & meant to provide breathing room for folks to recharge. 
Jericho Country Store

Change is coming to the Jericho Center Country Store. As one of the oldest general stores in Vermont it has naturally had its share of owners. For the past 20+ years it has been owned & operated by the St. Amours family.
General stores are often a cultural touch point for small towns. The Jericho store is a melding of history & current trends side by side. Artifacts from grocery stores past, are side by side current Vermont products trending: think craft beer, artisan baked goods, kombucha & handcrafted chocolates.
With the next iteration of owners, the community hopes the store can be maintained as a community center & a place to purchase products with loyal customers continuing to carry the tradition of this store as a hub of meeting & eating. Read more at VT Digger.
We just HAVE to share this!

Root Words is a project of the VT Farmer Food Center in Rutland. In this podcast, you can learn about The Abenaki Land Link project which addresses overlapping challenges of how to develop contemporary Abenaki foodways inside a western colonized food system while creating food security for a people historically removed from land access. The project also opens opportunities for Abenaki & non- Abenaki folks to partner on solutions to these complex challenges. 
Emerging GF Bakery Business
Located in Shelburne, Swift
Planet Bakes is the maker of gluten free English muffins. This new micro specialty bakery creates both gluten free & vegan GF "moofins" & toaster cornbread. Tall, rich & slightly nutty makes them perfect for selling as holiday breakfasts "must-haves" or of course for every day. They are not just for GF shoppers, they aim to please all connoisseurs. Find out more on this emerging company.
Meeting customer requests, Hunger Mountain Coop is one of the many stores stocking local eggnog from area dairies including Rogers Farmstead.
The full line of Roger’s dairy products is shipped to stores DSD & through Pumpkin Village Foods. By creating efficient delivery routes, they service stores in the northern area of the state including the corporate stores of AGNE in Johnson & Waterbury. By servicing coops, independent & corporate stores the farmstead dairy has a market channel & customer base that is currently meeting their needs. 
Looking to Increase Electricity Efficiency?

Grid Fruit is an energy efficiency startup focused on food stores in southern Vermont. They are working with Efficiency Vermont & Green Mountain Power with projects to help Vermont coops & general stores become more energy efficient. Contact Grid Fruit for details.
Specialty Food Highlight

Vermont Specialty Food Association new member Cavendish Game Birds are renowned for their jumbo quail born & raised on a small farm in Springfield. ​​

The quail produce a light meat with a well-rounded, slightly sweet flavor, making them a very versatile choice for home chefs & perfect to promote for small family gatherings. It pairs well with an abundance of flavors prepared using traditional or creative cooking methods. Shipped across the Northeast through Provisions International & BOL through Performance Food Group/Black River Produce. Contact the team at Cavendish for this wonderful addition to your holiday promotions & special orders.
Associated Buyers of NH is excited about its expanding line of Vermont products. 2022 is looking good for their store customers to expand VT products. They are onboarding award winning Our House Bistro Mac & Cheese, Runamok honey & bitters, Benito's & Butterfly hot sauces.
 
Associated Buyers services independent & coop stores across Vermont while making VT products available to their New England customers. 
The winter farmers market at the VT Farmer Food Center in Rutland sells all categories at their winter market; whimsical artisan gifts, lovely Champlain Valley Mushrooms, & locally raised meat from Boardman Hill Farm for special family meals. This market does a thriving business which keeps many farmers & makers engaged with local shoppers.
Community Goodwill

Sandiwood Farm, in Wolcott is a unique farm venture that collaborated with Be Well Integrative Health to raise $3000 for local non-profits. As they welcomed guests back to the farm this year, their 22 week Wellness Wednesday program brought numerous instructors, healing modalities & participants to the successful initiative that supports their community partners. The farm is known for their line of CBD, maple, CSA & seasonal flower bouquets.
Good Food Award Winners

Vermont food producers did well in 2021. Winners across categories include Babette's Table in Waitsfield which won for its old world style Finocchiona. All the pork they use is raised & slaughtered locally. They know their farmers well & prioritize farms where pigs are pastured & whey fed.
 
Further south in Reading, Spring Brook Farm won for their Ashbrook cheese. The farm is fully owned by the Farms for City Kids Foundation & operates in support of their educational program. Home to over 100 registered Jerseys, the 42 milking cows produce over 600,000 lbs. of milk each year used to make award-winning artisanal cheeses. Some of the cheese is available through Provisions International.

Congratulations to the Vermont Good Food Award winners this year. 
Be proactive & share your business news with me, so I can share it with the network.

Small Bites comes to you via USDA & High Meadows grants. Content is created for farmers, food manufacturers, distributors, grocers to increase VT food sales
Contact: Annie H Harlow
smallbites802@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, photo credits are from company social media, websites or Annie Harlow
Interior Jericho Country Store: Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger