Roots Farm Market sellers of organic produce, ready to eat meals & VT foods across all categories.
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In the Grocery Aisle
Does anyone else crack up over the term "Harvest Season"? OK so the September harvest moon might be part of the equation, but Vermont produces & harvests food in all seasons. More & more fresh produce, meat, eggs, & dairy are being sold at our local inde & coop food stores as well as the multinational corporately owned supermarkets.
Stores selling products of VT origin help to keep dollars in Vermont. Decisions are made on so many levels, at small & large stores alike. Supermarkets owned by corporations located outside the US have a big impact with pressure from venture capital, shareholders & equity investors each influencing purchase decisions often steering away from Vermont producers. The consolidation of stores has a huge impact on how decisions are made to streamline profits, not necessarily supportive of local companies.
The Roots Farm Market in Middlesex which is also part of a very intensive farm operation helps drive the local food economy with support of family farmers including buying from Real Organic farmers. Their goal is to fit the needs of their customers with an emphasis on Vermont food producers. They, like so many small-town stores actively tweak their product mix to meet profit goals within their stores’ purchasing parameter.
Covid has fostered many changes at the store level. Shoppers better understand the impact of their purchases as they have been thinking more about where their food comes from. For many (stores & shoppers) balancing food costs with choice is getting harder. With increased prices on everything buying locally is a high-impact choice with a positive multiplier effect in our communities & the state. Balancing product mix, product availability from suppliers is becoming harder & harder to meet all the fluctuating variables. That said, local food demand remains strong at our locally owned & operated stores.
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Meat, poultry, fish & eggs are up 5.9 percent over last year, and up 15.7 percent from prices in August 2019, before the pandemic. |
Costs of food production have climbed.
Our local stores are navigating food cost increases with "value perceptions". Not only in Vermont but across the nation shoppers feel the strain on the family shopping budget.
Reasons for the costs cut across the full supply chain. Others factors are attributed to pressure from venture capital & the push for profits as companies are bought & sold to fill out corporate portfolios. Think Koffee Kup Bakery & its immediate demise under after purchase by AIAC & is now under legal review. The loss of KKB, had significant impacts for stores when they lost an affordable bakery product line. See more on KKB & the impact on the former employees here. The fallout on workers trickled throughout the economy with the loss of income that could not be spread among other businesses. There are so many factors in play, only a few which are touched on in our links this week, but the impacts are juggled daily by our producers, distributors & stores.
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Goodwill & Community Partners
Jon Satz loved his H2A workers. After his recent passing, his family created a GoFundMe to help provide for their
Jamaican farm-family members. Together, they produced some of Vermont's best
produce for decades. Our network rose to the occasion; thank you to all who
gave so generously. It's not too late to add small amounts to add up $750. The fund has raised just shy of $30,000! Please give what you can
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More Good & Beer From BBP
Purchasing local ingredients is a core value for the store & cafe. They get most of their fresh produce from Edgewater Farm just over the border in NH. One of the annual highlights is strawberry season. The berries that Jenny & Ray deliver are so rich, juicy, perfectly tart & wonderfully representative of summer in a bite.
Matching berries & beer was an easy fit. Thus, Berries of Wrath was born. It is a celebration of Edgewater’s triumph, their skill as farmers through a trying season, the dedication to quality they have, & the outstanding fruit of their harvest. A true celebration of community connecting their growers with top notch beer brewed at Good Measure Brewing.
Their keen staff who really know beer bring a new level of engagement that dove tails with the full-service the store provides. So, on the edge of Fall, Summer is in the air with strawberry flavors. The private label beer will be a hit throughout foliage season- or until its gone. Win-Win-Win. And goodwill & cheers to all. BBP knows beer.
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Currently seasonal produce includes 25 pound bags of beets & carrots, sweet potatoes, hard squash, leeks, pie pumpkins & of course fall greens that are full of flavor
We are sticklers for upgrading your signage. Be sure to switch out or update your old signs for local seasonal products.
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Woodstock Farmers Market loves their hikers! They also love grab & go mixes of VT & other food to engage their shoppers with healthy snacks. This helps increase sales & provides fantastic snacks as up-selling for the out door adventurers.
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How's Your Maple Promo?
Speaking of Maple-have your read the Maple Brief from Farm to Plate on the state of the maple industry? Learn more about the connection of the syrup to forest management, climate change & market conditions. It's worth the read.
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Free Verse Farm Store on the green in Chelsea is working to keep customers safe in the small foot print shop. They are huge supporters of VT foods with an emphasis on stewardship of the land, of people of other businesses. They have created a welcome environment for local products, including their own line of herbs available wholesale to other stores. Check them out to round out your values-based product mix.
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Be dedicated to accuracy: Out of stocks can be costly. Take care of details at receiving time.
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Big Picture Stuff: Food Costs
Costs matter. At every point in the chain costs are rising. In the picture above. Sweet Roots Market & Pumpkin Village Foods make the necessary adjustments to reflect the changes in temporary out of stocks. Invoices are adjusted because food is not available from food manufacturers.
So, you wonder why food costs are so unstable. About 80 percent of traded goods travel by shipping container. The containers themselves cost more. Last year, transporting a 40-foot steel container cost on average $1,920; today, the cost can be more than $14,000. This is transferred over to food & logistics businesses buying supplies such as packaging, shipping boxes, inks for labels, machine & computer parts. Shipping supplies from cardboard to pallets to resin-based plastics used in shipping are astronomical impacting food manufacturers & distributors costs.
You have read about all the reasons: lack of workers at every type of job, covid related shutdowns, weather disruptions including drought, fire, rain & even the winter storm that shut down Texas power. In aggregate, these have nothing but deleterious impacts on all food & food adjacent businesses with no end in sight.
We know from our VT Specialty Food Producers that product packaging has taken a hit. Lesser Distribution said this week that sales would be higher across the board if more product was available. Vermont stores are reporting fill rates at abysmal rates. Again, the reasons are varied but the impact is felt in lost sales, higher cost of goods, & uncertain margins & significant inventory management decisions.
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Regarding Meat Prices:
"Packers are prospering. Tyson Foods Inc., the largest U.S. meat company, in May reported record margins of 11% for beef in its second quarter. The company’s stock is up 24% so far this year, double that of the benchmark S&P 500 index. JBS SA’s shares are up more than 30% in 2021.-WAPO
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You Likely Didn't Know
Production to make the polyethylene used for milk jugs was halted because of the shut down of the Texas power grid last winter. This led to gaps in production & price increases on existing inventory. Additionally, our producers continue to navigate disruptions in PVC used in tamper resistant packaging & other uses for food production & distribution.
Disruptions happen at the farm level too with increased costs for supplies used in haying or on-farm produced products. This will affect the cost of production for local meat (& other products) this coming winter.
Our specialty food producers & farmers use their respective B2B membership listservs to navigate new supplies or "make deals" with other local businesses for short term fixes. That said the stress level at farms & food manufacturers remains high with so many out of their control costs.
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Would you benefit from support helping to navigate margins across your cost of goods or balancing margins with your store's product mix?
In these challenging times, maybe you need a set of eyes on your business to help identify unseen costs to your business. Foodmoneystuff.com
might be just who you need. The team can help you & your food business-including stores & cafes with decision making. They are Vermont based, but will work with Small Bite readers across the country.
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Reminder for Beverage Buyers
For September & October, VFN affiliate sponsor Farrell Distributing is working with Eden Specialty Ciders for a "give back" program to the Vermont Fresh Network. For all 4 packs of Harvest Cider Cans (Peak Bloom, Brut Rosé & Deep Cut) sold retail, Farrell will donate $1 back to the network. Contact your Farrell sales rep to place an order.
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Fall is Apple Season
Orchards are humming! Orchardists across Vermont are reporting great apple crops. Be sure to promote in season VT apples. Consider turning folks on to new varieties with “apple pie bundles” as totes filled with varieties perfect for baking. Champlain Orchards has a useful index of their varieties available DSD. With your apple vendors check for weekly updates & availability.
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Put on your barn coats. It’s time to go apple picking.”
-Amy Hwang for the the New Yorker
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South Royalton Market is stocking a display of Laughing Child sweet potatoes. This is always a boost for fall sales. LCF has perfected the Vermont sweet potato & they are available across the state. Be one of the many stores that sells them. Contact Timothy to see if you can be added to their route. And available soon- swag for your produce team to help in promoting the sweets of Laughing Farm in Pawlet.
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Reminder for Vermonters
When promoting local foods, be aware of the Vermont definition as enacted by ACT 129. Check out the fact sheet so that your purchasing values-based strategies & promotions comply.
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The summer crops intersect with early fall ones at Roots Farm Market
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