👏 🚴‍♀️ We Did It!! 🚴‍♀️👏

On Sunday, September 17, about 500 cyclists rolled through Shoreham and Orwell, sampling food from over 20 local vendors, delighting in the sights, sounds and tastes of the Champlain Valley.

This incredible fundraiser for ACORN wouldn't be possible without our stellar community of food producers, local food enthusiasts, volunteers and sponsors. Click here for more photos of the fun day in the sun from the brilliant Lee Krohn. Thank you, Lee! 📸

If you'd like to place an order for a commemorative t-shirt (see below; $25) or bike jersey (see above; $100), please email Lilah@acornvt.org by midnight this Sunday!

All proceeds benefit ACORN's local food access programs including the ACORN Food Hub and Farmacy: Food is Medicine.

The ACORN Online Market is chock full of

🍠🥔🥬 LOCAL FOOD TO FALL FOR 🥬🥔🍠

Winter Squashes - Sweet Potatoes- Hardy Greens - Roots

and so much more!

Place your order by Monday at 10am.

🧊 Our walk-in freezer is up and running just in time for the fall! If you've got extra produce, meat or other products you need to freeze for the short or long term, email Lilah! 🧊

🚚 We've replaced our flooded delivery van with a new (to us) van, a sweet little Ford Transit Connect. Check her out below! 🚚

Farmers + Producers You're Invited:

Nightmare on Exchange Street, 10/26

ACORN will be celebrating the 1 year anniversary of the Food Hub and hosting its first Farmer Climate Network event the evening of Thursday, October 26. This will be a chance for growers and producers to catch up with each other after a uniquely challenging season, celebrate the harvest, and toast the 1 year anniversary of the ACORN Food Hub. Bring your ideas for farmer working bees this winter! 🐝

Beverages, wellness items and entertainment provided. Contribute to a taco potluck to share your harvest! Costumes encouraged but not required.

RSVPs are requested. Email us if you're a food producer who would like to join the party. 🎃

Resources for Food Producers

• Climate Adaptation/Mitigation Fellowship Programs accepting applications for 2024 cohorts!
• Input wanted on Agroforestry Species List
• Help UVM Extension's Pollinator Support Program
• Find a Mentor for Your Organic Farm
• The ACORN team will be attending Shelburne Farms' ABCs of Farm-Based Education in October. If you'd like ACORN to co-host or plan an event on your farm, respond to this email!

Local Food News

A Young Couple Relocated 3,000 Miles to Buy a Legacy Vegetable Farm in Brandon (Seven Days)

Fall fun unfolding at county orchards (Addy Indy)

Local schools bring local Organic dairy to their cafeterias (WCAX)

Just Released: New England Feeding New England - 30% Local Food by 2030 Vermont Report

Baird Farm in Chittenden has a new Sumac Berry Infused Maple Syrup

The Farm Stand at Flatlander Farm in Starksboro is a cornucopia of local deliciousness

Vermont Champlain Valley Landscapes Owe Their Beauty to Cold Hardiness (American Horticultural Society)

How Do You Prepare for Every Type of Weather? (Ambrook Research)

Prescriptions for fresh fruits and vegetables help boost heart health (NPR)

• September 29 - October 1: Celebrating the Knoll's 20th Anniversary! (Middlebury)
• September 30: Bourbon Release Party at Appalachian Gap Distillery! (Middlebury)
• October 3: Pizza & Power: Green & Just Electricity for VT (Middlebury)
• October 4: Say WATT? - ACRPC Virtual Public Listening Event @ 5pm
• October 10 & October 12: Fall Foliage Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides (Shelburne Farms)
• October 15: Collective Grief Gathering - a monthly communal space to honor sorrow, anger, fear, anxiety, or overwhelm about the climate crisis or state of the world (Burlington) Email Lily.
• October 28: Salvation Farms Aid (Essex Junction)
• October 30: Vermont Farm to School & Early Childhood Network Gathering (Randolph Center)
• November 5: Turkey Slaughter & Processing Workshop (Northfield)
• November 29: ACORN's Annual Meeting (save the date, location TBD!)

Thank you for being a part of our community. ✨

Wishing you a month of gorgeous foliage, an abundance of apple/pie and the pleasure of observing migrating geese! 🍂 🥧🪶

Cheers,

Lindsey, Jess, Lilah and the ACORN Board