The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are pleased to announce the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI) Infrastructure awards in Vermont. Six Vermont food system organizations are receiving $2.1 million in infrastructure grants for larger-scale projects that extend capacity and infrastructure for aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, or distribution of locally produced food. These RFSI infrastructure grants target larger-scale projects that expand processing capacities, modernize equipment, update IT systems, construct new facilities and install more efficient and climate-smart equipment. This program creates new opportunities for Vermont’s small and midsize producers to thrive, expand access to nutritious food options, and increase supply chain resiliency. These awards are part of the $3.1 Million in RFSI subawards that Vermont announced in April 2024.
Below are the six RFSI Infrastructure grantees in Vermont:
Barred Woods – Montgomery Center (Franklin County): $450,000
Project: Barred Woods’ construction of a commercial facility to produce value-added maple syrup products
Barred Woods will establish an agreement with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets to construct a 6,000 square foot commercial food processing facility to produce value-added products using Vermont maple syrup and provide warehouse space for storage, parcel preparation, shipping, and receiving. This facility will allow the business to purchase more bulk maple syrup from regional small and medium scale producers, increase value-added production, and access new wholesale markets. This project will benefit 25 local producers, develop five new value-added products, and provide worker and food safety to 14 employees.
Boyden Valley Winery – Cambridge (Lamoille County): $385,970
Project: Establishing Boyden Valley Winery’s local spirit processing facility and grain aggregation center.
Boyden Valley Winery will establish an agreement with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets to establish a processing facility for local spirits, enabling the purchase, aggregation, and processing of grains, fruits, and maple syrup grown in Vermont into high quality bourbon and brandies. Renovations will allow increased grain storage, grain processing, barrel storage, and a distillation facility, allowing the company to move bourbon production from Tennessee onto the farm in Vermont. This project will support 15 new value-added products, benefit 12 local producers, and provide training to five employees.
Food Connects – Brattleboro (Windham County): $428,531
Project: Increasing Food Connects’ distribution capacity through infrastructure and food safety upgrades.
Food Connects will establish an agreement with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets to increase food hub warehouse infrastructure to create new wholesale customers and storage opportunities to increase sales of small and medium sized farms and food producers. This expansion will include an 800 square foot freezer build and upgrades to a sanitation room to ensure food safety required to access institutional markets. This project will benefit 118 local producers, reach 150 new markets, and purchase one new piece of equipment.
Myers Produce – West Glover (Orleans County): $257,280
Project: Developing a custom software solution for Myers Produce to streamline sales and logistics.
Myers Produce, a regional distributor, will establish an agreement with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets to develop digital infrastructure to manage sales and logistics more efficiently. The business will employ a custom software solution to increase sales, expand distribution, and offer multiple pricing tiers to increase food availability to underserved areas. This software will allow staff to increase efficiency in multiple areas of distribution along the middle of the supply chain, including processing customer orders, generating invoices, creating purchase orders, updating product lists, and inventory management. This software will enable a significant growth in sales which will directly increase market opportunities for local and regional producers. This more efficient software will enable the business to purchase from more local producers and increase the amount of regional food sold to market-outlets. This software will benefit 155 local producers, support 25 new products distributed, and reach 125 new markets.
Vermont Bean Crafters – Warren (Washington County): $137,200
Project: Retrofitting a century-old dairy barn into Vermont Bean Crafters’ dry bean storage and processing hub.
Vermont Bean Crafters will establish an agreement with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets to retrofit a historic dairy barn into a shipping, receiving, and storage hub, as well as a dry bean cleaning and processing facility. Upgrades will lead to more efficient loading and unloading of tractor trailers, increased worker and food safety, increased operational efficiency and profitability. This hub will receive, clean, inventory, and ship dry beans around the country via bulk beans for foodservice, retail-ready packaged beans, pre-cooked beans for institutional foodservice, and value-added products such as frozen bean burgers. This upgrade will support four new pieces of processing equipment, benefit five regional producers, and reach four new markets.
Vermont Farmers Food Center – Rutland (Rutland County): $466,143
Project: Construction of Vermont Farmers Food Center’s facility for local produce aggregation, processing, storage, and distribution.
Vermont Farmers Food Center will establish an agreement with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets to construct a 5,400 square foot facility for local produce aggregation, processing, storage, and distribution in central and southwestern Vermont. This facility will also serve as a minimal processing hub, as part of the campus’ planned expansion efforts to increase food system resiliency in the region. The facility will benefit 790 local agricultural producers, provide 10 new jobs, and help reach four new markets.