VFN Webinar Series 2023

Join VFN staff, members, and partners for a series of webinars about building local partnerships and developing innovative ideas in Vermont's food and farm sector.

Monday, Nov. 27: Local Partnerships for Restaurants

with Sean Blomgren of The Lodge at Spruce Peak and Hervé Mahé of Bistro de Margot

For chefs and restaurants, prioritizing partnerships with local farms and producers can be a challenge. Vermont Fresh Network Gold Barn members spend at least 35% of their annual food purchasing budget with local partners, and in this webinar you'll hear from Gold Barn members Sean Blomgren of Spruce Peak and Hervé Mahé of Bistro de Margot about what local partnerships look like for them, how prioritizing local impacts their culinary programs, and why they opt to purchase locally-grown and produced foods where they can.

View the webinar recording and recap here.

Wednesday, Nov. 29th: Managing Diversified Food & Farm Businesses

with Hannah Blackmer, Field Stone Farm and Jennifer Vascotto, Trenchers Farmhouse 

How do you balance a business that includes: managing a diversified farm, wholesale accounts, specialty food production, farmers market participation, never mind the usual aspects of running a business like marketing and overall financial management? Hannah Blackmer of Field Stone Farm and Jennifer Vascotto of Trenchers Farmhouse will discuss how they integrate the various aspects of their work and will offer their perspective on lessons learned and advice for others interested in developing their own diversified food and farm business.

View the webinar recording and recap here.

Wednesday, Dec. 13: Business Planning for Agritourism Enterprises

with Lisa Chase and Zachary Smith of University of Vermont Extension, Kristen Brassard of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Janet Steward of Greenfield Highland Beef, and Tara Pereira of Vermont Fresh Network

Business planning is critical for any type of enterprise, and agritourism is no exception. Hosted by Vermont Fresh Network and University of Vermont Extension, this webinar will cover key steps for business planning and introduce you to a new online tool. In this webinar, we'll provide a general overview of business planning for agritourism, and we'll share resources and next steps. For farms in Vermont, we'll let you know how to receive one-on-one support and guidance for your agritourism business plan. We'll also discuss an online training series open to all that will take place in February and March for those who would like to develop a business plan this winter with guidance from Extension business planning experts. To request a disability-related accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Amber Hunt at 802-656-7530 or Amber.Hunt@uvm.edu so we may assist you.

Funding for this webinar is provided through a grant awarded to the Vermont Fresh Network by Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and the Working Land Enterprise Board. Additionally, this material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2021‐70027‐34693.

View the webinar recording and recap here.

Funding for this webinar series is provided through a grant awarded to the Vermont Fresh Network by Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets and the Working Land Enterprise Board.