Media Contact:

Elena Gustavson

elena@hardwickagriculture.org

802.472-5840, ext 2 or 472-5362

Join us for Mini Open Houses, Third Thursdays and Workshops at the Vermont Food Venture Center

Hardwick, VT, May 18, 2012 – Are you interested in meeting other food and agricultural business owners or would like to understand your business better? Are you curious about what the Vermont Food Venture Center can do for you?

Every third Thursday, from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM, join us for a Mini-Open House and free tour of our facility. Come meet the staff, see the kitchens and find out what we can do for you and your business.

Then, from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM, we gather to network, attend workshops and seminars that are user and business friendly. Members of the VFVC are given free or discounted rates, with a small fee for non-members.

Tuesday, June 12:

3:00 PM Reading and Understanding Financial Statements by the VT Small Business Development Center

Cost: $35

Third Thursday, June 21:

4:30 PM Mini Open House and Tour – Free!

6:30 PM Food Safety with Londa Nwadike of University of Vermont

Cost: Free for VFVC members; $10 for non-members

Third Thursday, July 19:

4:30 PM Mini Open House and Tour – Free!

6:30 PM Financing Your Business, details to be announced

Cost: Free for VFVC members; $10 for non-members

For questions, to register for the workshop or Third Thursday, or to find out how to become a member, please contact Heidi Krantz at the VFVC at 472-5362 or at hkrantz@vtsbdc.org or vfvc@hardwickagriculture.org.

Click here to view our most recent events newsletter.

12:00 PM Doors Open

Refreshments, samples and information available

1:00 PM Welcome and Introduction

Invited Speakers

• Chuck Ross, Secretary of Agriculture, Vermont Department of Agriculture
• Bill Davies, May & Davies, Board President of Northern Enterprises
• Marcus Brown, Select Board Chair, Town of Hardwick
• Tom Stearns, High Mowing Seeds, Board President of Center for an Agricultural Economy
• Matthew Suchodolski, Economic Development Specialist, U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration
• Molly Lambert, State Director, USDA Rural Development – Vermont/New Hampshire
• Gus Seelig, Executive Director, Vermont Housing & Conservation Board
• Lawrence Miller, Secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development
• Jenny Nelson, Ag. Policy Advisor and Rural Development Specialist, Senator Bernie Sanders
• Patricia Coates, Office of Peter Welch

Key Note Address and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Senator Patrick Leahy

2:00 PM Guided Tour of the Vermont Food Venture Center with Tom Stearns, Board President of the Center for an Agricultural Economy

3:00 PM Guided Tour with Connor Gorham, Professional Production Assistant, Vermont Food Venture Center

4:00 PM Guided Tour with Elena Gustavson, Program Director, Center for an Agricultural Economy

Refreshments Have Been Graciously Provided by These Local Businesses:

Bonnieview Farm

bonnieviewfarm.org

Caledonia Spirits

caledoniaspirits.com

Cate Hill Farm

fruity@vtlink.net

Cellars of Jasper Hill

cellarsofjasperhill.com

David Lasch

laschd@comcast.com

Deano’s Jalapenos

deanosjalapenos.com

Farm-to-Institution Program

vermontfoodventurecenter.org

The Mapled Nut Company

MapleNut.com

Michelle’s Spicy Kimchi

facebook.com/MichellesSpicyKimchi

Mocean Mate

Moceanmate.com

Per’s Smoked Fish

per-nwd@vtlink.net

Sumptuous Syrups

sumptuoussyrups.com

Yeeyee’s Vermont Specialty Products

yeeyees.com

Vermont Bean Crafters

vtbeancrafters.com

Vermont Kale Chips

janiceblair@gmail.com

Vermont Refrigerated Storage

-sunriseorchards.com

Vermont Soy

vermontsoy.com

Vermont Switchel Company

vtswitchel@gmail.com

Yummy Yammy

yummyyammy.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Vermont Food Venture Center is Open for Business.

September 16, 2011, Hardwick, VT – The Vermont Food Venture Center (VFVC), a program of the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE) is open in Hardwick and ready to support food based entrepreneurs. “The VFVC can support diverse food manufacturing processes with our wide selection of commercial processing equipment,” said George Keener, who serves as Operations Manager.

In the shared use kitchens, available for rent by the hour,  the VFVC has slicers, mixers, grinders, several types of ovens, tilt skillets, blast freezers, vacuum sealers, labellers, and a variety of other equipment to process and package almost any type of food. Additionally, technical assistance is available for recipe development, business development, packaging selection and distributor access.

Lisa Johnson, owner of YummyYammy, in Norwich, VT creates dips made from northeastern grown sweet potatoes.   “I have worked for three years to develop my food company.” Johnson said in a recent interview, “The VFVC helped me launch my product from a crockpot in my kitchen to a business prepared for national distribution.” Packaging company representatives brought to the area by the VFVC have significantly reduced Johnson’s container costs  “I still have to put in long days of processing” said Johnson, “but thanks to the VFVC, I can efficiently turn out cases of product at a time.”

Carmella Ram, owner of the Magic Spoon Bakery in Hardwick, VT has operated a successful bakery from her second floor apartment for five years, but has outgrown her tiny space; she will be using the bakery at the VFVC to increase her production capacity, freeing up critical time for sales calls and distribution. Ram stated “I couldn’t grow any more in my space; the VFVC will let me increase the size of my company and offer more jobs to local people.” Like Johnson, Ram has utilized the diverse technical assistance offered through the VFVC. “I have learned about labeling and packaging that will help as my business expands” Ram said.

Heidi Krantz of the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) works with companies to grow and develop their businesses. Many of the food processors using the VFVC have accessed her services including Linda Fox of Sumptuous Syrups of Vermont, a manufacturer of “farm to bar” products for mixed drinks. “The VtSBDC has been such a help,” said Fox.  “:Heidi coached me on my business plan which allowed me to access grant funds for web site development.”

Annie Rowell of the VFVC is developing the processing capacity to make the VFVC a resource to all Vermonters by increasing the accessibility and year-round availability of local food.  Through minimal processing of local fruits and vegetables, the equipment and facilities at the VFVC can be used to bring more local produce into local markets, through both retail as well as farm to institution sales.

The VFVC is able to support recipe development and food safety procedures for food processors thanks to funding provided by the Vermont Agriculture Innovation Center. Dale Conoscenti, a research chef employed part time by the VFVC is available to processors using the facility to fine tune their use of ingredients, scale up production batches and develop quality control steps.

In addition to processing and technical assistance the VFVC rents dry storage, freezer, and cooler space to local businesses. Helm Notterman and his son Ben of Snug Valley Farm and the Frozen Butcher use freezer space to store their grass fed beef. “We are in a growth phase right now,” the elder Nottermann explained, “It is really helpful to rent freezer space while our business is expanding.”

Keener is overseeing the on-going development of the processing and storage capacity at the VFVC. “We are finishing up the final section of the building and can accommodate food product businesses that need to rent larger space on a long term basis.” The VFVC has a total of 2500 square feet that can be configured to accommodate flexible needs for potential clients. “At this point we can be creative in how the space is completed” Keener explained.

For more information or to arrange use of the facility,  contact George Keener at george@hardwickagriculture.org of 802-472-5362 ext 1.

Media Contact:

Elena Gustavson

elena@hardwickagriculture.org

802-472-5840

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The Center for an Agricultural Economy sees this event as the first of many to support their mission to increase access to local food. “Collecting and lightly processing donated summer squash for pantries worked as a great way to initiate important relationships with the area food pantries that really are on the front lines of fighting hunger in our community,” said Annie Rowell, Program Associate at the VFVC responsible for coordinating the event. Ms Rowell will continue to support Food Access and Security through her work with Farm-to-Institution and minimal processing at the VFVC, so that more locally grown food can be incorporated into the immediate community.

“This event highlights one of the roles we envision the VFVC will play in the community – a center for fresh, local fruits and vegetables to be collected and redistributed back into the community in a ready to use form,” explained Monty Fischer, Executive Director of the Center for an Agricultural Economy. Keeping local food affordable and of the highest nutritional quality is no small feat and the VFVC continues to develop and refine processes that make this goal a reality.

Media Contact:

Elena Gustavson

elena@hardwickagriculture.org

802-472-5840