Sharing the Vision

From providing the keynote address at the first statewide gleaning network meeting organized by the Massachusetts Agency of Agricultural Resources to panel discussions at the Slow Living Summit in Brattleboro Vermont, guest lecturing at Sterling College and Green Mountain College to  sharing our vision with the Environmental Advisory Board for the Vermont Law School’s new Center for Agriculture and Food Systems and presenting at SolarFest, whew…it’s been a couple of busy months just sharing our story.

When addressing Sterling College’s Vermont’s Table class, I was asked if we considered the work of Salvation Farms to be in the charity/emergency food realm or food access realm. What a great question. I gave pause, making sure that the answer I gave accurately represented what Salvation Farms is attempting to do. Yes, I thought, food access is accurate, but in reality, we are looking beyond the traditional means of providing food access primarily through charity.

I answered no; we are in the business of resource management.

“Resources” in our work are not just food or financial; it includes human resources, businesses, not-for-profits, state government and citizens all coming together to make Vermont’s food system more resilient through sharing knowledge, unique skills and committed collaboration.

In a time when we are still in a deep recession and witnessing a phenomenal national drought, initiatives must be developed to utilize local resources by establish in-state operational systems to ensure that we are building independence through regional interdependence.

“Prices of soybeans are at their highest since 2008, Bloomberg News reported. Wheat prices have risen more than 40 percent.”

"Through the end of June, 56 percent of the continental U.S. was in

drought, the largest percentage since December 1956. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said more than 1,000 counties in 26 states are natural disaster areas."             www.washingtonpost.com

Reliance on current food systems that are far removed from Vermont have extreme vulnerability for all Vermont citizens. We must respond creatively and intelligently to this reality. Salvation Farms is excitedly moving forward, creating procedures that capture Vermont’s available farm fresh food by engaging partners to reduce food loss at the point of production.