The following research materials for institutional buyers are available:
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Opportunities & Barriers to Greater Local Food Procurement in Vermont Higher Education Food Service – In 2016, interviews were conducted with 12 of the 21 higher education food service operations in Vermont to understand current local food procurement practices, compare current practices to the best practices documented in other publications, and create recommendations for increasing local food procurement in higher education institutions. This report highlights key results of the interviews, the documented best practices, and recommendations for institutions and service providers to increase local food procurement. Download the Executive Summary.
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Vermont Producers & Wholesale Markets: Survey Results – In the fall of 2014, The Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets (VAAFM) and NOFA-VT developed and administered a survey to Vermont producers to better understand food and farm businesses that are currently engaged or interested in selling to wholesale markets. This report highlights key results of the survey and their implications for technical assistance to Vermont producers.
- Scaling Up Vermont’s Local Food Production, Distribution, and Marketing (Please note: full report, plus multiple appendixes below)– NOFA-VT, as a partner in VT FEED, has conducted a statewide survey and analysis of institutional demand and supply chain infrastructure for local produce and eggs. The results of this research are in this report, which will provide producers with quantifiable information for scaling up production for institutions as well as information about the current challenges and opportunities in institutional supply-chain infrastructure.
- How to Develop a Local & Regional Institutional Food Buying Program – This research with David Conner and Florence Becot from UVM was conducted as part of NOFA VT’s Farm to Institution work. It summarizes research about how institutions make purchasing decisions and outlines other national systematic procurement or tiered purchasing models.
- The Case for Values-Based Tiered Buying Systems for Institutions & Wholesale Buyers – This is a paper in which we outlined the research, our observations, and suggestions for establishing values-based buying systems that institutions could develop to further their local and regional procurement programs.
Questions? Contact Abbie at [email protected]
