BRATTLEBORO — Two farm-to-school operations - Food Connects and Windham Farm and Food - plan to merge.
Food Connects, an entrepreneurial nonprofit, will take over the operations of Windham Farm and Food, originally organized as a limited liability corporation and formed in 2009 “to improve food, farm and nutrition education and increase local food purchasing at local schools and other institutions,” according to a news release.
Described as “an innovative food hub model with the primary goals of creating economic development and building new markets for local food producers,” Windham Farm and Food's sales in 2014 topped $213,000 from 28 producers to 55 buyers.
The operation is simple on paper: local food producers maintain an online marketplace where buyers can place orders for delivery twice a week.
Over the past five years, the system has been refined to keep costs low for institutions with limited budgets, while providing a fair return to producers.
John Ayer, food service director at Brattleboro Union High School and Brattleboro Area Middle School, purchases more than half of all fresh produce from within a 30-miles radius.
“The WFF network allows producers and buyers to connect with each other in an efficient and mutually beneficial way,” Ayer said. “I would not be able to purchase from so many local farms without the convenience and low prices.”
Richard Berkfield, Food Connects' co-founder and executive director, has been involved in Windham Farm and Food's efforts over the past three years, growing sales from $75,000 in 2011 to more than $213,000 in 2014.
Based partly on these results, Berkfield, a member of the Vermont Farm to Plate Steering Committee and Vermont Farm to School Leadership Team, was named one of Vermont's Rising Stars by Vermont Business in 2014.
Food Connects' strategic plan incorporates Vermont's existing food system goals. The organization was originally a project of Post Oil Solutions.
“This merger allows us to scale up and to better align our efforts with big picture initiatives in Vermont” says Berkfield.
Berkfeld, of Putney, holds a master's degree from SIT Graduate Institute in sustainable development with a focus on food security for Vermont, as well as a graduate certificate in nonprofit management from Marlboro College Graduate School.
On his LinkedIn profile, Berkfeld writes that he “is committed to a Vermont food system that includes all members of the community regardless of income.”