June 2012

A great piece in the Brattleboro Reformer touts the benefits - and the growing interest around - food co-ops. Vermont is an acknowledged leader, with the Putney Food Co-op receiving the top award at this year's Consumer Cooperative Management Association conference, which was recently held in Philadelphia. But the movement continues to grow across the Northeast, and the country. Other great Vermont co-ops include City Market in Burlington and Hunger Mountain Co-op in Montpelier, and the Upper Valley Food Co-Op in White River Junction (all of which are FarmPlate customers). It’s a great time to learn about co-ops, which are member-owned and community-based food stores, since 2012 has been...

  NAME: Severine von Tscharner Fleming FARM: Smithereen Farm AGE: 30 Farmer and activist Severine von Tscharner Fleming is one of the co-editors of Greenhorns: 50 Dispatches from the New Farmers' Movement. She is also the founder of the Greenhorns, a sister organization to the National Young Farmers Coalition, and an organizer of Farmhack.   Can you provide some brief background information about your farm? In your opinion, what makes it special or unique? Smithereen Farm is a little farm llc that I can carry with me until I have a farm of my own. It is the legal structure and equipment that I can use to run animal operations and herb-drying operations wherever I may be...

At Duo Restaurant in Denver, the reputation for bringing local food from farm to table has been carefully cultivated since the restaurant opened its doors in the hip downtown neighborhood of Highland about seven years ago. Co-owners Stephanie Bonin and husband Keith Arnold have real food and community in their bones. “We are passionate about our restaurant being an extension of who we are and what our values are. Seasonal eating, sourcing locally and decreasing our footprint on this Earth are only some of those values,” says Bonin. For Bonin and Arnold, “building relationships with farmers is as important as building relationships with our customers, and both take a concentrated effort -...

For many people, preparing raw vegan food can feel like an overwhelming challenge, especially when conventional recipe books are reliant on high temperatures and the restaurant staples of butter and cream.    Places like Catch a Healthy Habit, however, make this kind of eating seem more feasible.   After a frantic week of packing, organizing, and graduating, the Big Green Bus finally took off from Hanover and had its first event in Fairfield, CT. We shared a delicious potluck on the town green with community members, followed by a tour of a nearby raw vegan café called Catch a Healthy Habit. Glen, one of the co-owners, brought scrumptious samples of his raw brownies to the...