Source: UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT submitted to NRP
FOOD SYSTEM RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OUTREACH IN VERMONT
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
SPECIAL GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0221649
Grant No.
2010-34269-20972
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
2010-02553
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2010
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2013
Grant Year
2010
Program Code
[HV]- Center for Rural Studies, VT
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT
(N/A)
BURLINGTON,VT 05405
Performing Department
Community Development and Applied Economics
Non Technical Summary
The local community is the stage on which life plays out in Vermont. Nearly every square mile of the state is allocated into one of 246 municipal governments - towns and cities - which act as the first gateways between residents and government information and services. Planning for growth and development primarily occurs in each of these municipalities. These are also the local economies where farmers and other small entrepreneurs take their shots at success. Local decision making activities - starting a farm, voting at Town Meeting, formulating a small business strategy, choosing what products to put on your kitchen table, adopting the new municipal comprehensive plan - drive personal success and quality of life in Vermont. Rural entrepreneurs in Vermont face barriers to successfully accessing today's markets: they are less likely to have broadband Internet access and the opportunity to make full use of e-commerce tools. Thus this project will support projects that lend technical assistance and opportunities for developing and positioning local products and that study community-level processes for rural broadband solutions. Local farmers also need resources and information to market their products locally. And outreach is needed to help local consumers understand the food options that they have in their communities. Providing quality information resources and data services to Vermont's residents and local officials is essential for rapid and targeted decision-making. Many governmental bodies offer data to constituents, but there is no coordinated effort in Vermont to provide municipal and county-level data and the technical support in accessing and using data resources in local decision making. Moreover, where state agencies may have the resources to use and access data services, the large number of non-professional volunteer officials in local government and the numerous financially struggling constituencies, including non-profits, require easily negotiable pathways to meaningful data and support in decision-making. This support directly affects constituencies' day-to-day work as well as local capacity to access external resources, such as grant funding. Overall the need for technical assistance and outreach targeted at local land use officials is well recognized by many groups in this state. Board and commission turn-over, complex regulations and increased development pressures at the local level necessitate the planning data and public input materials of this program area. Municipal land use officials are clamoring for any assistance with their important local decisions that have an impact statewide. CRS is the ideal institution for this project work because of its connection with multiple parties and initiatives, including those above. CRS enjoys the research footing of its location in the University of Vermont and can tap the academic and applied experience and knowledge of its own staff as well as that of UVM Extension, the Department of Community Development and Applied Economics and the whole of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Animal Health Component
35%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
30%
Applied
35%
Developmental
35%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
6046030303020%
6086050303035%
6086099301035%
7036010302010%
Knowledge Area
703 - Nutrition Education and Behavior; 608 - Community Resource Planning and Development; 604 - Marketing and Distribution Practices;

Subject Of Investigation
6010 - Individuals; 6099 - People and communities, general/other; 6030 - The farm as an enterprise; 6050 - Communities, areas, and regions;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education; 3010 - Economics; 3030 - Information and communication;
Goals / Objectives
Program Area Goals: Food System Research and Resources: To further the traditions of the local food system and economic development in Vermont and facilitate their transition into the 21st Century. Indicators for Vermont Communities: To provide local decision-makers in Vermont - be they local officials, business-owners, parents, service-providers, etc. - with access to critical community-level data and information on how to properly use it. Community Planning Tools for Vermont: To provide tools and information in support of sound community planning and development activities in Vermont. Program Area Objectives: Food System Research and Resources: 1. To fund a food system mini-grant program to support food system research, outreach, and implementation in Vermont. 2. To convene food system stakeholders in Vermont for the sharing of research and knowledge and collaborative outreach activities. 3. To provide local entrepreneurs with technical assistance in starting their businesses, positioning their products and pursuing success. 4. To educate Vermonters, especially schoolchildren, on the role of food in our lives and the role of all of us in Vermont's food system. 5. To support the expansion and use of broadband Internet connectivity in Vermont. 6. To promote a business-to-business Local First purchasing program to help define and describe the nuances of the term 'local' and share insights gained with local food efforts. Indicators for Vermont Communities: 1. To make relevant community-level data from various sources easily available to Vermonters on the Internet and in other forms and to prepare such venues to serve new data that will become available in the coming decade. 2. To provide Vermont data users with information and education on how to find and interpret U.S. Census Bureau data and indicators from other organizations and agencies. 3. To encourage and assist the participation of local governments, other groups, and general residents in U.S. Census Bureau programs and other activities to proactively ensure the quality and accuracy of Census 2010 data for Vermont, as well as other data products. 4. To represent the needs of Vermont data users to U.S. Census Bureau staff, particularly in the area of the quality of data collected and tabulated for small, rural areas. Community Planning Tools for Vermont 1. To make information and educational resources available to local land use officials as they carry out their crucial local planning responsibilities. 2. To provide leadership in the coordination and facilitation of education for local land use officials in Vermont. 3. To support the development of new training materials and curricula for local land use officials in Vermont. 4. To support work in understanding smart growth issues and the health of Vermont's downtowns. 5. To support a ground-breaking and intensive community facilitation process for towns in Vermont.
Project Methods
To Accomplish Goals and Objectives: This project will staff and support a new on- and off-campus Food System Research Collaborative and develop tools for sharing research and information. This project will continue and evaluate specialized workshops for introducing Vermont farmers to the opportunities and challenges represented by e-commerce. It will also explore the provision of further post-workshop technical assistance and integration into existing farm business curricula. This project will support the VT FEED program in raising awareness about healthy food, good nutrition and the role that Vermont farms and farmers play in our communities; and in rebuilding local food systems by linking school classrooms, cafeterias, local farms, and communities. This project will leverage a local Vermont products store to provide technical assistance to entrepreneurs in the fields of product marketing and promotion, business plan/expansion research and modeling, and financial analysis. This project will collaborate with the Vermont Center for Geographic Information on resources to ensure the dissemination and informed use of indicators and information on rural communities in Vermont. This project will support the Center for Rural Studies' role as Vermont's liaison with the U.S. Census Bureau through the State Data Center program, including technical assistance and outreach to data users and the representation of Vermont's needs to Bureau staff and programs. This project will support participation and activities in the Vermont Land Use Education and Training Collaborative, which brings together organizations involved in education and technical assistance for local land use officials in Vermont. This project will contribute to the Vermont Law School in a collaborative project to develop a series of teaching modules for a curriculum on development review for local land use officials in Vermont. This project will contribute to the Vermont Council on Rural Development's work in the expansion of broadband connectivity and use and their Community Visit Program, an intensive and thorough community prioritization and capacity-building program. This project will contribute to Smart Growth Vermont's work to understand more about how to promote smart growth practices in Vermont and to complete a project exploring comprehensive indicators of downtown health. This project will contribute to the work of Vital Communities to support the Local First Alliance in Vermont's Connecticut River Valley, a business-to-business Local First purchasing program that will help to define and describe the nuances of the term 'local' and share insights gained with local food efforts.

Progress 07/01/10 to 06/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The 2011 grant was formulated to educate and inform policymakers and residents of Vermont. Changes/Problems: We are sorry to see these cooperative agreements end. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Results were disseminated through various means, including public panel presentations ("Understanding the State of the State...by the Numbers" and "Making Change: Is it worth a penny an ounce?"), website and web platforms (the Vermont Indicators Online web series), and publications. The panel presentations were further extended to reach a greater number of the Vermont resident population by being aired on local television and reported on in local online media. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The new web platform for the Vermont Indicators Online web series experienced approximately 100 data requests during the reporting period and 20,000 website hits. 5 training workshops were held, reaching approximately 40 total participants; 10 networking meetings were attended; and 3 assists with Federal Census Bureau data collection were conducted. The Census of Farm to School Programs in Vermont found that nearly all Vermont schools (90.2%) served local food in their cafeterias. Over three quarters of schools take field trips to farms (77.1%) or offer cooking classes (77.8%), and 72.6% of schools grow food in a school garden. The Census helped to lay the groundwork for further research the impact of farm to school programs in other sectors of the community. The CRS Fellows program led to the submission of two Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grants and a USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) grant, the development of one M.S. thesis in the Community Development and Applied Economics Department. One manuscript is currently in development, and one final report is being submitted to the American Heart Association.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: "Making Change: Is it worth a penny an ounce?" was held on November 28 at the Davis Center at the University of Vermont, and was reported on in local online newspaper WCAX.com on November 29.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, J, R. Johnson, R. Watts, S. Heiss, and M. Moser (submitted 2013). Will a proposed sugar sweetened beverage excise tax harm retailers located on the border? Evidence from a Statewide Survey. Agricultural and Resource Economic Review.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (submitted). Food Labeling. Food Issues. New York: Sage.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (submitted). Community Supported Agriculture. Food Issues. New York: Sage.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (submitted). Childhood Obesity. Food Issues. New York: Sage.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (in press). Food Safety. Contributor. Consumer Survival: An Encyclopedia of Consumer Safety and Protection (Reiboldt, W., & Horn Mallers, M., eds. Consumer Survival [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Consumer Rights, Safety, and Protection [Wendy Reiboldt, Melanie Horn Mallers] (in press). ABC-CLIO Publishers.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (in press). Food Labeling. Contributor. Consumer Survival: An Encyclopedia of Consumer Safety and Protection (Reiboldt, W., & Horn Mallers, M., eds.)(2013, scheduled release). ABC-CLIO Publishers.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, J, R. Johnson, R. Watts, S. Heiss, and M. Moser (2013). Exercising Our Right to Health with Excise Taxes on Sugary Beverages. Food Politic: Journal of Food News and Culture. May 7. Available: http://www.foodpolitic.com/exercising-our-right-to-health-with-excise-taxes-on-sugary-beverages/
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Roche, Conner, Kolodinsky, Buckwalter, Berlin, Powers (2012). Social cognitive theory as a framework for considering farm to school programming. Childhood Obesity. (8: 4), 322-328.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Becot, F., Nickerson, V., Conner, D. & Kolodinsky, J. (2012). Costs of Food Safety Certification on Fresh Produce Farms in Vermont. HortTechnology, 22(5). (IF .44)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane, Naomi K Fukagawa, Erin Roche, Cynthia Belliveau, and Haylley Johnson (2012). Walking the Talk of Food Systems at a Small Land Grant University. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD). Spring. http://dx.doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2012.023.015, pp. 111.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (2012). A Systems Approach to Food Future Proofs the Home Economics Profession. Book Chapter. Pendergast, D., McGregor, S. & Turkki, K. (2012). Creating Home Economics Futures: The Next 100 Years. Australian Academic Press: Brisbane. ISBN: 9781921513961
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (2012). Persistence of Health Labeling Information Asymmetry in the United States: Historical Perspectives and 21st Century Problems. Journal of Macromarketing. Advance Publication, April 26, 2012, DOI: 10.1177/0276146711434829. 32 Issue 2 June 2012 pp. 193 - 207. (1.14)
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Conner, D., King, B., Kolodinsky, J., Roche, E., Koliba, C. and Trubek, A. (2012). You can know your school and feed it too: Vermont farmers motivations and distribution practices in direct sales to school food services. Agriculture and Human Values. Online first publication: http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s10460-012-9357-y (1.54)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: "Understanding the State of the State& by the Numbers!" was hosted at the Davis Center of the University of Vermont on February 4 2013. Approximately 50 people attended, and a recording of the discussion was rebroadcast multiple times on CCTV.


Progress 07/01/12 to 06/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The 2012 grant and associated projects were targeted towards policy makers and Vermont residents. Changes/Problems: We are sorry to see the end of these cooperative agreements. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The Vermont Indicators Online project held 5 training workshops, reaching approximately 40 total participants. 10 networking meetings were attended, and 3 assists with Federal Census Bureau data collection were conducted. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The two panel discussions were very popular - each attracting approximately 50 people in attendance - and were rebroadcast in different formats to a wider audience. The “By the Numbers” panel discussion was rebroadcast on CCTV multiple times, and “Making Change: Is it worth a penny an ounce?” was covered by local online newspaper WCAX.com. The Vermont Indicators Online website experienced approximately 100 data requests during the reporting period and 20,000 website hits. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The Vermont State Data Center (VT SDC) has spent the past year engaged in ongoing outreach and educational activities regarding Census data products. This has included providing information on how to access and disseminate data to a variety of Vermont data users. The VT SDC continues to respond to telephone, email and in-person data requests as they occur. The VT SDC has also engaged in network development with numerous data user groups around Vermont, including librarians, academics, municipalities and other organizations. The VT SDC has also enlisted the services of a data-linking provider in order to transition to providing more timely data using the American Community Survey data releases as a base product for data users. The work carried out by the VT SDC included creating an entirely new web platform to complement the existing "VT Indicators Online" web site. This platform can be expanded in scope to provide automatically-trended data for a wider array of key indicators produced locally (by Vermont data providers) in addition to Census and other Federal data sources. The Center for Rural Studies (CRS) led an investigation of Farm to School programs in Vermont over the academic year 2012-2013. Data collection was supervised by CRS, and collected by students in the UVM Food Systems M.S. program and the Honors College, and through a UVM Undergraduate Summer Research Grant. A brief telephone survey was designed in collaboration with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, The Vermont Community Foundation, and members of the Vermont Farm to School Network. The Vermont Farm to School Census contacted 306 primary and secondary schools and completed telephone interviews with 267 schools. CRS hosted a panel presentation on interpreting data provided by the Vermont State of the State Address. “Understanding the State of the State…by the Numbers” was held on February 4, and moderated by Lawrence Miller of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Panelists were Michael Moser (VT State Data Center), Samuel Carlson (Gund Institute), Thomas DeSisto (CRS) and Elizabeth Reaves (CRS). CRS also hosted “Making Change: Is it worth a penny an ounce?” in partnership with the Food Systems Research Collaborative. This panel presentation included Dr. Sarah Heiss Elek (UVM CDAE), Dr. Rachel Johnson (UVM NFS), Dr. Jane Kolodinsky (UVM CDAE, CRS, and FS), and Dr. Richard Watts (UVM CDAE). Held on November 28, and moderated by Tina Zuk of the American Heart Association, panelists applied a transdisciplinary approach to understanding the likely effects of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages on small businesses, consumers, and college students. The CRS Fellows program accepted seven Fellows for its first cohort. Fellows, selected from UVM faculty, work with a CRS staff member to develop and/or conduct research of mutual interest. Examples of ongoing collaboration include developing research questions, developing proposals for new research projects, implementing and evaluating research projects, and translating research findings for presentation to a lay audience.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, J, R. Johnson, R. Watts, S. Heiss, and M. Moser (submitted 2013). Will a proposed sugar sweetened beverage excise tax harm retailers located on the border? Evidence from a Statewide Survey. Agricultural and Resource Economic Review.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (submitted). Food Labeling. Food Issues. New York: Sage.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (submitted). Community Supported Agriculture. Food Issues. New York: Sage.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (submitted). Childhood Obesity. Food Issues. New York: Sage.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (in press). Food Safety. Contributor. Consumer Survival: An Encyclopedia of Consumer Safety and Protection (Reiboldt, W., & Horn Mallers, M., eds. Consumer Survival [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Consumer Rights, Safety, and Protection [Wendy Reiboldt, Melanie Horn Mallers] (in press). ABC-CLIO Publishers.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, Jane (in press). Food Labeling. Contributor. Consumer Survival: An Encyclopedia of Consumer Safety and Protection (Reiboldt, W., & Horn Mallers, M., eds.)(2013, scheduled release). ABC-CLIO Publishers.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Kolodinsky, J, R. Johnson, R. Watts, S. Heiss, and M. Moser (2013). Exercising Our Right to Health with Excise Taxes on Sugary Beverages. Food Politic: Journal of Food News and Culture. May 7. Available: http://www.foodpolitic.com/exercising-our-right-to-health-with-excise-taxes-on-sugary-beverages/
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Berlin, Linda, Jane Kolodinsky, and Kim Norris (2013). Farm-to-School: Implications for Child Nutrition. Journal of School Health. 83(8): 589-95. (IF 1.34)


Progress 07/01/11 to 06/30/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: All sub-awards associated with this project have been awarded and all subawarded projects have been completed. The Vermont Law School has completed its local development review training modules. Shelburne Farms has completed the VT Food Education Every Day farm to school program elements supported by this grant (though their work on this highly valued program is ongoing). The Indicators of Downtown Health project has been completed, as has the Local First Alliance project. The work of the Vermont State Data Center continues, as does the work of the Food System Research Collaborative. The Food Systems Research Collaborative is hosting a series of panel discussions through 2012-2013 and, in partnership with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets and the Vermont Community Foundation, is conducting a census of farm to school activities among Vermont public schools. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The activities funded by this grant have contributed to local capacity building in Vermont communities in the areas of local food systems, information access and use, planning and development, entrepreneurship and more. State Data Center activities have helped Vermonters access the data they need for local communities and businesses. The food systems community-campus mini-grant program has been completed. One of the grants funded a feasibility study of a Vermont-GAPs Certification Program. The results of this feasibility study are summarized here: Need and Goal: Due to the increased occurrence and concern about food borne illnesses associated with fresh produce, many produce buyers are seeking third party certification that farms are following food safety plans. At this time, the existing USDA GAPs certification program is designed for large, commodity-oriented farms, which have more employees, greater management capacity, and more capital than small and mid-size diversified farms. For small-scale growers and direct marketers, the cost of record keeping, materials and infrastructure improvements needed to comply with the current USDA GAPs can be very expensive. As such, Vermont produce growers were interested in exploring whether a Vermont-run certification program could better meet the needs of farmers who market their product to buyers who have not yet required certification, but are interested in food safety, such as schools and hospitals. In response to this interest, the partners listed above undertook this study to evaluate the feasibility of creating an on-farm produce safety certification program for medium and small scale diversified farms in Vermont. Findings Legal Implications: The report has an extensive review of both state and federal level legal considerations if Vermont were to establish its own GAPs program. But the main finding is that there do not appear to be any legal barriers to Vermont enacting its own produce safety requirements in addition to the Food Safety Modernization Act. Other organizations: Currently there are three produce safety certification programs that provide growers with an alternative to the USDA and private GAPs certifications: Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), Massachusetts Commonwealth Seal of Quality, and Rhode Island GAPs program. There are aspects of all of these programs that are valuable, but the format that would probably provide the best fit for Vermont would be the RI-GAPs, especially since we know it is already accepted by major food buyers such as Sodexho.

Publications

  • Anderson, L., Chase, L., Mastrangelo, C., Kestenbaum, D., and J. Kolodinsky (2012). Eco-labeling motor-coach operators in the North American travel tour industry: analyzing the role of tour operators. Journal of Sustainable Tourism Ifirst, 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2012.709859.
  • Roche, Conner, Kolodinsky, Buckwalter, Berlin, Powers (2012). Social cognitive theory as a framework for considering farm to school programming. Childhood Obesity. (8: 4), 322-328.
  • Kolodinsky, Jane, Naomi K Fukagawa, Erin Roche, Cynthia Belliveau, and Haylley Johnson (2012). Walking the Talk of Food Systems at a Small Land Grant University. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD). Spring. http://dx.doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2012.023.015, pp1.-11.
  • Kolodinsky, Jane (2012). A Systems Approach to Food Future Proofs the Home Economics Profession. Book Chapter. Pendergast, D., McGregor, S. & Turkki, K. (2012). Creating Home Economics Futures: The Next 100 Years. Australian Academic Press: Brisbane. ISBN:9781921513961


Progress 07/01/10 to 06/30/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The 2010grant was used to support several community development organizations. SmartGrowth Vermont, VCGI, VCRD, Vital Communities, Vermont Law School, VT FEED all received funds to support their efforts. This year some funds were also used to fund the Food Systems Research Collaborative's Food Systems Mini-Grant program. The food systems community-campus mini-grant program is underway with three initial round grant recipients. The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund received a mini-grant, the Center for Sustainable Agriculture received one, and Shelburne Farms received a mini-grant to develop a farm to school evaluation toolkit. Work is underway on all three mini-grants. The Farm to School Evaluation Toolkit project team has been established, the objectives for the evaluation have been determined, and work is underway to develop food services and student surveys to pilot during the 2011-2012 school year. VSJF is using the research mini-grant to provide an estimate of The Farm to Plate Strategic Plan estimated that Vermonters and visitors spent over $2 billion on food in 2008. Most of the food Vermonters consume is imported from elsewhere, and imports have increased over the past decade. Many Vermonters are interested in increasing the amount of local food produced and sold in Vermont. However, complete information on local food purchases in Vermont is not available. The Farm to Plate Strategic Plan identified several sources to arrive at an estimate of over $50 million, but the real amount could be quite a bit more than that. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Communities throughout the state of Vermont. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
One of the subawardees was Local First Alliance, an initiative of Vital Communities. Local First Alliance used its funds to conduct a survey of independent, locally owned businesses and non-profits in the Upper Valley region to better understand their involvement with the community, current sustainable practices, local purchasing and barriers and motivators to these efforts. The data collected from the study is used to both inform the community of what businesses are already doing for the region, and to develop strategies for LFA to build a stronger Upper Valley economy by improving services provided by LFA to locally owned business. Selected results from the include: *26% make in kind donations and 23% make financial donations to support their local community. Just 2% don't make any donations. *16% would like to contribute to their community, 27% would like to purchase products or services locally and 26% would like to save energy or reduce waste. *18% believe a menu of how to be more efficient would be valuable, while 19% would like assistance finding funding opportunities. 17% would like to see successful models from other organizations. What kinds of support do you need to continue or do more to strengthen your agency and the local community and environment Check all that apply. results pie chart

Publications

  • No publications reported this period