The following update on the Keep Local Farms initiative was received today from Diane Bothfeld, Deputy Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets:
Hello All,
Hope winter is treating you well. This update is for the Keep Local Farms Program.
The program has been up and running since September 12 and is really starting to take off. Two colleges are on board – UVM began Nov 16 and Harvard began Oct 19 – where $0.10/single serve milk purchased goes to the Keep Local Farms fund that will be distributed to dairy farmers.
The website is up and running at KeepLocalFarms.org and we are seeing increased traffic. The site is educational and the pages getting the most hits are Farmer Profiles and Day on the Farm!! Also contributions have come through the website. If you are a dairy farmer and want to have your profile listed – please contact me.
On January 14, 2010 the Keep Local Farms program launched with Hannaford’s Supermarkets. In January, Hannaford supported an information phase – directing shoppers that purchasing local milk helps local farms and that consumers should go to the KeepLocalFarms.org web site to learn more about local farms and how they could take part in the Keep Local Farms program.
In February, Hannaford’s is supporting the Keep Local Farms program through a contribution phase at the register – shoppers can contribute $2 or $5 toward the Keep Local Farms program to build a fund to make a meaningful payment to dairy farmers.
The partners working on the Keep Local Farms program – New England Family Dairy Farms Cooperative, New England Dairy Promotion and the Vermont Dairy Promotion Council – are working on adding more colleges to the program, increasing membership in the Cooperative and working with consumers to raise awareness about the Keep Local Farms program throughout New England. Each of these partners is governed by dairy farmers from the New England States.
I encourage you all to take a look at the website, view the promotional materials if visiting one of the participating colleges, and visit your local Hannaford store to view the materials promoting the Keep Local Farms program. Hannaford has stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York.
If you have questions about this program, feel free to contact me!
Diane Bothfeld
Deputy Secretary
Thanks for the update, Diane!
