VITAL COMMUNITIES
Valley Food & Farm fosters the relationships that keep
agriculture a vital part of Upper Valley life.
Explore our resources for farmers, schools, and consumers.
Join us to support our local farms and keep our landscapes working.
Farm to School
Our 2018 Farm to School Professional Development Course registration is open.
Valley Food & Farm News
Whole Farm Planning Group
Starting or running a farm business can be all-consuming, with tyranny of the urgent monopolizing your days, leaving little time to think about the bi [...]
2018 Farmer Celebration Mixer
Join us to celebrate the work we did together in 2018!
Do your chores early, leave the spreadsheets behind, and come share some beer, crepes, and far [...]
Farmers’ Market Roundtable
Join Vital Communities and NOFA VT for a
Farmers' Market Roundtable
November 7, 2018 from 4-7 pm
at the Wilder Club & Library in Hartford, Verm [...]
Farmers' Market Fresh Cooking Demos in September
Love to shop at the farmers' market, and want to learn a new tip or recipe for cooking with all the great produce that is available this month?
Join [...]
Strengthening Farmers’ Markets
An exciting project for the Upper Valley Farmers' Market Collaborative is helping markets identify areas to improve or strengthen. A market mig [...]
August is NH Eat Local Month!
Enjoy the Local Bounty during NH Eat Local Month
Visit the Farmers’ Market, Join a Virtual Scavenger Hunt, and Eat Local this August
Get your appe [...]
Farmers’ Markets are Truly Local
Download the printable area Farmers' Market Calendar! Farmers' markets are truly local, and that's as true today as it was 20 years ago. You don't ha [...]
Be a Friend, Get Sweet Deals
The food is fresh, the market is fun, and the deal is sweet!
Support Your Farmers' Market with the
NEW Friend of the Market Card!
Buy [...]
Zero Waste for the Win!
We had an amazing Flavors of the Valley, our annual local food tasting expo, with a record-breaking 1,200 attendees! From savory to sweet, the flavors [...]
Yes, we sing about Flavors
Confession: we sing a little tune about Flavors of the Valley, around the office, in meetings, while photocopying.... Click here and watch with soun [...]
Photo Gallery
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Vital Communities Program News
Think Local First & SAVE this Season!
Local and independent businesses bring value to our communities in many ways: preserving community character, creating stable jobs, supporting area organizations and nonprofits, and strengthening our local economy by keeping our dollars in the Upper ...more
Party Time! Annual Open House & a Concert!
Join us at The Engine Room to celebrate 25 years of Vital Communities making a positive difference in the Upper Valley! Get to know our staff, board, and other supporters while you enjoy wine and ...more
Shift Your Shopping this Season!
Every dollar spent at a local, independent business returns 2-4 times more to be re-spent in the community than a dollar spent at a non-local business. With consumers reporting that they will spend an average ...more
Seeking Bids from Solar Installers by Nov. 30
Vital Communities is teaming up with Kearsarge Climate Action to launch a Solarize Kearsarge campaign in spring 2019, following on the tails of the upcoming Weatherize Kearsarge campaign launching in January 2019. We are seeking proposals ...more
Crossroad Farm is the BOM!
Crossroad Farm is the Local First Alliance November Business of the Month and to celebrate they are raffling off all the fixing for a Thanksgiving feast – a Misty Knoll turkey and basket of local ...more
Crossroad Farm is the BOM!
Crossroad Farm is the November Business of the Month and to celebrate they are raffling off all the fixing for a Thanksgiving feast - a Misty Knoll turkey and basket of local veggies! Visit the their ...more
Bringing ‘Visions of a Better World’ to Your Community
Join Vital Communities for a community discussion on “Visions of a Better World: Social Movements for Transformation.” We will consider how millions of people across the U.S. and around the world, stirred by visions of ...more
Thank you, Ben!
This summer we had the privilege of working with Ben Fletcher, pictured second from left. Ben brought an incredibly well suited array of skills to Vital Communities and was a boon to the Valley Quest ...more
Donuts & Hogwarts: A Transit Travel Training Case Study
One thing a group of Millennial cartoonists doesn’t need is help using a smartphone app – especially an intuitive one that shows the real-time location of buses in the rural transit system, Advance Transit. No, ...more
Lebanon Area Businesses - Join us on Sept. 27
So many small businesses in the Upper Valley are burdened with high energy costs. And not enough time to do anything about it! We've got some good news for you. A group of Lebanon residents are ...more
Bird and Quest
The Vermont Center for Ecostudies lists 382 species of bird that occur in Vermont, whether year-long resident or migratory visitor. The VCE’s Vermont Atlas of Life citizen science operation has recorded sightings of 332 of ...more
Subbasin Spotlight!
This year's Aquatic Adventure Super Quest showcases the 5 subbasins that make up the Upper Connecticut River Valley, or, more fondly, the Upper Valley. A subbasin is a term used to describe a watershed within a ...more
A Lot Lighter with More Hands: Leadership Upper Valley
On the bright, sunny morning of June 13, Cobb Hill was waking up, and the soon-to-be graduating 2018 Leadership Upper Valley class was just arriving for their final meeting. Before the ceremony at Harpoon Brewery, ...more
Buses are FREE Thursday for Dump the Pump Day!
Join people around the Upper Valley and nationwide and take the bus Thursday, June 21 for the 13th annual Dump the Pump Day. Stagecoach and Connecticut River Transit ("The Current") will be FARE-FREE. And Advance Transit ...more
Y'all Curbed the Car!
On Friday, May 18, the Upper Valley celebrated its newest holiday: Curb the Car Day. Riffing off National Bike to Work Day, Curb the Car Day embraces all forms of non-drive-alone commutes: biking, walking, taking transit, ...more
Longevity & Commitment: Keynote Remarks from Heroes & Leaders 2018
Editor's Note: Many thanks to Kevin Peterson, Director of Economic Development for the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, who offered the keynote speech at our May 3 Heroes & Leaders celebration. Read his complete remarks ...more
Long-Standing Stewards: Heroes & Leaders 2018
Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts a Heroes & Leaders celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the greater Upper Valley region. This year, Heroes & Leaders is ...more
Get Stoked on Automated Wood Heat!
Boiler on its last legs? Looking to opt out of fossil fuels? Come learn about today's self-stoking automated wood heat! Opt out of oil with delivery of local wood pellets and whole home wood heating ...more
Thank you to our Valley Food & Farm sponsors
Staff
Becka Warren
Valley Food & Farm Communications Coordinator
Food & Farm
Food & Farm
— Becka Warren, Valley Food & Farm Communications Coordinator
Part of Vital Communities' Valley Food & Farm team since 2012, Becka fosters relationships that keep agriculture a daily part of community life in the Upper Valley. She works with current and future farmers, businesses, schools, and partners across Vermont and New Hampshire to build connections that support farm viability and keep our landscapes working. Becka lived in Seattle for many years, where she worked for the Washington State University Small Farms Program, Cascade Harvest Coalition, Seattle Tilth, and area vegetable farms. Becka is also a writer, founding and writing Ask Umbra at gristmagazine.com until 2009. She holds a BA from Brown University and lives in Hartland, Vermont, with her family.
Beth Roy
Valley Food & Farm Manager
Food & Farm
Food & Farm
— Beth Roy, Valley Food & Farm Manager
Before joining Vital Communities, Beth Roy worked in the environmental and place-based education fields for 17 years in various positions around New England including at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and as the Director of Education at the Nature Museum in Grafton, Vt. Beth is also on the boards of the Vermont Science Teacher Association (VSTA) and the Vermont State-Wide Environmental Education Programs (SWEEP), a coalition of dozens of individuals and organizations promoting sustainability and environmental education in Vermont. Beth is a New Hampshire native and lives in Hartland, Vt., with her husband and two children. When Beth is not working you will find her exploring the woods around her home with her family or cooking up a new taste test (made of local foods, of course!) for her children.
Lauren Griswold
Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant
Valley Quest, Food & Farm
Valley Quest, Food & Farm
— Lauren Griswold, Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant
Lauren Griswold joined Vital Communities in May 2017 to coordinate Power of Produce (POP) clubs at Upper Valley farmers' markets and farmstands. In August 2017 she became our Valley Quest and Volunteer Coordinator, in addition to her role as the Valley Food & Farm Program Assistant. Lauren grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Vermont in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies. Her passion for sustainable agriculture took her out West, where she served as a garden educator in Bend, Oregon. After an enriching chapter in the high desert, Lauren is thrilled to be back in central Vermont. She is passionate about the rich communities and natural beauty of the Upper Valley, and enjoys engaging the next generation with wonder and enthusiasm about this special place. In her free time, Lauren can be found mountain biking, cross country skiing, gardening, knitting, and savoring meals with friends and family.
Nancy LaRowe
Local First Manager and Valley Food & Farm Coordinator
Food & Farm
Food & Farm
— Nancy LaRowe, Local First Manager and Valley Food & Farm Coordinator
Nancy joined Vital Communities as the Valley Food & Farm Coordinator in 2014. She works to support and grow our local food system and economy. Nancy has lived, worked, and farmed in the Upper Valley for more than 25 years and believes our community is healthier and stronger when our connections to food and the farms that produce it stay vital.
Nancy's informal job title is Farmer-in-Residence: she also runs a pasture-based cattle farm in Norwich, Vt. Nancy is on the Board of the Norwich Farmers' Market, and a retired Norwich volunteer firefighter and EMT. She loves puttering in the garden, hiking with her dog, and visiting farmers' markets.