Vermont Democratic House Campaign

This week, the House Agriculture Committee had the great pleasure of attending the official grand opening of the Mad River Food Hub (MRFH). The food hub is a facility that provides a host of services for entrepreneurs.  Refrigerator and freezer space is available for farmers and producers to store their products, as well as distribution services to local markets.  There are two commercial grade state-inspected meat processing rooms and the first-in-the-state licensed facility where meat and vegetables can be processed together.  Now Joe Buley of Screamin’ Ridge Farm can make and package his delicious chicken noodle soup for sale to the Vermont public!  Certification is pending for USDA approval.  When that occurs, products will be able to be sold out of state.

The MRFH was created as an L3C, which is a privately-owned entity with a social mission that does not depend solely on public funding.  This new status was created by the Legislature in recent years.  Funding for the MRFH project came from a number of sources including private investment.

MRFH’s founder, Robin Morris, worked hard to keep costs down and employ energy efficient measures.  For example, the refrigerator units use the outside cold air, when available, to keep the pallets of food cold, saving energy costs and the environment.  Morris, the former Chief Financial Officer of American Flatbread, repurposed an existing structure that had been previously occupied by that company.

One of the exciting aspects of MRFH is that small business entrepreneurs who want to develop a product can rent the facility space on a daily basis at an affordable price.  Vermonters wanting to make soup, salsa, jam, sausage, you name it, can use the facility to produce their products in a safe, licensed environment.  28,000 pounds of food have been processed since October!

Vermont Raw Pet Food uses MRFH, as does Vermont Yak (we were treated to samples of yak meatballs that were delicious!).  Vermont Meat Company processes whey-fed pigs and makes sausages out of them.  Whey, a by-product of cheese making, has created disposal problems in the past. Using it for a constructive purpose and removing it from the waste stream is a very positive thing.  Many of the products made at the MRFH are available at local stores and food coops.

The Mad River Food Hub could serve as a model for the many food hubs springing up all over Vermont.  The Farm to Plate Initiative goals of increasing economic output and putting more Vermont food on Vermont plates are furthered at MRFH.

We completed work on the Budget Adjustment Bill this week.  The major point of contention was that 50 positions were funded, some in the Agency of Transportation, due to Tropical Storm Irene; some in the Departments of Vermont Health Access; Children and Families (children’s social workers); Forests and Parks; and Public Safety (chemists for DUI testing).

It is very important to recognize that these jobs are not new positions, but are old positions from the position pool that have been vacant for a year or more. It is also important to note that sometimes filling a position saves money.  For example, last year the Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets was paying more in overtime to keep the state meat inspection program fully-staffed than it cost to hire a full-time inspector with benefits, which happened recently.

On January 12, the governor gave his Budget Address in which he laid out his priorities.  Included in the governor’s budget is money for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Voluntary Buy Out as Hazard Mitigation Program.  One of the goals of the program is to get housing out of the floodplain.  Vermonters whose homes were washed away or seriously damaged during Tropical Storm Irene may be eligible for the Buy Out program. Typically, FEMA will pay 75% of the value of the house, but that must be matched by 25% from the town, homeowner, or some other source. Frequently, the homeowner has just lost everything and may have a mortgage on the house to pay off, so coming up with 25% of the house value is nearly impossible.

The $2 million in the budget will help many Vermonters come up with the 25% match so they can start their lives over again in a safer place.  One of the stipulations is the land be returned to a “greenfield” status and never be used for housing again.  Hopefully, more funding will be found for this worthy cause.  Helping the victims of Tropical Storm Irene who were hurt the worst and lost all that they had is clearly the right thing to do.