STEPHANIE L. RYAN

BENNINGTON -- How do we define "local" food? What foods are local? How can we draw connections between the producers and the consumers of food?

All these are among the questions that will be discussed at Bennington County's Farm-to-Plate summit, Saturday, Nov. 14, at St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

Similar summits are scheduled in locations scattered across the state, to get people from all walks of life, and all areas of the state, discussing food security and how to improve it - as well as experiencing some locally produced foods.

"When people show up at 5:30, the first thing is going to be the banquet," said local organizer Susan Beal, who said a considerable percentage of the food for the banquet is being provided by local farmers. Beal is the local organizer for the southern part of the county, with Bill Laberge of Dorset fulfilling the same role in the northern end.

Local people, local food

At 6:30 p.m., "the Farm-to-Plate people are going to speak about the statewide initiatives, and local issues. There will be three topics for discussion, and people will cycle through the groups. Those will be facilitated by the Farm-to-Plate people," Beal said.

People who attend the summit will brainstorm about food security and availability, and about the infrastructure necessary to provide local people with local food. "They'll brainstorm at each table, switch, talk about the next topic, switch, and then collate the

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notes - what is it that you've identified, and where do you go from there?" Laberge said.

The summit is a project of the Sustainable Agriculture Council and the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, which are coordinating the local meetings to gather input for the Farm-to-Plate initiative's 10-year plan to strengthen Vermont's food system. Participants will learn more about farms, food production and food security in their areas, delve into the strengths and weaknesses of food prodiction in their areas, and discuss how to improve the local food system.

"The plan is that by evaluating the regions, seeing what they have and doing an assessment of what they need, they can go to the state and say, ‘to have sustainable agriculture, here's what we need,'" Laberge said. "It's interesting. They don't have any preconceived notions. They just want to start the conversation, get people at the table to grind it out and see what we have, and collate the results."

Mother Anita Schell-Lambert, rector of St. Peter's, is delighted to open up her church to the summit. She tied it to the church's efforts to be more environmentally friendly, and to reduce its carbon footprint. The production and transportation of food contribute to people's carbon footprint, particularly if food is grown a long distance from where it is eaten. "I think there's an irony to it, that you can buy apples cheaper at a grocery store than from orchards that are in walking distance," Schell-Lambert said. "It's better to eat what's in season, can and freeze the rest, and then eat it all year," she said.

"With the wonderful farmers and the partnerships developed through these initiatives, I'm thrilled to offer the space," Schell-Lambert said. "It's fun to connect with people who care about food."

Beal said that even before the summit, she is pleased to see connections being made. For example, French chef Susan Fox runs the Bennington County Meals Program. The Youth Horticulture Program at Mount Anthony Union Middle School grows a lot of produce, but the middle school kitchen isn't set up to use it. "They've had a lot of trouble finding someone to use the food," Beal said. Fox can use the kale, and has told the students she'll use anything they grow. "They've donated a LOT of kale," Beal said.

Schell-Lambert pointed out that it has only been fairly recently that everyone has NOT been a farmer, and that the summit turns the clock back, supporting "slow" food, which she appreciates, both of her parents having grown up on farms. "All this emphasis on farming and local food gives un in Bennington the opportunity to hold up Vermont as a model," she said. "If we keep going back, it's a return to our roots. We used to have tremendous pride in our farms and our farming identity. I want to see that reclaimed.

"Most of us can't live on farms," Schell-Lambert continued, "but we have partnerships with schools, with retail businesses, churches and other institutions. They're all popping up and working together, and the media is giving us wonderful support."

Laberge said he is excited about the event, as he and his wife make a particular effort to eat local foods and to be aware of where the food they eat comes from, and would love to see a food co-op open closer than the ones in Brattleboro - where they shop, periodically - and in North Adams, Mass. "That's a major undertaking," he said, adding that he doesn't have the resources to start one. "If somebody comes along and wants to tackle that, I'll support it!"

"One thing I'm hoping will come out of all this, aside from the state's desire (to get a handle on food issues statewide), is, our county is really lagging in organization around this issue. What I'm hoping will come out of this is something like that - a food council, improved communication and collaboration between the northern and southern parts of the county," Beal said. "There's no one group or place to go to, to get that information. I hope people become more aware of local food."

Laberge agreed. "Bennington County may come out of this with a food council. It's all about networking with the people in agriculture, getting an inventory of who's doing what. There may be somebody three miles away, doing something you don't know about," he said, pointing to local cheese producers as being particularly good about networking among themselves.

Laberge said the big challenge for Bennington County's effort is what he described as the "disconnect" between Manchester and Bennington, with the 23-mile drive between them, and their divergent demographics. "Ultimately, there are still a lot of people in both places who want to eat local food," he said. "This is an opportunity for low-income families, for seasonal residents ... they all want local foods."

Beal said she hopes farmers, consumers and the entire community benefit from the summit. She pointed to www.benningtonlocal.org as a place where producers and consumers could connect.

Contact Stephanie L. Ryan at sryan@benningtonbanner.com