We are committed to serving local foods daily throughout the Burlington School District. To do this requires efficiency, flexibility, and dedication.
Products are sourced in various ways. We buy directly from Vermont farmers, non-profit Food Hubs that aggregate local product and through contracted large-scale food distributors.
The Burlington School Food Project defines a product as “local” when it is grown or processed within the state of Vermont. When products from within state are not available or economically viable, regional products are sourced from New York and neighboring NE states.
Local Purchasing
During the 2022-23 school year our program was able to reach 15% local foods spending which awarded us the Vermont Local Foods Incentive Grant. This has allowed us to purchase even more ingredients grown and produced in this state.
Top 5 Locally Purchased Items for 2022-23:
- Sunrise Orchard Apples
- Cabot Yogurt & Sour Cream
- Vermont Livestock Beef
- Tomatoes (Lewis Creek Farms and/or Full Belly Farm)
- Carrots (Digger’s Mirth and/or Lewis Creek Farm)
Local Beef Project
Top quality cuts of grass-fed beef sell at a premium in Vermont, leaving producers with large quantities of ground beef. Our knowledge and connections in the industry led us to explore this as a potential supply of ground beef for use in schools.
In 2015, BSFP was awarded a $100,000.00 USDA Farm to School Grant which allowed us to focus on reaching the goal of 100% local beef in cafeterias. We have been able to keep up with this commitment and frequently showcase Vermont beef in menu’d items like: shepherd’s pie, burgers, tacos and meat sauce.
Want to know more?
For more information about our commitment to local purchasing at the Burlington School Food Project, please contact: Sarah Heusner at sheusner@bsdvt.org
