Institutions and Wholesale Marketing

• Read RAFFL's "Technical Assistance: Selling to Institutions and Restaurants in the Rutland Region"
• Review the Introduction to Commercial Sales and Labeling Guide provided by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture for helpful tips.
• Contact local retailers where you think your product would sell well. These stores currently carry local products.
• Sell to New England Supermarkets. Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Hannafords and Price Chopper all cary some Vermont products.
• Sell through a distributor. Here's a List of regional distributors that work with farms in our area.
• Join the Red Tomato network, a Massachussets non-profit that works with New England farmers to brand and market their produce to supermarkets, co-ops, distributors and other buyers.

Direct Marketing
This allows you to directly interact with and receive feedback from your customers, building customer loyalty and brand recognition. Selling from your own farmstand, at the farmers' market and through CSA shares are all examples of direct marketing.

- Farmers' Markets of the Rutland Region (with manager contact information)
- Become a Community Supported Agriculture farm and sell shares of your product. Helpful info provided by NOFA Vermont.
- Sell CSA shares through RAFFL's Workplace Farmshare Delivery Program
- Join the Vermont Fresh Network if you'd like to sell to local chefs. These area restaurants currently buy from local farms.
- Schools and colleges in the Region are also using more locally grown food in their cafeterias. VT Food Education Every Day offers training workshops and information about selling to institutions. Call us at 802-417-7331 to work with institutions in the Rutland Region.

Collaborative Marketing
- Look into joining established co-operatives in the state and northeast.
- Multi-farm CSA's are one way to offer a larger number of shares and increase product diversity. Local Harvest: A Multifarm CSA Handbook, is a great place to start researching this model.

Outlets for Surplus/Waste Food - Help Feed Vermont's Food Insecure
The Vermont Foodbank is the states largest hunger relief charity, serving over 10% of the states population through its network of partner food shelves/pantries, meal sites, afterschool programs, etc. Consider donating your surplus to the Vermont Foodbank. If you are a vegetable or fruit farmer - you can request a group of gleaners to come and gather your surplus. If you are a dairy farmer wanting to see your culled cows feed Vermonters - The Vermont Foodbank is interested in working with you. If you are a farm based produce who wants to feed Vermonters before wasting a valuable in-state food resource contact the Vermont Foodbank's Program Director of Agricultural Resources at 802-477-4114 or tsnow@vtfoodbank.org.