BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Do you know where your food comes from? UVM Dining hosted a Farm Fest Wednesday in an effort to connect students with some of the local food products they can find on campus.
“We’ve got Vermont Salumi, Vermont Smoke and Cure, we’ve got the Catamount Farm giving out their apples. We’ve really got a little bit of something for everybody,” said Nicole Reilly, the manager of Sustainability and Campus Partnership.
More than 20 local vendors offered free samples of their products Wednesday at the UVM Farm Fest, which they hope to make an annual event.
All of the featured products are either sold on campus or can be found in the dining halls.
The turnout surprised student Rocco Salomone, an intern at UVM’s experiential learning Catamount Farm.
“I thought I was gonna sit here until 1 o’clock or later, and have to sit out some apples and have some left,” Salomone said.
Besides serving up free food, the goal of the event was to connect students with local farmers and producers, helping them learn about how some of the food they eat is grown nearby.
“I think it was a surprise to most people. I mean it was a surprise to me the first time I worked at Catamount Farm because if you’ve ever been there, it’s really out of the way. It’s on Shelburne Road and you wouldn’t know there is a hundred-acre farm behind all these businesses,” Salomone said.
UVM has had a Vermont-first commitment to purchasing local food since 2014. They are currently striving for 25% of food on campus to be Vermont-made by 2030.
“Support your local farmers and producers. Consumers have a lot of buying power. Every dollar counts for these small businesses. We hope this increases people’s awareness about all the amazing food Vermont produces,” Reilly said.
Organizers say not only is this the first Farm Fest, but it is also the first of five events they will be hosting throughout the year highlighting sustainability.