Institutional Purchasing at the Intervale Food Hub

Chefs at UVM Dining

The Intervale Food Hub (IFH) has worked with institutional markets through our UVM Sodexo relationship since 2015. This is in part due to a program launched in 2014 by UVM Dining and Sodexo called Vermont First, which commits Sodexo to track local food spending and increase local purchasing across its Vermont institutional markets. As part of UVM’s 2020 Comprehensive Sustainability Plan, they have independently committed to increasing their spending on Vermont-grown food to 25% by 2030. The Intervale Food Hub works with over 70 local farmers, distributors, and value-added producers, enabling us to aggregate food items from smaller farms to reach quantities that work for UVM’s Dining Halls. Vermont First and the Intervale Food Hub are in alignment on our food purchasing values, including prioritizing purchasing from diverse suppliers where possible (i.e., minority/women-owned).

By selling to an intermediary like the Intervale Food Hub, farmers and smaller food producers can reap the rewards of selling to a larger institutional customer—reliable purchasing, larger order quantities, etc.—while not having to take on the administrative and operational burdens necessary to sell to them directly. As a food hub, we have gone through time-intensive processes, such as a food safety and quality systems audit, to become approved Sodexo vendors, ensuring food safety for institutional customers and keeping sales simple for farmers. When looking at the 2024 fiscal year of the Intervale Food Hub, you can clearly see the impact institutional sales have for our farmers and local food producers. Of the $420,000 we purchased from farmers and local producers, $295,000 was purchased solely for our institutional customers.

Recognizing the real impact these relationships have for our local food and farm businesses, we applied to the Henry P. Kendall Foundation’s 2024 New England Food Vision Prize, and were fortunate to receive a $150,000 grant. This funding is part of a multi-year initiative designed to increase the amount of local food served in colleges and public schools in New England. With this grant, together with the Center for an Agricultural Economy and the University of Vermont, the Intervale Center will invest in improved ordering systems and infrastructure and strengthen pathways for increased local food sourcing at several college campuses in the greater Burlington area, benefiting farmers, students, and staff.

Looking toward a future with an erratic climate, institutional commitments to local food purchasing, like Sodexo’s Vermont First and UVM’s Sustainability Plan, will be vital. In the case of Vermont, these institutional commitments not only provide economic viability for small farms and producers, but when they utilize food hubs like the IFH that prioritize responsible and sustainable purchasing, they ensure a future of climate resilience within our local food system.

Take a look at the Vermont First 2023-24 Impact Report that highlights this impactful partnership!