What is Vermont First

Vermont First is a first of its kind program committing Sodexo to increase local purchasing across its Vermont institutional markets. Founded in 2014, the aim of Vermont First has been to provide stable market opportunities for local producers, stimulate job growth, and ensure the viability of Vermont's working lands. Through strategic purchasing shifts, collaboration with stakeholders, increasing consumer awareness, and training and enabling our operators to implement Vermont First objectives in harmony with our values.

Vermont First has been recognized for championing best practices in farm to institution work for its transparent, rigorous tracking system and strategic alignment of institutional purchasing needs with local supply. Want to learn more about how and where we work? Explore our new and improved site!

Vermont First Values:

• Support Vermont’s local economy through the creation of inclusive market opportunities accessible for local producers, including diverse-owned and small-medium scale farm and food businesses.
• Create opportunities for employees to engage with Vermont First and contribute to our local communities.
• Contribute to an environmentally sustainable food system through food purchases and reducing food waste.
• Cultivate intentional collaboration and transparency to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive food system and work to remove structural barriers in participation and decision-making.

Vermont First Definitions

What do we mean when we say:

• Local: Vermont First aligns with the state of Vermont definition, which defines “local” food as foods grown or manufactured in Vermont.
• Regional: Vermont First aligns with the Farm to Institution New England (FINE) definition, of “regional” food as food grown, raised, or harvested within the six New England states plus a 50-mile buffer.
• Leanpath: Technology our staff uses to weigh and track pre-consumer food waste from our kitchens. Data is used to make strategic decisions about menu and volume forecasting and staff training.
• Diverse Suppliers: Tier 1*: Vendors we purchase from directly (i.e. Black River Produce and Intervale Food Hub) Tier 2: Producers that our Tier 1 Vendors buy from (i.e. Butterworks Farm, Miller Milk, Global Village Foods, and more) *Currently only tracking Tier 1 Diverse Spend, due to limited data available from our distributors.
• Featured Commitment: A tool that the Vermont First program uses to strategically drive local and regional food purchasing. They act as a guarantee to purchase a pre-determined volume of a local or regional food at a set frequency (i.e. weekly, monthly), many of which are automatically shipped to our kitchens across the state.