Culinary businesses must meet the following criteria to qualify for partner membership. There are 4 areas for qualification:
1. Partnerships: Members must regularly source food from farms in Vermont (+30 miles) and source from at least 4 VFN Members.
2. Purchases: 15%* or more of annual food purchases must be Vermont (+30) grown or raised food.
3. Diversity of Vermont Food: Members' regular menus must contain local products in 3 of the 6 USDA food groups.
4. Participation: Members are engaged in local food system work, and attend (or host) at least one relevant event each year.
Answers to the following questions are for office use only and not published. If you don't currently meet Partner Member criteria, a Supporting Member option is also available - in the case of restaurants not yet open, a Supporting Membership is recommended, and the cost will be discounted from dues if you join within the year.
Gold Barn membership signifies the top local food purchases in VFN and is automatically calculated from these answers. Details on the current Gold Barn criteria are available online.
*10% is the threshold for health care institutions and schools.