§ 4724. Food Systems Administrator
(a) The position of Food Systems Administrator is established in the Agency of Agriculture,
Food and Markets for the purpose of assisting Vermont producers in increasing their
access to commercial markets and institutions, including schools, registered or licensed
child care providers, State and municipal governments, and hospitals.
(b) The duties of the Food Systems Administrator shall include:
(1) working with institutions, schools, the Agency of Education, registered or licensed
child care providers, distributors, producers, commercial markets, and others to create
matchmaking opportunities that increase the number of Vermont institutions that purchase
foods grown or produced in Vermont;
(2) coordinating funding and providing support to the farm-to-school and farm-to-institutions
programs within the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, and coordinating with
interested parties to access funding or create matchmaking opportunities across the
supply chain that increase participation in those programs;
(3) encouraging and facilitating State employee access and awareness of opportunities
for purchasing local food, including enrollment in a local community supported agriculture
(CSA) organization, purchasing from local farm stands, and participation in a farmers’
market;
(4) developing a database of producers and potential purchasers and enhancing the Agency’s
and partners’ ability to improve and support local foods coordination through the
use of information technology; and
(5) providing technical support to local communities with their food security efforts.
(c) The Food Systems Administrator, working with the Commissioner of Buildings and General
Services pursuant to rules adopted under 29 V.S.A. § 152(a)(14), shall:
(1) encourage and facilitate awareness of and opportunities to procure healthy local foods
by State employees through the use of approved advertisements and solicitations on
State-owned property; and
(2) implement guidelines for the appropriate use of State property for employee participation
in CSA organizations, including reasonable restrictions on the time, place, and manner
of solicitations, advertisements, deliveries, and related activities to ensure the
safety and welfare of State property and its occupants.
(d) The Food Systems Administrator shall administer a local foods grant program, the purpose
of which shall be to provide grants to allow Vermont producers to increase their access
to commercial and institutional markets. (Added 2011, No. 52, § 42, eff. May 27, 2011; amended 2017, No. 63, § 1; 2019, No. 34, § 3.)