The Middlebury Campus

Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: Local News

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In true Vermont fashion, on the first Thursday in October, restaurants, co-ops and stores around Vermont donated some of their sales to the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA). NOFA uses the money collected from Share the Harvest to help fund its Farm Share Program, which assists limited-income Vermonters in buying shares in Community Supported Agriculture (CFA) to help create a stable pattern of nutrition for the residents and a stable client base for the local farms.

This year, 86 Vermont restaurants, co-ops and stores participated in Share the Harvest, including four restaurants in Middlebury - American Flatbread, the Middlebury Co-op, Green Peppers and Fire and Ice. The restaurants pledged to donate a percentage of the money they made on Oct. 4 to Share the Harvest. In 2006, Share the Harvest raised over $9,500, with 73 participants. Generally, somewhere between 75-100 businesses participate in the event. In exchange for their participation, the businesses receive publicity from Share the Harvest.

"We have been participating since the beginning, almost a dozen years now, and always see an increase of 25 to 30 percent in sales on Share the Harvest," said Mark Perrin, manager of Green Peppers. "The fact that they publicize for us helps get the word out. We also see a lot of regular customers become more educated about the Farm Share Program. The program emphasizes neighbors helping neighbors and as a whole supports our business philosophy."

"Planning the event is pretty smooth sailing," said Becca Weiss, Share the Harvest coordinator. "Share the Harvest is such a positive event that everyone is really into participating." This was Weiss' fifth year planning the event. She started planning the event in the spring by soliciting restaurants, creating a publicity list and sending out materials for the restaurants to promote the event.

"There are two categories of restaurants," said Weiss, "those that have been participating for over 10 years, who are very into it and whenever I call them they say 'Great! Okay!' and then every year I try to solicit new natural food restaurants and co-ops around Vermont. The new ones, after I explain Share the Harvest, always think it's a great idea, but may not always be able to participate due to economic constraints."

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