meal train

meal train
support friends, strengthen communities

exactly as the name suggests, this website organizes meal trains – a train of meals made and delivered to friends and family who currently need help. think of your community, perhaps there is someone right now who:

• had a baby
• had surgery
• has an illness

their energies are no longer focused on food shopping and cooking. so delivering meals is a great way to take away that burden and allows you to help this person/family during this time. it’s a win-win all the way around.

meal train is the most efficient and effective way to organize meal deliveries. it’s all about scheduling and organizing in one convenient place.

you can either start a meal train for yourself or for someone else. when you make a meal train you are creating:

• an interactive, online meal calendar
• invitations to share via email and Facebook
• customized calendar dates, times, and meal preferences
• reminder emails prior to scheduled mail delivery

everything – dates, who’s delivering, what’s cooking – is all in one place. they even have useful information on mail train etiquette. magazines such as real simple have highlighted meal train as a daily find problem solver.

you probably know someone right now who needs to have their meals delivered. make them a meal train and allow their friends and family to support them.

take a look at what meal train has done so far:

• over 750,000 meals organized
• over 80,000 families helped in the u.s. and beyond
• over 2,500 meals organized most nights.

oh and by the way – meal train is free and yes, they’re located in vermont!

vermont brownie company

vermont brownie company
the gourmet brownie that’s down to earth

think about it, when’s the last time you ate a brownie that was not made from a mix in a box? have you ever had a made-from-scratch brownie? if you had, you’d know. they are much better. and how about a made-from-scratch-with-local-vermont-ingredients? ever had a vermont brownie company brownie?

if not, it’s time. not only are their brownies made from local, wholesome, farm-fresh, all natural ingredients; they are original as well. check out this list of flavors:

• apple blondies – apples, cinnamon, homemade maple toffee
• blondies – triple chunk – white, milk, dark
• dark chocolate chèvre – cream cheese with vermont butter and cheese chèvre. yes, you read it correctly – goat cheese in a brownie!
• espresso dulce de leche – green mountain coffee roasters dark roast espresso with swirls of homemade milk caramel. omg.
• maple toffee crunch – it’s all in the name
• peanut butter
• signature – dark, dark, dark
• walnut chunk – walnuts, chocolate chunks, sea salt
• white chocolate raspberry – seasonal

try them on their own or with ice cream. and make sure to spread the vermont brownie company love with:

• baby gifts
• house gifts
• wedding favors
• event favors
• brownie of the month
• holiday gifts

the testimonials are impressive. your mouth will be watering as you read. our favorite vermont brownie company moment in the news is their throwdown with bobby flay – it was their dark chocolate chèvre that got his attention – take a look – just awesome!

so what are you waiting for? buy a box of these homemade brownies today.

you deserve it.

yolo snacks

yolo snacks
gourmet ready to eat popcorn

on their homepage they say that “yolo” is a made up word. well, technically it is – but nowadays many know yolo to be the acronym for you only live once!

it’s perfect. you do only live once. so, if you’re a popcorn fanatic like steve and peter, the yolo guys, then you should be eating yolo popcorn. it’s fresh iowa popcorn popped in vermont and tossed with
“the best and purest vermont flavors” the yolo guys could find. their flavors include:

• original
• maple
• cheese
• hot chocolate

cleverly packaged in a clear bag, you can see exactly what you’re getting with this popcorn. all their popcorn is:

• gluten free
• whole grain
• trans fat free
• 100% natural

you can order online or find yolo snacks at any of these stores (and there are plenty).

yolo – so try a bag today!

artsriot

artsriot
celebrating and supporting music, food, art & culture in burlington

artsriot calls itself the battery street jeans* of events calendars. they collect sweet jeans events and post the sweetest to their site. it’s the best of the btv culture scene all in one place. not only does it celebrate and support the people who bring us this amazing array of culture, it also educates and promotes awareness of what’s going on in burlington’s vibrant creative community.

find out what’s hot  from cool indie bands to gallery receptions, fundraisers and just plain old bashes – such as switchback’s 10th anniversary party or browse all upcoming events listed by date.

artsriot also has a monthly dinner club called Isole – the story of food, a food anthropology journey. next one will be a day of the dead theme. they’ve also just acquired a space down on pine street behind speeder and earl’s – so expect to see their own art gallery and artsriot events as soon as november.

of special note is that artsriot also has apprenticeship and internship programs which offer excellent opportunities to burlington’s creative youth. what a great investment!

whether you’re already in the arts scene or want to get into it – this is the place to be – artsriot.com

*p.s. if you don’t know about battery street jeans – it’s about time you do!

two guys in vermont

two guys in vermont
all natural, no artificial anything, nothing ordinary, delicious foods!

two guys in vermont make the best soup around! their soups are:

• all natural
• plant based
• cooked in small batches
• made with ingredients from local farms
• have no artificial anything
• packaged in glass jars (i.e. no BPA’s)

as of now they have the following soups:

• chunky garden tomato
• hearty curried apple butternut squash
• veggie basil goodness

these are soups that you want to make but never have the time. don’t bother.  stock up on two guys in vermont and you’ll always have all-natural-tastes-like-homemade-soup-because-it-IS in your kitchen at all times.

buy these great soups online or at any of these locations.

and..if you love their soups and want more, consider donating to their new crowdfunding campaign – they need your help to bring you more of their great soups.

come on – you know you want to help these two guys!

p.s. guess how many pounds of regional fresh farm foods they have bought so far? answer here

wholesome cravings

wholesome cravings
you can have your craving and eat it to!

admit it. everyone has cravings.

so when you get that craving for something sweet look no further than these wholesome snacks packed with protein.

these protein bars, brownies and dry mixes are all handmade in vermont with the best ingredients and taste amazing – you’d never know they are actually good for you!

and they are all certified gluten-free*!

their flavors include (both bar and mix):
apple ginger
banana chocolate chip
caramel apple
decadent chocolate
pumpkin spice

you can order these wholesome cravings at these stores or if you are interested in a bulk order or even a private label? just contact them.

snack smart. snack strong.

* just to be clear – the protein snack cake mixes are certified gluten-free and are made in a certified gluten-free facility in vermont. and their protein bars are made without gluten but are not baked in a certified gluten-free facility.

burlington farmers market

 

burlington farmers market
year round. rain or shine.

held outside in burlington every saturday from mother’s day weekend through the last saturday on october, this is one farmers market you don’t want to miss. you’ll find it right in downtown burlington’s city hall park, right off the church street marketplace. during the off months you’ll find the winter farmers market  in burlington’s memorial auditorium.

you’ll find more than 60 stands will everything vermont from delicious foods, crafts, wares, flowers and lots of fun. It’s the best place to check out new vermont made goodies.

there is so much great stuff – we couldn’t give you our favorites because the list would be too long.

you’ll find products galore – it’s all there including:

baked goods
cheeses
chocolates
eggs
fresh veggies & fruits
honey
jams & jellies
jewelry
maple everything
meats
mustards
pasta

plus all sorts of incredible artisan wares, prepared foods and entertainment. check out this video. and if you’re looking for a specific vendor you can check their vendor list.

put this on your calendar and plan on going every saturday, if you can.

it’s worth the trip!

oh – and don’t have cash handy? you can use a debit card at the market manager’s table.

buy local. buy vermont.

douglas sweets

douglas sweets
traditional shortbread and other scottish treats

ok, we know shortbread is scottish and we’re talking about shortbread made in vermont. this scottish shortbread is absolutely delicious and we think you won’t be buying the imported stuff anymore once you’ve tasted these sweets!

douglas sweets are made from an old family recipe with the finest vermont ingredients. they’ve got a wide variety of choices:

chocolate dipped biscuits

• cappuccino
• chocolate – dark, milk & white
• coconut
• creme dementhe
• hot chile
• lemon
• orange spice
• pistachio lavender
• raspberry
• vermont maple (of course)

traditional squares

• sandwich filled chocolate dipped
• scottish s’more
• peanut butter
• raspberry dark chocolate
• raspberry white chocolate

they also give back. we love that they have created a line of scottish scones in memory of sam cohn and all profits go to sam’s foundation.

you can find douglas sweets at these stores  or better yet, order online today!

p.s. they’ll be at the burlington wine & food festival on june 23rd

vermont fresh network

vermont fresh network
promoting farm and chef partnerships

the vermont fresh network has a vision “to build a flourishing vermont food and farm economy”. all vermonters and visitors to vermont benefit from our farmers and chefs creating direct partnerships so we can all enjoy great local vermont food while eating at any VFN member restaurant.

by connecting chefs of vermont restaurants to local farms the benefits are much greater than just enjoying that amazing local food, the vermont fresh network is also helping to:

• build partnerships between farms, food producers and restaurants in vermont
• strengthen the local economies of members
• connect communities through the relationships of members
• maintain vermont’s agricultural heritage
• promote vermont’s farm economy
• support our farms
• create local jobs
• keep our farmers farming which means open fields and beautiful views
• keep vermont’s carbon footprint down
• have us all eat more local foods
• educate vermonters and tourists on the importance of eating local
• keep vermont GREEN

the vermont fresh network offers an innovative approach to solving so many of the issues we are facing today in our food industry. learn more about VFN or get to know a farmer – don’t you like to know where your food comes from?

it should also be noted that VFN was started in 1985 and was the first statewide nonprofit organization focused solely on building relationships between farms and chefs.

so the next time you’re going out to dinner in vermont, check out the VFN member list or look for the VFN logo at member restaurants to support our local vermont food and agricultural economy!

intervale center

intervale center
strengthening community food systems since 1988

yes, you read that right – 1988! the intervale is way ahead of the sustainability curve. sitting on 350 acres along the winooski river, the intervale is a nationally recognized center for sustainable agriculture. it is more than a collection of farms – it is a center – promoting healthy land and water use as well as connecting people with their local food creating a community resource for burlington and beyond.

having been farmed for hundreds of years, the land is not only rich with history but also gives people today the opportunity to connect with and be engaged with it and all the land offers. today there are 11 independently-operated intervale farms. The intervale center’s relationship to the farms is as landlord and resource.

programs such as the ones below illustrate how the intervale strengthens vermont’s food system:

• farms program – creating opportunities for new farmers
• success on farms – providing business planning and technical assistance to farmers throughout the state of vermont 
• intervale food hub – marketing and distributing local foods to 30 burlington-area workplaces
• conservation nursery – growing native, locally sourced trees and shrubs for riparian restoration projects throughout vermont
• abenaki heritage garden – growing traditional corn, beans and squashes
• gleaning and food rescue – collecting and distributing surplus food via a subsidized food hub CSA share
• consulting – sharing the innovative model with communities across the country and around the world

as it’s a community food system there are also plenty of ways for people to be involved:

• volunteer
• visit
• donate
• buy local foods
• celebrate at summervale and wintervale

they aren’t kidding when they call it “the one and only intervale” – it is and burlington is so lucky to have it.

if you get a chance, whether you are visiting vermont or live here – you should check it out. stop by the farmhouse, grab a map and explore.