Rutland Area Farm & Food Link S u p p ort in g Lo c a l Fa r m s , F r e s h F o od , H e a lt h y p e op l e & r e sil i e n t C o m m u ni t ie s
2 0 0 9 A n n u a l R e p ort Inside Year in Review -2Program Highlights -3Financial Report -8Funders & Contributors -8Volunteer Spotlight -9Organizational Information - 10 Photo Credit: Merck Forest & Farmland Center
Rutland Area Farm and Food Link’s mission is to create economic opportunity for local farms, connect residents to an abundance of healthy local foods, and support environmental sustainability within our food system. By educating the public, facilitating new and expanded markets, creative distribution mechanisms, and processing infrastructure we aim to increase access to local foods and support the economic viability of area farms while seeding the region with new farmers. Formed In 2004, RAFFL complements the work of conservationists by seeking to influence the economic viability of farms because, to quote the American Farmland Trust, “It isn’t farmland without farmers”.
Our twin goals can be summarized as Farm Viability and Food Access.