African Diaspora Foodways Institute
of Vermont (ADFI-VT)
Clemmons Family Farm (CFF), in partnership with the University of Vermont's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is piloting the African Diaspora Foodways Institute of Vermont (ADFI-VT). Up to twelve Vermont-based African diaspora foodways entrepreneurs (culinary artists and farmers) will receive professional development, create business plans, and use the historic Clemmons Farm as a business incubator. This initiative will support these entrepreneurs to grow their African diaspora foodways businesses and will also serve as a pilot to diversify Vermont’s food and tourism sectors.
The 138-acre Clemmons Farm includes approximately 60 acres of prime agricultural soils and six historic buildings. It is an official site on the Vermont African American Heritage Trail and is nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, highlighting its unique role in American history and cultural heritage. Jackson and Lydia Clemmons, an African-American couple, owned the farm for 61 years before selling it at its appraised fair market value to the 501c3 nonprofit organization named in their honor. CFF's stewardship of the farm serves as a model for preserving African-American-owned agricultural land and cultural heritage in the U.S.
Anticipated outcomes of the one-year pilot of the African Diaspora Foodways Institute of Vermont (ADFI-VT) include:
a. A landscape analysis and needs assessment tool to understand current practices and gaps, with a final report
documenting the process, results, lessons learned, and recommendations.
b. A training package of workshops and on-farm residencies in improved production, handling, preparation,
marketing, sales, and distribution of nutritious foods.
c. Business plans, marketing materials, and CFF partnership agreements supporting up to 12 African diaspora
foodways business entrepreneurs.
d. Teff fields and other African diaspora crops piloted on the Clemmons Farm.
e. A 5-year strategic plan for the long-term visioning and financial sustainability of ADFI-VT.
f. Internship opportunities for UVM students in the activities of ADFI-VT activities.
The 138-acre Clemmons Farm includes approximately 60 acres of prime agricultural soils and six historic buildings. It is an official site on the Vermont African American Heritage Trail and is nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, highlighting its unique role in American history and cultural heritage. Jackson and Lydia Clemmons, an African-American couple, owned the farm for 61 years before selling it at its appraised fair market value to the 501c3 nonprofit organization named in their honor. CFF's stewardship of the farm serves as a model for preserving African-American-owned agricultural land and cultural heritage in the U.S.
Anticipated outcomes of the one-year pilot of the African Diaspora Foodways Institute of Vermont (ADFI-VT) include:
a. A landscape analysis and needs assessment tool to understand current practices and gaps, with a final report
documenting the process, results, lessons learned, and recommendations.
b. A training package of workshops and on-farm residencies in improved production, handling, preparation,
marketing, sales, and distribution of nutritious foods.
c. Business plans, marketing materials, and CFF partnership agreements supporting up to 12 African diaspora
foodways business entrepreneurs.
d. Teff fields and other African diaspora crops piloted on the Clemmons Farm.
e. A 5-year strategic plan for the long-term visioning and financial sustainability of ADFI-VT.
f. Internship opportunities for UVM students in the activities of ADFI-VT activities.
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Infusing African diaspora foodways into Vermont’s tourism economy
Vermont’s culinary arts landscape includes a number of new African diaspora culinary businesses featuring Cuban, Dominican, Ethiopian, Ghanaian, Jamaican, Moroccan, Nigerian, Somalian, traditional southern African-American cuisine, and more. Most of these businesses, which are present in various locations around the state of Vermont, offer small take-out services and catering for occasional events. Meanwhile, a small but growing number of Vermont farmers are specializing in producing crops that are representative of traditional African diaspora cuisines, such as okra, bitter eggplant, peppers, collard greens, and more. While there is a significant unmet demand for ethnic foods, few of Vermont’s African diaspora foodways entrepreneurs have the facilities or resources to meet this unmet demand. ADFI-VT aims to significantly increase African diaspora food crop producers’ access to prime agricultural land, increase the market opportunities, and provide professional and business development support for participating foodways entrepreneurs. |
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Increasing equity in Vermont’s agritourism and cultural tourism economies
According to the most recent online publication by Vermont Poverty Rate (welfareinfo.org), the poverty rate for Black Vermonters (22.4%) is twice that of white Vermonters (10.2%)- similar to the racial inequities that appear in national poverty rates. The Institute aims to increase equity in Vermont's agritourism and cultural tourism economies through investments in infrastructure and human resources for African diaspora foodways (farming/food production, food preparation, food marketing, food sales, food sovereignty/food consumption, and culinary businesses) at the Clemmons farm. |
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Building synergies between Vermont’s efforts to conserve land and to foster cultural diversity
CFF also partners with Vermont Land Trust, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, and American Farmland Trust who jointly purchased a conservation easement on approximately 122 acres that include nearly 60 acres of prime agricultural soils, and 60 acres of forest and wetlands on the Clemmons Farm in 2023. The proposed African Diaspora Foodways Institute provides an educational model for other conservation initiatives that seek to combine the goal of preserving Vermont’s open spaces, farms, and natural resources with the goal of fostering the state’s diverse cultural landscape. |
The African Diaspora Foodways Institute of Vermont is funded in part through grants from the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Market's Working Lands Enterprise Initiative.
