The Vermont Sail Freight Project is up and running, delivering fresh farm-to-table goods over 300 miles down the Champlain-Hudson waterway to Manhattan, the Hudson Valley, and points between. In April the project reached its $15,000 Kickstarter goal and founding farmer Erik Andrus set to work building a 39-foot sail barge named Ceres (after the Roman goddess of agriculture).
Farm advocacy group The Greenhorns signed on as project partner, along with the Willowell Foundation, an education nonprofit. With their help raising additional funds, handling logistics, and recruiting farmers and volunteers, Ceres has embarked on her maiden voyage.
From Greenhorns founder Severine von Tscharner Fleming:
The sail boat is all about moving products from within the region in a way that is compatible with consumers and retailers’ needs, replacing imports from far away with regional alternatives, and preserving the sustainable values of our organic farming practices all along the value chain.
The sailing barge is loaded with fifteen tons of shelf-stable ag products, from jams, jellies, pickles and condiments, to potatoes, garlic, beans, and rice—all sustainably produced by farmers in the area.
If you live in or near New York, you can pre-order groceries at goodeggs.com/vsfp.
(h/t NYT)
Photo via Design Squish