Report: Food related jobs have increased by 5,300

(AP) — Vermont has added 5,300 food related jobs between 2009 and 2014, according to an annual report released Wednesday on Farm to Plate, a 10-year initiative to boost the state's food and farm economy.

The effort — with a budget last year of about $550,000 drawn from state funds, sponsorships and private donations — is at its midpoint.

When legislators passed the Farm to Plate Investment program, "we had no idea how much change might be possible," said Rep. Carolyn Partridge, D-Windham, a sheep farmer and the chairwoman of the House Agriculture and Forest Products committee.

Local food purchases have increased by $189 billion between 2010 and 2014 and now make up about 7 percent of total food purchases in the state, up from 5 percent.

Next year, the initiative is launching a marketing campaign to get more Vermonters to understand the importance of buying local food, she said.

Jobs in food from retail and manufacturing to distribution and farm inputs rose by 12 percent or 5,300 jobs from 2009 to 2014.