A Feast for the Holidays

Jennifer Hunt, serving at Groundworks Collaborative in Brattleboro, VT
Jennifer Hunt, serving at Groundworks Collaborative in Brattleboro, VT
Every year the food shelf that I serve at offers a holiday food giveaway in mid-December. Two days after this year's event, a woman came into the food shelf hoping that she might be able to get one of the hams we had been giving away. She said that her son had recently passed away, leaving her to care for her two grandchildren. It was going to be the children's first Christmas without their father and the woman did not have the money to afford a large meal.

VHCB Water Quality Grants Available for Vermont Farms: Currently accepting applications for up to $40,000

The Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program, a program of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, has grant funds available for on-farm capital improvement projects that have a positive impact on water quality. Eligible farmers can apply for a Water Quality Grant, which provides $5,000 to $40,000 in funding.

Applications are due by *March 27, 2020.* More information, eligibility requirements, and applications are available on the Viability Program Website at: https://vhcb.org/WQG

Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program Announces Grant Opportunity for Farmers

Grants Available for Infrastructure Improvements that Enhance Water Quality
The Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program, a program of the VT Housing & Conservation Board, has grant funds available for on-farm capital improvement projects that have a positive impact on water quality. Eligible farmers can apply for a Water Quality Grant, which provides $5,000 to $40,000 in funding. Matching funds are required and may include federal or state grants as well as cash, loans, or labor. Application deadlines are November 8, 2019 and March 20, 2020. More information, eligibility requirements, and applications are available on the Viability Program Website.

VHCB Awards $2.9 Million to Provide Public Access to Water, Conserve Farmland and Historic Buildings, and Create New Homeownership and Rental Housing Opportunities

At a meeting on March 15, the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board awarded $2,955,197 to create new homes in a downtown Bennington development, to conserve 440 acres of farmland in Rutland and Orleans Counties, and to protect public access to water in Calais, Burlington and Bolton.

VHCB Awards $9.3 Million to Construct and Rehabilitate Housing in Brattleboro, South Burlington, Randolph, and Hartford, and to Conserve Land in Orange and Chittenden Counties

In January, the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board committed $9,359,800 for the construction and rehabilitation of 133 homes and for the conservation of 152 acres of land. The Board awarded $6,795,000 in Housing Revenue Bond funds, $1.45 million in federal HOME Program funding, $478,000 in federal farmland protection funds, and $636,500 in state funding to nine applicants.

VHCB Executive Director Gus Seelig said, “These funding awards will help address the very low vacancy rates in the housing market, providing new homes in downtown locations around the state. Two farmland conservation awards will keep farmland in aictive agricultural use and allow the farmers to expand their operations, while providing water quality protections in the easements.”

VHCB’s Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program Awards $264,169 for Water Quality Improvements on Dairy Farms

The Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program, a program of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, awarded $264,169 in water quality grants to farmers, in Addison, Franklin, Orange, Orleans, and Rutland counties. The grants will be used for 10 capital improvement projects totaling $2.4 million that will reduce runoff and improve manure management on the farms. The Viability Program grants are matched by the farmers’ funds, bank loans, and grant funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.

Anson Tebbetts, Secretary of the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, said, “These grants are helping farmers make necessary improvements to their farms to comply with Vermont’s Required Agricultural Practice and to improve water quality. Without the assistance from the Viability Program, NRCS, and the Ag Agency, it would be difficult for farmers to prioritize these important projects.”

VHCB Will Use $35 Million in Bond Funds to Address Vermont's Housing Shortage

The Vermont Housing & Conservation Board will use $35 million in new funding for the creation of rental housing and home ownership opportunities for 550-650 low- and moderate-income Vermonters over the next two to three years. The bold, new initiative represents the largest state investment in housing in more than a decade.  It was first proposed by Governor Phil Scott in his January budget address, gained strong support in the legislature, and was signed into law today.

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