Regional Food Systems Planning: A Case Study from Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom

The number of food systems plans being developed across the United States and Canada are growing. These plans have been undertaken by states, regions, counties and municipalities and share a common focus on advancing the capacity of the food system. This paper provides an overview of how one rural, three-county region, the Northeast Kingdom (NEK) of Vermont, has undertaken a regional food system planning and assessment process. The project is led by a regional planning commission and economic development corporation, Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA). Working with the region’s leading local food hub organization, the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE), the year-long planning process has led to the creation of a strategic plan that includes asset maps; goals, targets, and measures; a governance network analysis for support-system actors; recommended strategies and action items; and a proposed implementation framework. We compare the NEK planning process to other previous efforts and draw some conclusions about rural regional food systems planning more generally