November 12, 2026
In a small, rural Vermont town without a grocery store within a 30-minute radius, Green & Gold CSA is finding new ways to connect its community with fresh, locally grown food. A 2025 Resilience Grant helped the Sudbury-based farm build a self-serve farmstand and dedicated CSA pickup area on its property, creating new opportunities to improve local food access while strengthening the farm's own distribution infrastructure.
Green & Gold CSA is a no-till, certified organic, woman-owned and -operated farm that grows high-quality produce for its community. The farm distributes its harvest through area farmers' markets, a free-choice CSA, and ACORN's Farmacy program, which provides free fresh produce to food-insecure community members navigating diet-related illness.
Given the lack of traditional grocery stores nearby, access to fresh food can be a challenge for residents of this small town. Grant funds helped the farm build a self-serve farmstand and dedicated CSA pickup area on its property, creating a welcoming and convenient place for community members to access fresh produce. This summer, during a July CSA distribution, we visited the farm to see the new space in action.
The farmstand has already made produce distribution more streamlined and efficient, while creating room for the farm to grow its offerings. Green & Gold CSA hopes to eventually stock the farmstand with products from other local producers, further expanding access to food and goods from the surrounding community.
It's a great example of how investments in farm infrastructure can do more than support an individual farm operation. They can also build community resilience by strengthening local food networks and creating new opportunities for rural communities to access fresh, locally grown food.
Applications for NOFA-VT’s Farmer Resilience Grants are currently open through December 15th. Find the online application and scoring rubric on our webpage, and reach out to Avery at [email protected] with any questions.