On Saturday, Jan. 4, Hunger Mountain Co-op will be hosting a one-day fundraiser for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT)’s Farmer Emergency Fund.

Here’s how you can help:

1) Shop for produce at Hunger Mountain Co-op on January 4. The Co-op will be donating 10% of that day’s produce department sales to the Farmer Emergency Fund. Co-op members can save $5 on their $25 produce purchase by presenting or requesting their member-owner coupon at the register.

2) Round up to the nearest dollar at the register. The Co-op will match all round-up donations made on January 4, doubling the amount raised for the emergency fund.

3) Donate directly here.

The past year has been particularly challenging for Vermont farmers. Many of our farmers are already facing severe headwinds in terms of prices, expenses, labor shortages, and ownership succession. On top of this, fall weather events, including the storm on October 31, caused flooding and wind damage to many local farms. As a co-op that does business with nearly 500 Vermont businesses and achieves almost 40% of our sales from local products, we want to help.

Farmers do not always qualify for federal or private assistance programs. NOFA-VT’s Farmer Emergency Fund supports organic and NOFA member farmers in need. The Fund provides farmers with the needed cash flow in times of an emergency, to help them recover and ultimately become more resilient farmers.

We hope to see you on the 4th!