The Skinny Pancake and Vermont PBS are pleased to announce The Local Motive, a new, six- part television series that explores Vermont’s Farm to Plate food system, the most comprehensive local food system plan in the country. The Local Motive will air on Vermont PBS starting in January, 2017.
The project is a collaboration between The Skinny Pancake, Vermont PBS, and Jaime Williams of Von Dier Video Productions. Each 30-minute episode delves into one of six major aspects of the local food system: production, processing, distribution, institutional consumption, consumer consumption, and waste. Featuring over 80 of Vermont’s most notable local food leaders, The Local Motive is the most comprehensive documentation ever compiled of Vermont’s localvore food system.
Benjy Adler, co-owner of The Skinny Pancake explains, “The Local Motive is a 2.0 look at our food system. In keeping with our social mission and commitment to local food sourcing, The Local Motive seeks to explore the challenges and bottlenecks present in Vermont’s food system as well as the innovations emerging to make local food more affordable and accessible. In other words, this isn’t about why we eat local, but rather how we can access and afford to eat more local food.”
“Local food is the crown jewel of the Vermont small farm movement. We’re happy to tell the story of farm fresh foods and how they find their way to our plates,” said Holly Groschner, President and CEO of Vermont PBS. “Our collaboration with filmmakers Skinny Pancake Productions brings the local food system and its many intricacies to you, online and on air, courtesy of your public television station.”
Vermont leads the nation in local food production and consumption. Even so, as it currently stands only about 6% of our food is sourced locally. The Vermont Farm to Plate Strategic Plan calls for a goal of 10% local food consumption by 2020. The New England Food Vision seeks to achieve 50% of all food consumption in New England to be sourced locally by mid-century. Episode 1 examines these goals, looking at how Vermont currently eats, the supply and demand challenges, and how much land would be needed to attain long-term goals.
The Local Motive will air on Vermont PBS Thursdays at 7:00 p.m., starting January 19, 2017. Building on its broadcast and online release, the series hopes to stimulate local food conversations across the state.
Vermont PBS is Vermont’s statewide public media provider and visual storyteller, with a commitment to cultural enrichment and civic engagement. More information is available at vermontpbs.org.
