<p>New research on rural New Englanders shows that gardening, hunting, fishing and other HWFP activities are important tools for maintaining food security through extreme events, such as pandemics or climate change events. </p>
<p>University of Vermont and University of Maine researchers found that both food insecurity and home and wild food production (HWFP) – gardening, hunting, fishing, foraging, and having “backyard” poultry or livestock – increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and <strong>those who undertook HWFP activities exhibited improved food security 9-12 months later. </strong></p>
<p>The paper, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-52320-z.pdf">published in <em>Scientific Reports</em></a>, surveyed over 1,000 individuals in rural Vermont and Maine (the two most rural states
Overview
This report highlights results from a survey of Vermont farm and food businesses conducted during August and September 2020, with a total of 223 respondents. The survey was distributed via a number of non-profit, business, and state agencies in Vermont. Respondents included farms, food and farm product retail, agritourism operators, on-farm food processors, food and beverage manufacturers, nurseries/greenhouses/garden centers, and food hubs/aggregators.
Key Findings
The majority of respondents experienced a COVID-19 business impact, especially market (58%) and financial impacts (54%).
The most common market impacts included a change in demand, change in market channels or closure of markets, and the majority of all business types and gross sales categories experienced market impacts.