We’re honored to share that Barred Woods Maple has been awarded an infrastructure grant through the USDA’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program, administered by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.
This national initiative supports local and regional food systems across the United States by investing in critical infrastructure for food producers, processors, and distributors.
This support will help us build a 6,000-square-foot commercial food processing facility in Belvidere, Vermont along side of our existing maple sugarhouse. The new space will allow us to increase our capacity for crafting value-added maple products like maple sugar and maple granola, improve shipping and storage efficiency, and create a safer, more effective environment for our team.
Importantly, this expansion will also strengthen the local maple industry. We’ll be able to purchase bulk syrup from neighboring small and mid-sized sugarmakers in our region—helping sustain family-run operations and the working forests that define our part of Vermont.
Barred Woods is one of six Vermont businesses selected to receive infrastructure support through the program. You can read more about the initiative and the other recipients on the Vermont Agency of Agriculture website.
We are grateful for this opportunity to invest in our future and our community. With this facility, we hope to bring more of Vermont’s finest maple products to people across the country—while ensuring that our neighbors and partners grow with us.