Good for the Gut: Bringing Local Black Beans to the University of Vermont

With support from a 2022 New England Food Vision Prize, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT) led a collaborative effort to bring locally grown, organic black beans to institutional markets across Vermont. With the University of Vermont (UVM), Sodexo’s Vermont First program, the UVM Medical Center, and Vermont Bean Crafters as core partners, the project strengthened the state’s dry bean supply chain and, in the process, helped re-establish the viability of dry bean production in Vermont.

At the heart of the project was Joe Bossen, founder of Vermont Bean Crafters, who has spent decades working to rebuild regional markets for staple crops like legumes and grains. As Bossen and his collaborators knew well, Vermont’s dry bean infrastructure, once robust, had been reduced by decades of corporate consolidation and the rise of more centralized commodity markets. Today, few Vermont farms grow dry beans at scale, due in large part to the lack of post-harvest processing equipment and market access.

This Prize project set out to change that. With funding from the Kendall Foundation, the project team invested $140,000 in key processing and production infrastructure, including an optical sorter, mobile batch dryer, pest-proof storage, and a no-till planter. These tools significantly improved the efficiency and economic feasibility of dry bean production for Vermont farms.

The response from farmers has been encouraging. Over the two-year period, vegetable and dairy producers alike began diversifying into growing dry beans. To support these growers, NOFA-VT brought on two of the state’s leading agronomists to provide one-on-one technical assistance.

A key pillar of the project’s success was Vermont Bean Crafters’ ability to connect Vermont-grown beans with large-scale institutional markets. UVM Dining and Sodexo’s Vermont First program committed to regularly featuring the new, pre-cooked and frozen organic black bean production their menus. Without the equipment investments, there simply wouldn’t have been enough supply to launch this new product line.

The impact was immediate. Between 2022 and 2023, UVM’s purchases of the pre-cooked black beans grew nearly 300%, with another 24% increase from 2023 to 2024. Across all buyers, Vermont Bean Crafters saw a 200% increase in product sales during the first year alone. As one UVM Dining chef noted: “The Vermont Bean Crafters pre-cooked black beans are a chef’s best friend. They’re local, organic, and so easy to use. Just let them thaw and incorporate into any dish. No need to fight with and drain #10 cans!”

To extend the reach of the product beyond higher education, NOFA-VT worked with partners to explore adoption in Vermont’s K–12 schools. One of the primary barriers? Cost. Enter Harley Sterling*, School Nutrition Director of Windham Northeast Supervisory Union, one of the state’s leading districts for local purchasing. Sterling helped analyze pricing strategies and found that, at $0.55 per serving, the Bean Crafters black beans were not only affordable but among the most budget-friendly protein options available to schools. Promoting the beans as a center-of-plate protein, rather than a side, made them an attractive option for plant-based and culturally relevant school meals.

This work is more than a local food success story. It’s a proof of concept for how targeted investment, cross-sector collaboration, and infrastructure support can shift what’s possible in regional food systems. Thanks to this initiative, more Vermont farms are embracing dry bean production, institutions are sourcing a local, healthy, plant-based protein, and a long-overlooked staple is making a comeback.

*Story update: Harley Sterling is now the School Nutrition Director at Windham Southeast Supervisory Union.

Good for the Gut video editing and credit: Nate Stevens

TagsHigher Ed, Supply Chain, Value-added