Roots Market expansion in Middlesex backed by $75,000 working-lands grant

Roots Market, the retail arm of Bear Roots Farm, received a $75,000 Working Lands Enterprise Initiative supply-chain grant and a Sprout loan to expand its Middlesex retail and production space, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets staff told a legislative committee.

For the record, Abby Willard, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, told the committee the grant was awarded in fiscal year 2022 as one of the program's larger "supply chain impact" awards designed to benefit multiple agricultural businesses. "A supply chain impact grant is designed to make infrastructure improvements, do some sort of modernization or improvement along the supply chain and then benefit multiple ag businesses," Willard said.

The grant supported work at Roots Market, located in Middlesex near the intersection of Route 2 and 100B, which Willard said will expand existing retail floor space, add a walk-in cooler/freezer combo, increase dry and cold storage, and create loading-dock improvements. She said the project includes an on-site production kitchen used for value-added products such as prepared meals and soups, and that the expansion will enable the business to add two staff positions.

Willard said the Roots project combined the $75,000 Working Lands grant with a Sprout loan from the Vermont Community Loan Fund and a stronger-than-anticipated owner contribution. "I think their match was, like, originally imagined to be 75,000, and I think it's probably gonna be over 85,000 or more just because the cost of the project was more expensive in reality than they had originally budgeted," she said.

Willard told committee members the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative makes larger supply-chain awards when the program has a larger allocation; she said the agency has not offered another supply-chain impact award since fiscal year 2022. The agency's allocations have fluctuated by year, she said, citing a $1 million allocation for fiscal year 2025 and $2 million for fiscal year 2024. Willard said the program typically funds about 15–20% of applications because demand outstrips available dollars.

Committee members and staff planned a site visit timed to Roots Market's opening; Willard confirmed the market would be part of the visit. She also noted the expansion should allow the farm and market operator to spend less time at farmers markets and more time operating an expanded retail location where customers can buy prepared meals and local products.

The committee did not take formal action on the grant during the meeting. Willard and committee members discussed program-level questions, including historical allocations and how the Working Lands program interacts with other targeted ag development grants.

Notes: The project received a $75,000 Working Lands Enterprise Initiative supply-chain grant in fiscal year 2022; the grantee also took a Sprout loan from the Vermont Community Loan Fund and provided owner match that Willard estimated exceeded the original $75,000 match plan.