Food and Agriculture Clinic | Vermont Law and Graduate School

Home Food and Agriculture Clinic

Overview

VLGS’s Food and Agriculture Clinic partners with nonprofit and community-based organizations to develop legal tools and educational materials that help food system stakeholders navigate various legal topics.

Many of these clients come to the clinic through the Vermont Legal Food Hub, a joint initiative between CAFS and the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF). The Vermont Legal Food Hub matches income-eligible food system stakeholders with free legal services. As the primary administrator of the Vermont hub, CAFS places some clients with our growing network of volunteer attorneys, including the Food and Agriculture Clinic, which allows students to work on real-world cases that support Vermont’s local food system under the supervision of a licensed attorney.

What We Do

The Food and Agriculture Clinic offers the following law and policy services: (1) development of legal tools and resources; (2) policy counsel; and (3) direct legal services for farmers, food enterprises, and related organizations, largely through the Vermont Legal Food Hub.

Legal Tools and Resources

We partner with nonprofit and community-based organizations to develop legal tools and educational materials that help food system stakeholders navigate various legal topics. For example:

The clinic works with the Farmers Market Coalition and NOFA-VT to create legal resources for market managers nationwide through the Farmers Market Legal Toolkit.
In collaboration with the Vermont-based nonprofit Migrant Justice, we created educational materials (published in English and in Spanish) that empower farmworkers to better understand their legal rights.
We partnered with the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety and University of Vermont Extension to answer farmers’ and food producers’ pressing legal questions about food safety compliance.
Working with Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA, we produced a guide to support plant breeders in preserving biodiversity by putting their innovations in the public domain.

Policy Counsel

We help food system organizations engage in legislative and administrative advocacy. For example:

On behalf of our client the State Innovation Exchange, we analyzed state laws that promote local farm products to create a menu of policy options for progressive legislators.
We worked with regional organization Farm to Institution New England to identify policies that impact the prison food system.
We wrote a public comment letter on behalf of a consortium of law schools called the Farm Bill Legal Enterprise to call attention to the incongruity between federal nutrition policy and agricultural policy.
We also assist organizations in the nuts and bolts of advocacy campaigns: from drafting policy recommendations and legislative language, to conducting legal research for public comment letters and amicus briefs, to submitting FOIA requests and developing communications advocacy strategies (e.g. testimony, talking points, and press releases).

Direct Legal Services

We provide business-related legal services to local farmers, food entrepreneurs, and related organizations in Vermont.

We conducted a regulatory assessment for Food Connects, a nonprofit organization and food hub in Brattleboro.
We reviewed a farm equipment use agreement for members of the Connecticut River Watershed Farmers Alliance.
We assisted the Vermont Farmers Food Center in Rutland on an intellectual property matter. Many of these clients come to the clinic through the Vermont Legal Food Hub , a joint initiative between CAFS and Conservation Law Foundation (CLF). The Vermont Legal Food Hub matches income-eligible food system stakeholders with free legal services. As primary administrator of the Vermont hub, CAFS places some clients with our growing network of volunteer attorneys, including the Food and Agriculture Clinic, which gives students an opportunity to work on real world cases that support Vermont’s local food system under the supervision of a licensed attorney.

From our Student Clinicians

“Not only has the experience given me something of substance to put on my resume, but it has also broadened my interests in agriculture law and has given me many networking opportunities.”

–Sedona Chavez JD’20

“[The Clinic] provided an invaluable experience to gain additional skills and work experience while maintaining the security of an engaged support system.”

–Alyssa Hartman MFALP’19, Executive Director, Artisan Grain Collaborative

“To be involved in this clinic is a unique and powerful experience, and I will be a better lawyer for it.”

–Lauren Wustenberg JD/MFALP’21

Highlights

CAFS Projects

Learn more about our work at the Center for Agriculture

Get Involved

Are you an organization interested in working with the Food and Agriculture Clinic on policy advocacy or to develop legal resources for your community?

If so, please email [email protected] with “Clinic” in the subject line, and include a few brief statements describing: your organization, the legal or policy issue and/or the goals of your project, the type of legal or policy assistance you’re seeking, and an anticipated timeline.

Projects can run a single semester (generally August to December or January to April), though projects may span multiple semesters depending on the scope and final product. It generally takes a few months from when we first receive an inquiry to finalize a client engagement letter outlining the scope of work, so we encourage you to submit inquiries early.

Are you a Vermont farmer, food entrepreneur, or food system organization seeking legal assistance for your business? Please submit a request for assistance through the Vermont Legal Food Hub or the online intake form.

Ready for the next steps?