Posted: 01.20.2010

Governor Jim Doyle today announced $222,700 for nine projects to increase local food sales and grow the state’s economy. The funding is from the state’s “Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin” grant program aimed to keep food spending in local communities. 

The nine “Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin” grant recipients will serve their communities and greater regions with projects that support the development and distribution of fresh, local foods.

Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin grant recipients from the 2009 funding cycle are:

Vernon Economic Development Association, Viroqua – $40,000

The Vernon Economic Development Association is receiving $40,000 to develop the Western Wisconsin Local Foods Initiative. The initiative will coordinate cooperation of producers, processors and institutions, increasing access to markets by establishing critical infrastructure to overcome production, processing, marketing and distribution hurdles facing local food producers.

Dane County Planning and Development’s Institutional Food Market Coalition, Madison – $35,000

Dane County Planning and Development’s Institutional Food Market Coalition is receiving $35,000 to increase local food sales by sharing best practices for selling to institutions with growers and aggregators, and working with local partners to connect growers, produce distributors and institutional buyers in southern Wisconsin.

Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition (MACSAC), Madison – $35,000

The Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition is receiving $35,000 to meet the growing demand for community-supported agriculture (CSA) shares in Wisconsin. The project will provide grower support to improve farm efficiency and capacity through consultation, training and resource development to meet market demand and support the specialized needs of CSA growers.

Underground Catering LLC, Madison – $25,000

Underground Catering is receiving $25,000 to develop artisan meats that will help fill Wisconsin’s need for more pork products made in the time-honored traditions of charcuterie, the craft of salting, smoking, and/or curing meats.

Green and Green Distribution, Mineral Point – $22,700

Green and Green Distribution is receiving $22,700 to work with Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and Keewaydin Organics to open a centralized distribution hub in Madison to improve efficiencies for small-scale producers and buyers in Wisconsin.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems – $20,000

The UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems is receiving $20,000 to strengthen Wisconsin apple distribution to the state’s K-12 schools by purchasing from a regional distributor.

Pasture Perfect LLC, Ashland – $16,000

Pasture Perfect is receiving $16,000 to expand the marketing and sales programs of South Shore Meats, a cooperative venture of meat producers in the Lake Superior counties of Wisconsin. The project will increase the volume of locally-produced, source-identified, pasture-raised poultry, beef, lamb, and pork sold from farms in northern Wisconsin.

Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program, Dodgeville – $15,000

The Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program is receiving $15,000 to begin development of an individual quick frozen vegetable processing plant in southwestern Wisconsin.

Bayfield Apple Co. LLC, Bayfield – $14,000

Bayfield Apple Company is receiving $14,000 to strengthen the apple industry in Wisconsin by returning abandoned apple orchards to commercial production, increasing the value of local products, and creating jobs. The fruit will go into an apple cider-based juice that will be sold to local institutions and food cooperatives.

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