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Farm News: Spend 10 in 2010 Campaign LaunchedcommentsPosted: 02.03.2010
Cheryl O’Brien, Wisconsin’s 62nd Alice in Dairyland, will be traveling the state over the next two weeks to launch the “Spend 10 in 2010” campaign to show people how easy it is to buy local Wisconsin products.
“Buying Wisconsin products helps support our local farmers, producers, communities, economies and all Wisconsin agriculture,” says O’Brien. “Right now, we only spend approximately 1 percent of our food budgets on local products; if we can increase that to 10 percent, it will make a big difference for our state.”
According to the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Wisconsin residents spend just over $19 billion on food per year. Consumers would like to spend more of this money locally. In fact, a 2008 Hartman Group study says 77 percent of shoppers are looking to buy local foods. If 10 percent of food spending were on local products, it would mean keeping nearly $2 billion to re-circulate in local communities.
“All around the state, retailers and grocers are finding that buying local and selling local has been great for their business,” says Brandon Scholz, President of the Wisconsin Grocers Association. “There are so many local products in this state that we’ve just begun to tap what’s available to consumers.”
O’Brien agrees that there are a variety of products available from Wisconsin since the state is so diverse in food, fuel, and fiber.
“Everyone has their own definition of local, whether it means something from down the block, within a hundred miles, or within the state’s borders,” says O’Brien. “But because our state is so diverse in products, we can get virtually anything locally no matter what your definition of local is.”
During her “Spend 10 in 2010” campaign, O’Brien will visit a number of local grocery stores around the state to help show consumers some of the Wisconsin products available in stores, including those that carry the Something Special from Wisconsin™ logo. These companies guarantee that at least 50 percent of the ingredients are from Wisconsin or at least 50 percent of the production is done in Wisconsin. O’Brien will also help consumers look for Wisconsin labels on other foods, identify some non-Wisconsin companies that support our state’s farmers and producers, and give shoppers tips about buying locally outside the grocery store.
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