The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) will partner with the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), the Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU) and the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative (WFHC) to engage and convene producers, distributors, community organizations, food security partners and tribal governments to establish local food system connections and a pipeline in which socially disadvantaged producers can secure markets and provide local food to underserved communities. We will use 51% of total funding ($1.5 million) to purchase food from 150 producers of which 80% (120) will be socially disadvantaged.
The project will consist of four phases. The first phase (Nov 2022-Feb 2023) will identify and convene partners and stakeholders to develop a statewide asset map. The state will be organized into nine regions. WFU will hire regional and community specific local food organizers to network food system and food security partners in each region to ensure equitable access across the state. In the second phase (Jan–Apr 2023) MOSES will award contracts for procurement to producers and provide programming focused on production planning through direct technical assistance and training to growers supplying the program. In the third phase (May–Dec 2023) WFHC will coordinate procurement and manage logistics and distribution. The fourth phase (Jan-June 2024) is for capturing lessons-learned and storytelling. Our goal is to create connectivity for Wisconsin’s local food system, lasting market opportunities for socially disadvantaged producers and inclusive and equitable food access for all communities through innovative solutions, increased coordination and networking.