Between last year’s high gasoline prices and the recession, buy local programs across the state have gotten a big boost and experts expect them to grow in both volume and number this year.

In an effort to jumpstart efforts taking place from Montello to Rice Lake to Milwaukee, Gov. Jim Doyle provided $225,000 for the "Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin" program in the 2007-09 state budget. The program aims to capture 10 percent of the estimated $19.2 billion in local food spending in Wisconsin communities. Grant recipients were selected from 94 applicants requesting more than $3 million for a wide variety of projects to keep local food dollars in Wisconsin communities.

In the first six months, the programs have facilitated $2 in sales for every dollar invested in the first round of funding, the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection estimates.

Grant recipients received a total of $225,000 and reported nearly $584,000 in new sales of local food products from July 1 through December 31, with much of the increased volume being sold to new buyers such as hospitals, institutions, and tourists – traditionally difficult markets for local producers to tap.
Some of the programs from across the state are:

• The Institutional Food Market Coalition (IFM), a project of Dane County, has launched a Web site to connect large volume institutional buyers with locally grown Wisconsin fruit and produce, and to help create new market opportunities for Dane County and regional producers.

• Dane County entrepreneur Heather Hilleren developed Greenleafmarket.com for the UW Extension Agricultural Innovation Center and Thrive, the area’s economic development agency, to match buyers and sellers of locally produced products. Two supermarket operators, Metcalfe’s Sentry and Pierce’s Market, bought produce from the Fennimore Produce Auction, a wholesale auction supplied by Amish growers.

“The Web site has enabled us to find new buyers without having to travel, it’s going to reduce our phone bill and the automated invoicing system works great,” notes Tim Slack of Fennimore Auction.

Another successful effort facilitated by GreenLeaf Market was the pairing of Renaissance Farm with RP’s Pasta Co. of Madison that provided state-licensed kitchens to chef Joel Girard, who created recipes for local foods for sale as finished dishes at Metcalfe’s supermarkets.

• Crawford County UW Extension collaborated with the UW Department of Sociology to study the potential of increasing markets for local foods in Crawford and Vernon counties. The two resulting reports found that local producers sold 52 percent of their food via direct sales to consumers while 22 percent was sold to non-local businesses and 21 percent to local businesses. The reports also said the primary motivation for selling locally is to support the local economy and word of mouth was the primary way for producers to meet buyers.

• In Beloit, Rich Horbaczewski and Jackie Gennett opened Bushel & Peck – a market that specializes in locally grown organic food. The entrepreneurs, who also own a 130-acre farm in Monroe, provide profiles of its suppliers in an effort to provide knowledge of where the customers’ food comes from.

• In the NEW North, farmers like Bill and Donna Foster sell organic meat and produce raised and grown on their Little Suamico farm, Foster’s Organic Acres. Their products are sold to stores in Howard, Luxemburg, Marinette and Appleton.
Fred Depies coordinates production of the Farm Fresh Atlas of Eastern Wisconsin. He says he’s seen demand grow for locally produced foods from consumers, restaurants and stores. His guide lists 60 area farms and more businesses that support local food production.

• Chef David Swanson operates a mobile culinary school at several locations in the Milwaukee area. While running Braise on the Go, Swanson has started Restaurant Supported Agriculture. The program had four restaurant participants in its first season, including Café Manna, a vegetarian eatery in Brookfield, and 13 more have expressed interest in participating next season.

 • www.ifmwi.org    • www.Greenleafmarket.com    • www.danebuylocal.com

State Web sites:      
 •  www.SavorWisconsin.com
A site that allows users to search by city, zip code and radius for Wisconsin foods. More than 1,000 Wisconsin products are featured along with more than 200 farmers markets and many special events.

 • www.datcp.state.wi.us
A guide published by the Department of Agriculture, The Wisconsin Local Food Marketing Guide, is available at this site. It explains step-by-step how to move products from field to consumer.


Photo supplied by ©THRIVE photos