Local Farms Get Funds For Strengthening Food Systems

WAUSAU, Wis. (WXCO) – $420 million dollars is available through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Grant program, giving rural Wisconsin grants.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced it has partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) to award $23.2 million for 30 projects through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI).

The 30 Infrastructure Grants and the previously announced 41 Equipment Grants, total 71 projects in Wisconsin. All are funded through RFSI to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain while strengthening local and regional food systems.

• The Stockbridge-Munsee Community in Bowler, Wisconsin, will construct a facility to process and store food such as Lenape beans, Mohican corn, and Indigenous squash grown on their Tribal farm as part of their strategic plan to protect and promote local food and community self-governance. This project is part of a set of proposals coordinated by the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition (GLIFC) designed to form a statewide network of mid-supply-chain infrastructure-supporting economic opportunities for underserved producers across the state.

• Red Door Family Farm in Athens, Wisconsin, will construct a packing shed and cold storage facility to package and store their organically grown vegetables as well as those of 20 other farms. The purchase of a refrigerated truck will allow Red Door to transport produce from partner farms and distribute it to local and regional wholesalers, retailers, and food access organizations such as Feeding America and Marathon County Hunger Coalition.

• Nasonville Dairy operates a cheese plant in Marshfield, Wisconsin, that currently processes 510 million pounds of milk per year from 171 central Wisconsin farms. Their new cold milk separator system funded by the RFSI Infrastructure Grant will allow them to process an estimated 25 million more pounds of milk each year into five new value-added products including sweet cream.

• Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative in Waupaca, Wisconsin, will build out its existing warehouse and trucking fleet, optimizing distribution routes to collaborate with and link together sub-hub, or smaller on-farm, and Tribal aggregation initiatives across the state. This improvement will benefit an estimated 250 local and regional producers. The improved aggregation infrastructure will be used to focus distribution efforts to distressed communities, schools, and early childhood education programs, and smaller-scale grocery and food service buyers.