The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) will partner with the Marbleseed, 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 66% ($5.34 million) of total funding ($8.129 million) to purchase food from 400 producers of which 80% (300) will be socially disadvantaged. The project will still consist of eight phases. The LFPA plus will allow us to purchase for an additional growing season and incorporate a Community Partner Subaward grant program. In the first phase (July–Dec 2022) we identified and convened partners and stakeholders to develop a statewide asset map. In the second phase (Jan–Apr 2023) Marbleseed awarded contracts for procurement to producers and started to 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 (Aug-Dec 2023) is for planning and preparations for an additional year of programming. The fifth phase (Sept 2023 – Feb 2024) is for capturing lessons-learned and storytelling from the first year. In phases six (Jan- Mar 2024) and seven (April- Dec 2024), we will implement an additional year of programming, with an additional round of procurement funding for individual farmers and new track of funding for a Community Partner Subaward grant program. This will be the most significant change from our original proposal. In the eighth phase (Jan-June 2025) we will gather and share stories and impacts from the second year of programming and compile findings from both years for a final report. 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.
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