USDA and DATCP award grants to build food resilience.

MADISON, WI- (WGBW) – The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service awarded over $23 million for 30 projects for food resilience in Wisconsin.

The grants through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI) will fund projects to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain while strengthening local and regional food systems.

Nine projects in Northeast Wisconsin were funded, totaling more than $4.5 million.

“These Infrastructure Projects being funded through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program will build strength and resilience in Wisconsin’s food system, diversify agricultural markets, create new revenue streams for small and mid-sized producers, and provide economic opportunities for local communities,” said USDA Marketing and Regulatory Programs Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt. “USDA is grateful for Wisconsin’s support strengthening local and regional agricultural supply chains.”

“Wisconsin’s farmers, producers, and our agricultural industries are a critical part of our state’s economic success and help make sure we’re getting food to tables, grocery stores, and restaurants across our country and the world over,” said Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers. “I’m incredibly grateful these investments will help strengthen our supply chains and bolster economic opportunity and resilience across our state.” 

Examples of funded Infrastructure Grant projects follow (access the full grantee list):

• Clario Farms, LLC is a fresh pasta and wine shop in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The over $160,000 will be used to expand the product development, processing, and distribution capacity of Clario Farmstead Pasta.
• Forest County Potawatomi Community in Forest County will receive over $1.6 million to build health communities through the Strengthened Tribal Food Networks Project.
• Ohe-laku Among the Corn Stalks is an educational nonprofit that focuses on learning about and teaching how to grow, harvest, store, and process heirloom white corn. The organization in DePere in Brown County will use $722,000 to strengthen intertribal food networks and cultivate cooperative infrastructure. 
• Olden Produce, LLC is based in Ripon in Fond du Lac County. Their $1.3 Million grant will be used to promote resilience, optimize distribution, and upgrade for supply chain expansion.
• Oneida Nation in Brown County will receive over $722 thousand to strengthen intertribal food networks, specifically the Oneida Nation Central Wisconsin Regional Food Hub and the Sovereignty Food Initiative.
• Seasonal Harvest in De Pere, Wisconsin, will strengthen its food aggregation hub by upgrading inventory management software, purchasing its first two delivery vehicles, and constructing a shared wash/pack facility. These upgrades will alleviate some of the logistical challenges of aggregating product from an increasing number of very small farms, some of which have no access to potable water or clean packing space. As a result of the $257,000 grant, Seasonal Harvest can procure from additional underserved farms to serve their growing community of customers, including the Green Bay Packers.
• The Stockbridge-Munsee Community in Bowler, Wisconsin, will use over $717,000 to 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.
• Wello, Inc. in Green Bay will get just over $300,000 to help bridge the gap for socially disadvantaged farmers in sustainable agriculture in Northeast Wisconsin. 
• Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative in Waupaca will recieve $460,000 to 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, early childhood education programs, and smaller-scale grocery and food service buyers.
• Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is based in Milwaukee but services all of Northeast Wisconsin and has a location in Appleton. It will receive over $360,000 to strengthen Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin’s infrastructure, aggregation, and distribution capacity to underserved communities

This awarded funding is part of the $420 million available through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Grant program to build capacity within the middle of the supply chain and support local and regional producers. It is funded by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. Through this program, AMS has entered into cooperative agreements with state agencies, commissions, or departments responsible for agriculture, commercial food processing, seafood, or food system and distribution activities or commerce activities in states or U.S. territories.

For more information, visit the AMS Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure webpage https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsi/rfsi-rfa-status. The status of each state and territory’s RFSI program is available on USDA’s State Grant webpage https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsi/rfsi-rfa-status.