The Graves family walks out into their orchard. The apples are ready to be harvested. There are over 75 varieties of apples growing on their property in Brownsville.
Danielle Graves, who owns the property with her husband, is excited about the coming season: the farm store; the visits of guests; the fall activities for local families to participate in; knowing their apples are providing health and nutrition to the community.
The farm will get to do more of that through a grant they just received.
The Graves Family Orchard is one of 165 Wisconsin farms that have been awarded funds through the 2023 Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA), put together by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and Marbleseed, an organization dedicated to working in community with the Midwest’s regenerative and organic farmers.
Recipients were awarded amounts ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 to grow and provide food for local hunger relief efforts across the state.
“The LFPA program and the grant we received will help us distribute fresh apples to those in need,” Graves said, “while helping us strengthen our distribution area.”
Elsewhere, Jay Salinas is tending his 40-some acre farm in Sauk County. Salinas is a farmer and artist who cofounded the Neu Erth Wormfarm CSA, established in 1995, and Director of Special Projects for the Wormfarm Institute.
The farm Salinas oversees was awarded $7,500 to assist in building local food systems; something he’s strived to do his entire career in sustainable, human-scale agriculture.
“I think one of the impacts,” Salinas said of the grants, “is that it will help a number and range of producers. Functional supply chains will be built and relationships will be developed.”
Farmer awardees gathered recently at the Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse. There, awardees were introduced to key partners; connected with resources in food production, food safety, and scaling up their farm business; and networked with historically underserved producers, distributors, and food outlets.
Farmer awardees gathered recently at the Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse. There, awardees were introduced to key partners; connected with resources in food production, food safety, and scaling up their farm business; and networked with historically underserved producers, distributors, and food outlets.
Other local farmers who received a grant include: Andrew Bigalke, in Juneau County; Rose Fliess, in Dodge County; Zach Kohls, in Dodge County; and Chontelle Southworth, in Columbia County.
Of the 165 farmers who were awarded grants, 60% are part of a socially disadvantaged and historically underserved community.
“Every community has a local food network,” said Krista Knigge, administrator of agricultural development for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP). “We want to strengthen that. We want to craft plans to maintain and enhance the food supply chains across the state. We want to build resiliency in our food systems.”
Source: wiscnews.com
Photo Credit: pexels-karolina-grabowska
Categories: Wisconsin, Business