Fifth Season Cooperative: Connecting Food Producers with Buyers
Producing high-quality food is not always enough; sometimes growers and processers need help connecting with the right markets for their products. That was the impetus behind the creation of Fifth Season Cooperative. A food and farm assessment in 2008 by the Valley Stewardship Network showed the need for an organization that would introduce Wisconsin food products to markets throughout the Midwest.
Farm Table Foundation: Bringing Food From Farm to Table
Creating an organization that seeks to educate people about soil health and about the benefits of locally grown food can be a challenge—especially if that organization is in Amery. This small community in northwest Wisconsin has a population of less than 3,000 people. Compounding the situation for the founders of the Farm Table Foundation was the difficulty of hiring and retaining staff, and then the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Community First Washburn County: Mobilizing to Keep Residents Healthy
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, a statewide lockdown in March and April forced non-essential businesses to close, putting employees out of work and creating financial hardship for many of the nearly 16,000 residents of Washburn County in northwest Wisconsin. Businesses needed support, families needed food and residents needed to know they were not alone.
Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club of Juneau County: Supporting Entrepreneurs
Juneau County is a largely rural area in west central Wisconsin with a population of about 27,000. Manufacturing had been a critical contributor to the economy, employing as many as 1,500 people. But three major factories closed in 2000 and 2001, leaving many of their employees with few alternatives. The Juneau County Economic Development Corporation, a public-private partnership, stepped in and launched the Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club of Juneau County in 2002, when the area’s unemployment rate was nearly 14%. The goal was to diversify and strengthen the local economy.
