Groceries, grocery cart Jan. 18, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — A new state grant program is helping farmers, food agencies and residents get better nutrition in Wisconsin.
It’s called the Food Security and Wisconsin Products Grant Program and it connects food banks with Wisconsin farmers.
“Our pantries are seeing increased foot traffic year over year. They need every source of food they can get to keep their shelves full so that they can continue to distribute,” Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin Director of Government Programs John Zhang said.
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is one of the many food banks benefiting from this program. $10 million is set aside in the current state budget. Feeding America and Hunger Task Force are each receiving $2.5 million per year in 2026 and 2027.
This opens up opportunities to serve struggling families nutritious food beyond boxed or canned items.
“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to get dairy, veggies, meat — things that are perishable, things that have limited shelf life,” Zhang said.
Zhang says pantries are seeing a 30% increase in traffic. By directly connecting struggling people to locally sourced food, it helps everyone. Not only does the program benefit the community, it also comes at a critical time for Wisconsin farmers — offering a much-needed financial boost.
This is the first time Wisconsin has invested money directly to food support. Last year, the Trump administration cut a similar program called the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement.
“The farmers that we’ve been in conversations with are really happy that those dollars are returning back into a program that they can be a beneficiary of,” Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden said.
Von Ruden said the old federal program generated about $2 million worth of business in the Badger State. He wants to see the new state program stay and benefit farmers indefinitely.
“It’s going to help them to make sure that they’ve got a solid market for hopefully years to come,” Von Ruden said.
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