We recently gathered to celebrate the work of our 2024 Seed Money recipients in both Southeastern and Southwestern Wisconsin. And celebrate we did! Our recipients shared their passion and energy for, "Connecting Community, Land, and People," as they told of their successes and challenges. And they networked with each other as they learned more about what each has accomplished this year.
We are delighted to hear of the progress being made in Southwestern WI. Here are just a couple of examples from the seven projects that were awarded Seed Money.
Likewise, Southeastern WI's celebration was buzzing with energy and networking. Examples of a couple of projects (out of ten total):
Both events inspired individuals to learn from and support each other in their efforts to combat food insecurity, build strong rural communities, and educate on sustainable practices.
If you missed the celebrations, you may view our recordings of the events here.
Below is a list of previous Southwestern Wisconsin Seed Money Grantees. A
brochure including a brief description of all SW WI Seed Money grants from 2019-
2023 can be found here.
In this our sixth year, we are supporting seven projects in SW Wisconsin and ten projects in SE Wisconsin. We thank the Sinsinawa Dominicans, Compeer Financial, Wisconsin Farmers Union and our individual donors for funding our SW Wisconsin grants. We are grateful to an anonymous donor for supporting our efforts in SE Wisconsin.
Descriptions of this year's projects, are listed below starting with a statement of the goals for each area.
Our goal is to help build vibrant rural communities in Southwest Wisconsin with a focus on local foods, sustainable farming, and food security.
The Bountiful Brooklyn Alliance is a group of small-scale family farmers in Brooklyn, WI that rely on farmers markets and direct sales to sell their goods. Under a single brand, they hope to increase their marketing capacities and coordinate community events that showcase the range of offerings from their independent farms to neighboring townspeople. Fruits and vegetables, cut flowers, pasture-raised meats and fiber are among the many offerings of these family farms. By working together, sharing resources, and cross-promoting, Bountiful Brooklyn aims to show that there’s always something in season close to home. Seed Money will be used to create and distribute an informational postcard to Brooklyn and surrounding residents. https://brooklynwi.gov/bountiful-brooklyn/
McWilliams Heritage Farm, Folk & Forest School runs a unique outdoor program in Sauk County. Children come to the 67-acre farm in the Driftless to connect with nature. While on the homestead the children participate in activities that hone their farm, folk, and forest skills. A favorite activity is caring for one small flock of silkies. Adding a larger more prolific egg-laying flock will enhance their experience.
Building onto the existing program where cows are rotated each day through the pastures, the additional large flock of chickens will follow several days behind the cows. The students will move the pastured chickens daily. The forest school families can then purchase the eggs which were previously unavailable to them from the farm. Visit them on their Facebook page.
The Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens engages more than 2,000 community members in its mission to provide local food pantries with more than 100,000 pounds of first-choice, nutritious and culturally relevant produce each year. This project aims to enhance the experience of community members by investing in infrastructure that will streamline the volunteer onboarding process and help volunteers feel welcomed and prepared to accomplish the gardening activities. Enhancements include bike racks to accommodate bike commuters and increased Wi-Fi capabilities that enable volunteers to sign in electronically and allow remote control and monitoring of temperature in the walk-in cooler used to store produce. https://foodpantrygardens.org
On September 13- 14, 2023, a committed and energetic group of people gathered at the Sinsinawa Mound in southwestern Wisconsin, inspired by the vision of the late no-till legend and “godfather” of soil health, David Brandt, who had begun exploring the possibility of creating a new farmer-led learning center at the Mound. After that successful visioning event, a steering committee and core team formed and Fields of Sinsinawa was born! The existing on-site farm employs many of the principles of conservation agriculture, making it ideal for a unique, vibrant, accessible hub where resources, demonstrations, community building and farmer-led learning connect healthy soil, healthy food, healthy people, and a healthy planet. The seed money will enable the group to develop their website and logo. Learn more about this project on their Facebook Page or by reading an article here.
Wisconsin Linen Revival (WLR) is promoting flax for fiber as an agricultural crop in the Midwest. With a concurrent mission to Fibershed Heartland in promoting local textiles, Fibershed Heartland is providing administrative support for WLR.
Projects this year, funded in part by the Food, Faith and Farming Network grant, span important development in grower knowledge, planting out trials with oil seed for fiber, stepping a modest crop through every step of the supply chain, multiple outreach and education presentations, and a community workday event which will offer hands-on demonstrations in hand processing flax. www.wisconsinlinenrevival.org
Valley Sentinel is creating a literary journal of poetry and prose submitted from residents of Southwest Wisconsin. The journal builds on the foundation of Lexington & Jefferson, the newspaper’s bi-weekly literary section, for which they have recruited many talented local writers who express and immortalize the unique culture of the Driftless region. Examples of their contributors include Lanita Schulz and Amanda Thomas. They also print the award-winning memoir, in series, of Barb Garvoille—Reflections from Lost Horizon Farm. Dedicated readers of Valley Sentinel will visit farms, farmer’s markets, and faith events to hear readings from the journal and to receive physical copies of it—strengthening ties between our community, local farmers, the faithful and our precious land. https://valleysentinelnews.com/
North Crawford Community Pastures Program is a hands-on learning opportunity for students of the North Crawford School District. Started in 2023 by Crawford Stewardship Project, the program educates students about the positive impact that well-managed grazing systems have on the land. Sheep are utilized in the school’s wooded and open areas to target invasive species and to lower maintenance and groundskeeping costs. In the first year of sheep-grazing, the school was able to construct a ropes course in the wooded area to offer students leadership training experience. This year, the program is installing a permanent fence to better house the sheep. Students will participate as a skill-building and teamwork exercise. This program has received great community support and has awakened interest in agriculture for students, staff, and community members. See their Spring/Summer 2024 Newsletter, page 3 here.
ANDERSON COUNTY FARM PARK 2023 FOOD PANTRY GARDENAnderson Park Friends, Inc. (APF), Oregon, WI operates a food pantry garden that serves three pantries in Oregon, Belleville, and Verona. The 501c3 organization serves low-income households and senior citizens with fresh produce. The 2022 garden included 22 varieties of vegetables totaling over 3,900 pounds. The goal for 2023 is 4,400 pounds. Seed Money will enable APF to purchase specialized seed-sowing tools so seeds can be planted closer together. More vegetables will increase the number of meals with fresh produce. Volunteers will benefit due to the reduced time it takes to plant seeds in the quarter-acre garden. Agriculture is one of the focus areas for APF along with forest restoration, building prairies, creating wildlife habitat, and educational programs for K-12 students. www.andersonparkfriends.org
Heartland Threads seeks to create a network of producers and users of local and regenerative fibers and textiles in SW Wisconsin. Seed money will be used to further that mission by educating the community on the environmental impacts of synthetic fibers and creating awareness of local alternatives provided by regenerative fiber farmers; hosting fiber farm/producer tours and community building events that foster collaboration between local producers and users; and increasing community outreach to raise consumer awareness of the environmental, health, and social benefits of locally produced natural fiber and textile production. https://heartlandthreads.org/
COMMUNITY COMPOSTING INITIATIVE AT FORWARD GARDENThe Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens (MAFPG) network of ten gardens provides over 100,000 pounds of fresh, first choice, and culturally relevant produce to local food pantries and emergency food programs throughout Dane County. Seed Money will expand the composting operation at Forward Garden, MAFPG’s newest and largest site, located at the Pope Farm Homestead in Verona. This initiative will enable MAFPG to collect pre-consumer food scraps from local restaurants and use them to generate high-quality compost that will improve soil health and productivity. This project will reduce food waste in the landfill while improving the quality and quantity of fruits and vegetables grown at Forward Garden. https://foodpantrygardens.org
The Crawford Stewardship Project will work with North Crawford Schools to establish a rotational grazing project for sheep in a pasture behind the school, thus creating an educational opportunity for teachers and students in the district. They will begin with the Agricultural Education program, then expand to include Tech Ed, Science, Economics and elementary education over time. Goals include: fostering regenerative farming, stewarding precious land and water and creating a new generation of farmers in the area. https://www.crawfordstewardship.org
REAP Food Group, based in Dane County, has a mission to transform communities, economies and lives through the power of good food. They are committed to efforts that strengthen food security and rebuild local supply chains, support sustainable small and mid-sized Wisconsin farms, connect rural and urban communities, and ensure that equitable power and inclusive voices shape access to good food in Dane County and statewide. REAP Food Group, in partnership with Roots4Change, have created the Farms2Families program that purchases locally raised and culturally appropriate food from local farmers and redistributes Resilience Boxes to Latino families. Support from Food, Faith and Farming Network will help meet the rising costs of food and storage and enable Farm2Families to continue supporting families with bi-weekly Resilience Box deliveries through the end of the growing season, November 20, 2023. https://www.reapfoodgroup.org/farms-to-families-2/
Grace Lutheran Church in Dodgeville will provide the garden space for two 4-H clubs in a project that provides local produce for families, the local food pantry, and a weekly feeding program in the community. The Iowa County 4-H Educator and the 4-H gardening project materials will serve as resources for the project and some of the produce will be shown at the county fair. The project will introduce the youth to gardening, including how to grow their own vegetables, when to harvest produce, and how to integrate fresh produce in their daily diets.
Food insecurity is a problem for elderly individuals on fixed income and young families with low incomes. Seed Money will be used to double the value of food vouchers, which will be used by seniors on fixed incomes and young families with limited incomes to purchase eggs, meat, and bakery items that they might not be able to afford otherwise. The Dodgeville Chamber of Commerce is co-sponsoring this effort with the Market. It will be promoted through the SUN Program, ADRC, Headstart, the WIC coordinator, Food Pantry, UW Extension and Social Services. https://www.facebook.com/dodgevillefarmersmarket/
The Sacred Water Sacred Land Institute seeks to build an indigenous food sovereignty movement by providing access to land, equipment, and pre-colonial indigenous foods, including beans, corn and squash. The project will provide access to land and equipment for tribal members, provide crops/foods for native chefs and provide instruction in native food processing. Ho Chunk leaders – chef, organic farmer, and garden manager—will be partners in this initiative to create an indigenous food sovereignty network.
In 2022 Prairie du Chien instituted a Thursday Night Farmers Market, which was very successful because it was combined with Thursday evening concerts in the community. Their goal is to increase vendors and marketing to make the Thursday night markets even more successful with the increased sale of local foods. They also hope to involve youth as vendors and customers. Seed Money will enable them to expand their publicity for the market: purchase signage and a banner; do radio ads and direct mailings to businesses; and use social media with a vendor focus. https://www.facebook.com/pdcthursdaynightfarmersmarket/
McIntosh Memorial Library of Viroqua established an educational and equitable donation garden in April of 2021. The garden serves as a learning space for Wisconsin Master gardeners to instruct people of all ages about gardening techniques, permaculture, and naturalist approaches to agriculture. The produce which is grown is donated to low-income housing units, thus affecting change to local fresh food insecurity. Seed Money will be utilized to develop a seed bank, seating, and a Story Walk. The Story Walk will promote illustrated children’s books which describe reverence of our sacred lands and waters. Story Walks are nationally known for the development of literature in natural, open spaces inviting all to read and be inspired! http://mcintoshmemoriallibrary.org/
Past Southwestern Wisconsin Seed Money Grants were awarded to:
Southwest Driftless Grasslands Landowner(s) Matters Campaign
Crawford County Markets Grow at Gays Mills and Prairie du Chien Farmers Markets
Boscobel Farmers Market voucher system for low income residents
Wormfarm Institute Farm Aid Music Festival interactive art project
Hill and Valley Exploration Tour
Dodgeville Farmers Market vouchers to help those in financial need
Grant County Rural Stewardship educational programs for farmers
Prairie Street Farmers Market promotions
Residency on the Farm for artists in Lafayette County
Sauk County Conservation Network website searchable directory for member organizations
Southern Driftless Grasslands educational materials
Stronger Together Farmer Suicide Prevention Project to address farmer suicides and stress
Community Kitchen Locally Sourced Meals & Groceries
Farmer Angel Network community programming for farmers
Prairie du Chien Thursday Night Farmers Market
Iowa County Community Teaching Garden Kits with Plymouth UCC and Grace Lutheran
Pecitibuca Pride Water Action Volunteer Stream Monitoring
Raised Garden Greenhouse at MAA Wakacak
Southern Wisconsin Meat Cooperative
Promoting Rye Revival in Southwestern Wisconsin
Our goal for Southeastern Wisconsin Seed Money projects is to help build vibrant rural/urban connections with a focus on local foods, sustainable farming and food security.
The mission of Embedded Agriculture is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to lead healthy and sustainable lifestyles through a robust partnership between SDW’s Environmental Education program and Family and Consumer Science program. The program offers hands-on gardening and farming experiences that promote environmental stewardship, while also integrating farm-to-table education into the school curriculum. We are committed to promoting food justice and providing equitable access to fresh, locally-grown produce for all students. Our goal is to inspire a lifelong appreciation for healthy eating habits, sustainable food systems, and community involvement. Read more about SDW's program here.
The Journey Disaster Response Team in Kenosha hosts food events in partnership with local organizations in food insecure neighborhoods to hand out boxed food. These events are held several times a month to fill the gap in already existing services. Each guest leaves with approximately 30 pounds of fresh, frozen, and canned goods in addition to household supplies. The events offer the opportunity to provide peer support and foster trusting relationships. The funds received will be used for much needed supplies to maintain and expand their reach. Please visit the Journey Disaster Response Team Website
Full Circle Healing Farm is committed to addressing food injustice in their community by providing access to healthy food to people of color and those living below the poverty line. They provide opportunities for individuals, school groups, youth, and adults to learn how to grow their own food. Participants experience how to start from seed and take plants to grow in their own locations. Full Circle also donates the food they grow on their farm to local organizations that distribute food to those in need. Funding for compost, seedlings, seeds, and tools will enable them to produce more on their land and share their harvest with their community. Visit them on Facebook and Instagram.
The Catholic Ecology Center is thrilled to offer a second season of their Growing Gardens Together Program. Utilizing the Center’s facilities and Clare Gardens Organic Farm on-site, they will teach a series of 3 programs open to the public throughout the 2024 growing season. They will focus on how sustainable growing practices can be applied to personal and local settings. New program topics for this year are Saturday, May 4th Gardening Basics: Prepping and Planting; Saturday, July 6th, The Garden Ecosystem: Working Within the Greater Context; and Saturday, Sept 7th, Composting: Vermicomposting Focus. Open to all ages and experience levels. https://catholicecologycenter.org
Riveredge’s mission is to support conservation through education that awakens curiosity, engages the body, and explores connections to nature for all generations. In 2022, we launched Growing Green as part of our mission to provide education supporting nature-rich lifestyles, promoting regenerative actions in alignment with community needs and the land. Through this series, we host educational programs and service-learning opportunities. These include gardening classes, soil health and composting classes, seasonal herb walks, shiitake mushroom inoculation workshop, and tours of local farms, among others. We welcome our community to learn through earth-minded interactions with native and edible landscapes. https://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org
To make Racine a more sustainable community by reducing methane produced by food waste in landfills (25% of the trash), we are initiating a Food Waste Composting Pilot Program. Collaborating with Racine Interfaith Coalition (RIC), North Pointe United Methodist Church and the Racine Dominican Laudato Si’ Action Team, we are working to educate and motivate youth and adults on the value of composting food waste. Households will learn how to separate, collect, and deliver acceptable compostable materials to a common bin, after which Compost Crusader will haul it to Blue Ribbon Organics to be turned into soil-enriching compost. As word spreads, we expect that 18 tons of food waste will be diverted in the first year, that additional drop-off sites will be needed, and that in the long term, 80% of Racine’s 31,000 households will be engaged in food waste composting. https://ricracine.org
The Racine Urban Garden Network (RUGN) has grown to manage nine community gardens located across the City of Racine. Two of the gardens located on land owned by the city are being sold or are slated for development. This displaces about 80 gardeners. RUGN will use Food, Faith and Farming Network 2024 Seed Money Grant dollars to expand three of their other gardens so that displaced gardeners can mostly be accommodated via relocation. The relocation project directly addresses the issue of urban food insecurity. Visit them at www.growwithRUGN.org or on Facebook.
Evoking the image of victory gardens as a means of supporting community resilience and food independence, the Ravensholme Victory Gardens will be a community driven gardening operation with a focus on reconnecting people to food and land. Located at Tall Pines Conservancy’s “Ravensholme on the River” property, a 260-acre farm located just minutes from downtown Waukesha, Ravensholme Victory Gardens will serve as a space for bridging the divide between rural and urban communities and connecting people with fresh food and opportunities in agriculture. https://tallpinesconservancy.org/
Fondy Food and Kohl Farm are community agricultural projects providing land access to Milwaukee-area smallholder subsistence, direct to consumer, and wholesale growers. The projects are operated by Fondy Food and UW-Extension. A consistent problem encountered by many community agriculture projects around the country is the disposal of plastics left in fields by growers. These plastics break down into microplastics which are known hazards for human and environmental health. Hmong people make up a substantial portion of the clientele at each site. Through interpretation services they will be trained to appropriately dispose of plastics and educated on the recalcitrance of plastics on ecosystems. Funding will support dumpster rental and removal, and interpretation services. https://fondymke.org
Tikkkun Ha-ir (Hebrew for “Repair the City”) of Milwaukee (THI) is a Jewish social justice organization committed to food justice. THI’s Veggie Chop Shop (VCS) is a community meal program that utilizes gleaned produce to prepare healthy vegetable-based meals for those struggling to access healthy food. The meals are distributed to vulnerable populations as well as Early Childhood Education Centers. The program has steadily grown since its inception 8 years ago. Meals are prepared at All People’s Lutheran Church, a longtime Milwaukee food justice hub that continues to serve people of the Harambee neighborhood, using a multifaith perspective to serve God and the community. As VSC continues to expand they will benefit from funding that will help them hire a summer intern. https://thi-milwaukee.org
The School District of Waukesha's Environmental Education Program, in partnership with our Family and Consumer Science culinary classes, will be purchasing sustainable indoor garden systems for all three high schools; providing direct coaching support for the classroom teachers on sustainable growing and gardening; and building community connections with other local farms, master gardeners, and restaurants. The ultimate goal is that this is not only ecologically sustainable, but financially sustainable for our schools and community.
FoodRight is building edible gardens at the youth-based organization, New Beginnings Are Possible (NBAP). Working with NBAP’s summer camp program, the gardens will serve as the site for fun, hands-on garden-based nutrition education programming, addressing the lack of access to fresh foods for low-income youth in Milwaukee while fostering appreciation for the land and the work of farmers. The gardens will also serve as a test site for developing viable school gardens. https://www.foodright.org
Utilizing the Catholic Ecology Center facilities and Clare Gardens Organic Farm on-site, we will teach a series of 3 programs open to the public throughout the 2023 growing/harvest season. We will focus on sustainable growing practices and how to do this in your personal and local settings. This includes how to farm organically at any scale and how to compost food waste. The programs will take place on Saturday May 6, Saturday, July 22 and Saturday Sept 9, capitalizing on the key times for preparing/planting, maintaining/harvesting and harvesting/Fall prep. Open to all ages and experience levels. https://catholicecologycenter.org
Riveredge’s mission is to support conservation through education that awakens curiosity, engages the body, and explores connections to nature for all generations. In 2022, we launched Growing Green as part of our mission to provide education supporting nature-rich lifestyles, promoting regenerative actions in alignment with community needs and the land. Through this series, we host educational programs and service-learning opportunities. These include native landscape design classes, soil health and composting classes, seasonal herb walks, shiitake mushroom inoculation workshop, and tours of local farms, among others. We welcome our community to learn through earth-minded interactions with native and edible landscapes. https://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org
Growing Green Gardens Network is building upon our 2022 project, Let’s Get Growing. We will expand access to urban farmers and work to build relationships between rural producers and Milwaukee communities facing food insecurities. In our teaching gardens, youth and adults participate in hands-on farming/gardening and conservation education. They will be able to grow healthy foods of cultural relevance with the assistance of skilled gardeners. With our community partners, Alice’s Garden Urban Farm, Fondy Food Market, UW Extension, Five Star Educational Training Center and Lynn Precious Moments Childcare, GGGN will expand our outdoor classrooms in Milwaukee County from 1 to 3. Our partner, Five Star Community Resource Center, has graciously provided GGGN with an indoor classroom, in addition to outdoor garden space where food will be grown for community donation. Neema Therapy has partnered with us offering Art Therapy in the garden. We are looking forward to what the 2023 growing season delivers in Milwaukee. Healthy food, healthy bodies, healthy minds, healthy land, and healthy relationships are ahead. Let’s Get Growing! Growinggreengarderns.inc@gmail.com
Nourish Farm's Good Food Club program, in partnership with the Sheboygan Falls School District, offers experiential education to students that weaves together important life skills and core standards of education such as math, science, biology, literacy, social studies, and health with the simple act of eating. Specifically, Good Food Club will teach kids how to plant, harvest, cook, and eat whole foods. Through Good Food Club students, parents, and teachers alike receive education regarding local food systems and producers and the benefits of eating locally grown, seasonal food. https://nourishfarms.org/farm-to-school
The Eco-Justice Center is an environmental education center and organic farm in northern Racine County. Eco-J’s Farm Corps Program currently donates at least 30% of the yearly harvest to the North Side Food Pantry and will work to form relationships with additional local organizations. In addition to donating to new partners, the program seeks to help food insecurity through the following: growing food, educating interns regarding food insecurity, decreasing our food waste, and educating consumers about the donated produce. https://ecojusticecenter.org/
REKO (pronounced wreak-o) is a Facebook-based pre-ordering system for local products, including farmed produce, meat, and other agricultural goods. The REKO ring will utilize the grant money to encourage growth and consumer participation in the group. First, we will create a streamlined graphic design branding toolkit to communicate with our consumers about deadlines, pick-up details, and to welcome new members. Second, we will also use the money to create a short video animation illustrating how the REKO ring works. This will help new consumers to quickly understand how the group works and jump right into placing an order with our local farmers. Thirdly, we hope to promote the group by awarding prizes to our consumers for their participation in our group during our anniversary month of May. https://www.foodforvictory.com/reko-ring
First started in 2020 as a collaboration between Tall Pines Conservancy (TPC) and Farmers for Lake Country (FFLC), the Chaos Garden program has connected community members with local area farmland and farmers with a “free pick” garden plot. Short-season vegetable crops are sown into a field following wheat harvest in August and include spinach, kale, bush beans, peas, lettuce and bok choy, as well as edible flowers. In keeping with the true spirit of “chaos gardening,” watering is performed by Mother Nature and whatever nature supports as its bounty is free for anyone to harvest. Thanks to generous support from the Food, Faith and Farming Network, the Chaos Garden will expand its size and outreach for 2023, providing fresh, healthy, and free food to the greater community. For updates and more information please visit https://tallpinesconservancy.org or https://farmersforlakecountry.org
Tricklebee Café is a pay-what-you-can community cafe in Milwaukee that offers healthy meals, food service training, and spiritual nourishment. This summer, we will hire inner city youth from our neighborhood to do "herbin" gardening. We'll fill our newly constructed garden bed and bus stop garden planter with soil, and then plant herbs from seed. The youth will then water, weed, and harvest the gardens throughout the growing season. In addition to harvesting the herbs to dry and use in our ever-changing cafe recipes, we will also give out organic seed packets to neighbors so they can grow their own herbs and vegetables. http://tricklebeecafe.org/