LFPA Producer Application

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WI Local Food Purchase Assistance (WI LFPA) Producer Application

The Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (WI LFPA) aims to strengthen local and regional food systems, support Wisconsin farmers, and distribute fresh nutritious foods to communities that lack access to healthy food. This program is offering $1.5 million in pre-season contract agreements for farmers to provide food to these communities across Wisconsin. If you are a farmer in Wisconsin interested in selling food into this program, please complete the application below.

415,400 Wisconsinites or 7.2% (almost 1 in 14) experience food insecurity. This includes 160,890 Wisconsin children or 12.6% (1 in 8) of Wisconsin's children. We know that food insecurity disproportionately impacts various communities: 27% Black Wisconsinites experienced food insecurity; 22% Latino Wisconsinites experienced food insecurity; and 5% White Wisconsinites experienced food insecurity (NOTE: food security for white Wisconsinites actually improved during the pandemic) Wisconsin’s network of food banks has seen an average sustained increase in demand for food assistance since the start of COVID-19.

A partnership between producers and local food distribution organizations not only supports Wisconsin's strong agricultural economy and sustains producers, but this partnership also increases the ability of food banks, food pantries, and other local food distribution and feeding organizations to access fresh, nutritious food for Wisconsin families in need. These relationships are essential in creating a supply chain that serves Wisconsinites from production to consumption.

This program is intended to be easy for farmers to participate in with support across multiple organizations. If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact a WI LFPA Specialist-

Daisy- daisy.perezdefoe@marbleseed.org (715) 309-5918 Ext. 723 (English and Spanish speaking)
Tay- tay.fatke@marbleseed.org (715) 309-5918 Ext. 724

Thank you for joining efforts to strengthen these relationships and build new partnerships in the WI Local Food System to feed our communities.

How the Program works for farmers:

We will accept applications and follow this process:

Marbleseed receives an initial application online or in hard copy from farmers wanting to sell products into the LFPA Program.

Marbleseed staff will follow up to gather more information about farm products, farm size, community location, and needs related to program resources available.

A review team that includes the project partners and other stakeholders will review the applications and the additional information gathered to determine funding. This team will make decisions to ensure that communities most in need have access to local food that is culturally appropriate. Farmers who participate in this program will benefit most from the pre-season contract agreements, project resources, and technical assistance.

Funding decisions and contract agreements for food purchases will be made by February 3rd, 2023. Contracted farmers will attend a meeting in La Crosse, Wisconsin on February 23rd.

How the Program works for Food Security Partners:

Food Pantries, Food Banks and Community Food Access Efforts around the state are looking for farmers to partner with to feed their communities. Marbleseed will procure product and partner with the Wisconsin Food Hub Co-op to handle product and distribution logistics for food security partners. We will match farmers, products and food access partners.

Please complete and submit this form without leaving the form page as this form does not automatically save entries if you leave the page. We recommend editing responses in a separate document and adding all entries to the form when you are ready.

Contact Information

First Name*

Last Name*

Email Address*

Phone number*

Farm / Business Name

Address, line 1*

Address, line 2

City*

State*

Zip Code*

Country*

Farm Address (If different)

Best form of contact and time of day to contact?

What is your preferred language?

Socially Disadvantaged / Historically Underserved

The WI LFPA program prioritizes reaching socially disadvantaged, veteran, and historically underserved producers in Wisconsin, with a focus on reaching Black, Indigenous, Hmong, and other farmers of color. 80% of the purchasing dollars given to farmers are designated to these groups.

“Socially Disadvantaged” is a farmer or rancher who is a member of a Socially Disadvantaged Group as defined by the USDA. This definition includes, a group whose members have been subject to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and, where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.

“Historically Underserved” farmers include beginning farmers (under 10 years farming), veterans, and limited resource farmers.

https://lrftool.sc.egov.usda.gov/DeterminationTool.aspx? - (Right click on this link and open a new tab to use this Limited Resource Self-Determination tool to determine if you meet the Limited Resource definition.)

Do you identfy as a Socially Disadvantaged or Historically Underserved Farmer as defined above?*

Yes No

If yes, please include all groups

Do any of these describe your racial or ethnic identity: African, African American, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Hispanic or Latino/a/x, Middle Eastern, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander?

Yes No

With which race(s)/Ethnicity(ies) do you identify?

American Indian or Alaska Native Asian Black or African American Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander Hispanic White Multi Race Other (please specify below)

Other (Please specify)

Farm Products

WI LFPA is seeking farms with a variety of farm products, including meat, vegetables, dairy and value added, shelf-stable products. Please answer for any of the products you are interested in offering.

What do you produce?

How long have you been producing the above product offerings?

Where are your product offerings typically marketed or sold?

Which of your product offerings are you interested in supplying as part of the WI LFPA program? And what quantity can you provide?

Have you grown for contracts before?

Yes No

Do you have any certifications (Organic, Certified Naturally Grown, GAP, etc)

How many years have you been farming?

Do you farm full or part-time?

Product Distribution

How do you transport your product offerings?

Do you work with an aggregator or distributor for wholesale markets? If yes, which?

Please explain your post-harvest handling system

Through the WI LFPA we are partnering with the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative (WIFHC) to support producers with cooling, storing, and distribution. They offer multiple services at no costs to contracted producers supplying for the program. Which of the following services would you like assistance with as a WI LFPA contracted producer? *If selecting multiple, please put in "Other" section below*

Cooling Post-harvest storage Freezer storage On-farm pickup Shipping Other None

If other, please explain

Technical Assistance

Through Marbleseed, WI LFPA contracted farmers will have free access to technical assistance and education to help you grow your farm business and supply food for the program.

What assistance would help you successfully fulfill a WI LFPA contract? *If selecting multiple, please put in "Other" section below*

Business planning Production planning Production methods Food safety Marketing Interpretation Other None

If other, please explain

Impact of Participation

Wisconsin has made the commitment to keeping local food local by taking an approach that benefits both small-medium sized farmers and food insecure communities. The WI LFPA Project has been designed to remove the variety of barriers, from logistics to infrastructure, to business management, that smaller farms run by producers from socially disadvantaged communities have when they attempt to scale up or participate in larger markets. We hope that this project will create viable farms and sustainable markets.

How will participating in the WI LFPA program and receiving a pre-season contract impact you and your operation?

Food Security Network Connections

Have you previously donated farm products to a food pantry, food bank program or community food access effort?

Have you previously sold food to a food pantry, food bank program or community food access effort?

Please share food security network connections you would like to create as a participating producer

Please feel free to learn more about the following organizations in a different browser prior to answering the next question.

Feeding Wisconsin (state association of food banks)- www.feedingwi.org/programs/farmers_feeding_wisconsin.php
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin (Milwaukee and Appleton)- www.feedingamericawi.org
Feed My People Food Bank (Eau Claire)- www.fmpfoodbank.org
St. Croix Valley Food Bank (Hudson)- www.stcroixvalleyfoodbank.org
Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank (Duluth, MN)- www.northernlakesfoodbank.org
Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin- www.secondharvestmadison.org
Channel One Regional Food Bank via WAFER Food Pantry (La Crosse)- www.waferlacrosse.org
Hunger Relief Federation- www.hungerrelieffederation.org
Hunger Task Force (Milwaukee)- www.hungertaskforce.org

Is there an existing program you would like your products to go to? (If multiple selections, please put in text box below)

My local community pantry (List name below) Feeding Wisconsin Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin Feed My People Food Bank St. Croix Valley Food Bank Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin Channel One Regional Food Bank Hunger Relief Federation Hunger Task Force Wherever it is most helpful

Please list name above here:

Wisconsin Farmers Union Local Food Directory

Would you like to learn more about participating in the Wisconsin Farmers Union's (WFU) Local Food Directory? The directory will allow you to promote your farm directly to consumers or to wholesale buyers. People who want to buy directly from farmers will be able to search for farms in a specific area and by which products they offer. You will have control over what information is made public and can even choose to include photos or a link to your farm's website or social media. WFU staff will be available to help you with the Directory platform and can help you make changes to your farm's profile page. Please select "yes" below to learn more.

Yes No

Occupation (check any that apply):

Farmer

Yes No

Ag Professional

Yes No

Student

Yes No

Researcher

Yes No

Veteran

Yes No

Other

Yes No

If you checked "Farmer," please specify:

Certified Organic

Yes No

Transitioning to Organic

Yes No

Non-Organic

Yes No

Beginning (10 years or less)

Yes No

While you're here...

Please select which publications you'd like to receive:

Organic Broadcaster newspaper (print)

Yes No

Organic Broadcaster newspaper (digital)

Yes No

Monthly e-news

Yes No

Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference Registration Guide (print)

Yes No

Check if you would like to receive notice about events and resources for:

In Her Boots (women farmers)

Yes No

Row Crops / Forage

Yes No

Flowers / Herbs

Yes No

LGBTQI Farmers

Yes No

Vegetables / Fruits

Yes No

Dairy

Yes No

Livestock / Poultry

Yes No

Additional notes

Submit Application

ORGANIZATION NAME
ORG ADDRESS LINE 1 ORG ADDRESS LINE 2
ORG CITY, ORG STATE ORG ZIP
ORG CONTACT PHONE
ORG CONTACT EMAIL

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Success! Your application has been submitted. You will receive a confirmation email shortly.

Applications will be reviewed and a LFPA Specialist will reach out to you shortly. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact localfood@marbleseed.org

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