VSN Partners with VEDA on Project Funded by Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin
VSN’s FFI team collaborated with VEDA to obtain a Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin (BLBW) grant. The grant of $40,000 funds projects that connect local producers with local consumers in Crawford, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland, and Vernon counties. It’s the largest single BLBW project funded in the state this year. VSN’s FFI Projects Coordinator, Nicole Penick, is the Buy Local Development Coordinator for this grant.
To Learn More About the Fifth Season Cooperative click here.
Project Updates:
Fifth Season Co-op is a Model for Local Food (May 7, 2011).
Wide Ranging Co-op to Start Growth This Spring (March, 2011)
Rural Cooperatives magazine, (published by the USDA) features Fifth Season Co-op and chronicles its progress. (Nov/Dec 2010). Pg. 26 article begins.
Fifth Season Cooperative Web site (launched February 2011)
Farm Aid Awards Fifth Season Cooperative $5000 Grant (February 7, 2011)
Fifth Season Cooperative is Launched (press release, 8/25/10)
Board and Advisory Board for Fifth Season Cooperative
Front Row (L-R) Seated: Jan Rasikas, Viroqua Food Co-op General Manager, Margaret Bau, USDA Cooperative Specialist, Cecil Wright, Director of Sustainability, CROPP/ Organic Valley. Standing: Marilyn Volden Viroqua Public Schools, Nicole Penick, Food and Farm
Manager, VSN, Larry Ringenberg, University Services UW-L, Sue Noble, Vernon Economic Development Association. Not pictured is Pete Kondrup, General Manager of Westby Co-op Creamery.
Fifth Season Cooperative is the name of the cooperative established by the grant. It is one of three multi-stakeholder cooperatives in Wisconsin. The others are Maple Valley Cooperative and Producers and Buyers Co-op of Chippewa Valley.
A Multi Stakeholder Cooperative includes all the key stakeholders in a supply chain. The local food supply chain includes: farmers, farmer groups, food processors, distributors and institutional buyers all working together to bring local food into institutions.
Press coverage of the project’s launch includes:
The Country Today article
Vernon Broadcaster article
La Crosse Tribune article
The Viroqua Food Coop also ran a two-part article on “The Good Food Revolution,” which traces the local foods movement from early inspiration to this ambitious, collaborative project. Read Part 1 and Part 2 on the VFC Web site or read the whole article, plus a review of area Fresh Endeavors, in the VFC March/April 2010 newsletter.
Fifth Season Cooperative
VSN Partners with VEDA on Project Funded by Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin
VSN’s FFI team collaborated with VEDA to obtain a Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin (BLBW) grant. The grant of $40,000 funds projects that connect local producers with local consumers in Crawford, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland, and Vernon counties. It’s the largest single BLBW project funded in the state this year. VSN’s FFI Projects Coordinator, Nicole Penick, is the Buy Local Development Coordinator for this grant.
To Learn More About the Fifth Season Cooperative click here.
Project Updates:
Fifth Season Co-op is a Model for Local Food (May 7, 2011).
Wide Ranging Co-op to Start Growth This Spring (March, 2011)
Rural Cooperatives magazine, (published by the USDA) features Fifth Season Co-op and chronicles its progress. (Nov/Dec 2010). Pg. 26 article begins.
Fifth Season Cooperative Web site (launched February 2011)
Farm Aid Awards Fifth Season Cooperative $5000 Grant (February 7, 2011)
Fifth Season Cooperative is Launched (press release, 8/25/10)
Board and Advisory Board for Fifth Season Cooperative
Front Row (L-R) Seated: Jan Rasikas, Viroqua Food Co-op General Manager, Margaret Bau, USDA Cooperative Specialist, Cecil Wright, Director of Sustainability, CROPP/ Organic Valley. Standing: Marilyn Volden Viroqua Public Schools, Nicole Penick, Food and Farm
Manager, VSN, Larry Ringenberg, University Services UW-L, Sue Noble, Vernon Economic Development Association. Not pictured is Pete Kondrup, General Manager of Westby Co-op Creamery.
Fifth Season Cooperative is the name of the cooperative established by the grant. It is one of three multi-stakeholder cooperatives in Wisconsin. The others are Maple Valley Cooperative and Producers and Buyers Co-op of Chippewa Valley.
A Multi Stakeholder Cooperative includes all the key stakeholders in a supply chain. The local food supply chain includes: farmers, farmer groups, food processors, distributors and institutional buyers all working together to bring local food into institutions.
Press coverage of the project’s launch includes:
The Country Today article
Vernon Broadcaster article
La Crosse Tribune article
The Viroqua Food Coop also ran a two-part article on “The Good Food Revolution,” which traces the local foods movement from early inspiration to this ambitious, collaborative project. Read Part 1 and Part 2 on the VFC Web site or read the whole article, plus a review of area Fresh Endeavors, in the VFC March/April 2010 newsletter.