Farmers’ Markets in Central Wisconsin Receive $200,000 Grant

Tuesday, July 1st, 2025 -- 10:00 AM

(Erik Pfantz, USA TODAY NETWORK - Wisconsin) People who visit farmers’ markets in central Wisconsin this summer may notice a few new efforts to improve access and operations.

According to Erik Pfantz with the USA TODAY NETWORK - WisconsinA $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing additional funding over three years for several initiatives focused on central Wisconsin farmers' markets including SNAP/EBT access, market research, a regional farmers' market coordinator position and more.

The grant will provide a boost to a coalition of several local organizations called the Central Wisconsin Farmers Market Collaborative. This group includes Farmshed, Hunger and Poverty Prevention Partnership, Wood County Health Department, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, UW-Madison Extension Foodwise and Food 2 Facts.

“Helping central Wisconsin farmers' markets increase their promotion is super important for not only farmers making a living by selling at the farmers' market but also so that customers know what they can buy at the farmers' market,” Meliss Haack, regional farmers' market coordinator, told a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin reporter.

These initiatives are also important because dollars spent at local farmers' markets can circulate within communities several times more than dollars spent at big-box store, Haack said.

Research cited by the national Farmers Market Coalition has shown that a greater portion of dollars spent at farmers' markets supports more local jobs than dollars spent at large chain stores.

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