The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) announced five Wisconsin companies will receive a DATCP Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin (BLBW) Grant in 2023. BLBW is a competitive grant program designed to strengthen Wisconsin’s agriculture and food industries by helping farms and businesses more efficiently process, market, and distribute locally grown food products. BLBW grants provide consumers with access to more Wisconsin-grown food products, including organic vegetables, hops varieties, hazelnut products, locally-grown grain, and other value-added products. “Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin grants are another tool that local producers and processors can utilize to support their businesses,” said DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski. “These grants also benefit Wisconsin consumers as they help strengthen the connections between the farm gate and dinner plate.”
This year, DATCP received 13 funding requests totaling more than $473,000. The five awarded applicants are:
Dream Apple Farm LLC, Mequon: The project will increase sales of Wisconsin local, organic, and sustainable food at DreamPort Harvest Market, a farm market in Port Washington.
Grow It Forward Inc, Mantiwoc: This project will increase local food sales of Wisconsin products and increase direct sales of GIF’s own products.
Fitchburg’s Orchard Inc, Fitchburg: This project is designed to expand the offerings of value-added products using fresh fruit grown at Eplegaarden Orchard in Fitchburg.
Fromage Spa d/b/a Lov-It Foods, Green Bay: Lov-It Foods will use grant funds to create a retail website to sell newly-branded Lov-It cheese products, converted from 40-pound blocks, artisanal wheels, and trim cheese from local Wisconsin cheese manufacturers. These products are marketed to Wisconsin residents and tourists looking for locally-crafted artisanal Wisconsin products.
Mayberry Farms LLC, Mayville: The primary objective of this project is to enhance the sales of locally-sourced raw honey. This will be accomplished by implementing a refined online marketing strategy to drive online sales and the expansion into new local wholesale accounts.
Since the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin program began in 2008, there have been 584 applications submitted for Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin Grants, requesting a total of more than $20.3 million in funding. Of those applications, 117 projects have been funded, totaling more than $2.977 million. Previous grant recipients have generated more than $14.4 million in new local food sales, created and retained more than 406 jobs, and benefited more than 5,400 producers and 5,289 markets. For more information on DATCP’s Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin Grants, visit DATCP’s website.
