Menomonie Market Awards $19,000 to Four Regional Producers
farmers and producers in Amery, Prairie Farm, Eau Claire, and Chippewa Falls are the recipients of this year's Fund Our Foodshed grant program
The Chippewa Valley has cultivated a vibrant community of entrepreneurs in its 150-plus-year existence, with small businesses peppering just about every corner of the area. We’ve got locally-owned boutiques, bookstores, bars, hobby shops, construction companies, eateries – even a trolley company – and much more.
Some scenes have shoulder-to-shoulder small businesses – like restaurants; we really, really like to eat around here – and others stand alone. The Menomonie Market Food Co-op (MMFC) falls under the latter category, as the Chippewa Valley’s only community-owned grocer.
The co-op hasn’t always been the only community-owned grocer in the area, though it does have an impressive, hard-earned history; Last year, MMFC celebrated its 50th anniversary. For nearly a decade, the co-op has also given back to the local and regional producers that keep its shelves stocked, through its Fund Our Foodshed grant program.
This year, MMFC is proud to distribute $19,000 in grants, a significant increase from the $2,000 awarded in the program's inaugural year in 2018. –Menomonie Market Food Co-op media release
On April 17, MMFC announced – despite federal grant reductions and increased tariffs – it was able to award a total of $19,000 to four producers: Granja Las Aguilas LLC (Amery); Good Root Growers (Prairie Farm); Two Ovens Bakery LLC (Eau Claire); and Leah’s Canning Co. (Chippewa Falls).
The grant program collects funds through costumer contributions – largely given at the registers of MMFC’s locations in Menomonie and Eau Claire – and from the co-op itself, according to a recent media release.
“This year, MMFC is proud to distribute $19,000 in grants, a significant increase from the $2,000 awarded in the program’s inaugural year in 2018,” the media release stated. "(Application reviews focused on) the potential positive impact on the agricultural economy of the Chippewa Valley."
This year’s Fund Our Foodshed grant program received 14 applications — each applicant within a 100-mile radius from one of the co-op locations. Granja Las Aguilas will use its funding to build an egg wash station and storage area; Two Ovens Bakery will upgrade its equipment for enhanced production efficiency; Leah’s Canning Co. will make upgrades aimed at improving canning efficiency and product labeling; and Good Root Growers will use its funds for greenhouse beds and a water system for new ginger beds and existing greenhouses.
Awardee Good Root Growers already invested in a portion of the project that they applied for, largely because of love. Yes, love.
"I fell completely in love with ginger," Good Root Growers co-owner Sue Gerlach said. “The plant, the smell, what it looks like when you pull it up fresh versus when you buy it in the grocery store."
"We asked for $4,000, and we have already invested (our own funds) into water lines," Gerlach continued. "We want to make raised beds along the south and north walls (of our greenhouse) for ginger. Now that we have the grant, we can identify resources and get all the materials we need.”
I just want to keep it simple, keep it humble, and bring value to my friends, neighbors, and the community. –Sue Gerlach, Good Root Growers
Nestled in Prairie Farm, a half-hour drive from Menomonie, Good Root Growers spans 30 acres and cultivates a selection of both flowers and vegetables.
While Gerlach's particular love of ginger will be cultivated through the Fund Our Foodshed grant, Good Root Growers also grows other produce. This includes sweet peppers, squash, brassicas, and more. They also grow edible flowers and create arrangements, alongside the local operation's 10 acres of dedicated wildlife habitat restoration.
“(Our greenhouse infrastructure) allowed us to bring unique products (to the community), usually shipped from overseas,” Gerlach said. “Food is necessary, so if we can bring value to the community with food and not be greedy with it – no price gouging, things like that – we will. I just want to keep it simple, keep it humble, and bring value to my friends, neighbors, and the community.”
To that end, MMFC’s media release also noted the impacts some local farmers and producers are currently experiencing due to federal funding cuts and recently implemented tariff policies. Beyond producers, some locally utilized programs like the Local Food for Schools Incentive (LFPI) and Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement programs have also been affected.
“Tariffs are definitely affecting any product made in aluminum or metal cans, fruits, and vegetables, almost instantly, and our packaging supplies as well,” General Manager Crystal Halvorson and Marketing Manager April Aken said. “Tariffs most definitely affect us indirectly because all of our customers and staff are feeling the pinch of rising prices.”
“Some of our current farms and winners effected by these budget cuts include: Growing Lots, Mary Dirty Face Farm, (and) Racing Heart Farm,” Halvorson and Aken said.
The MMFC team said circumstances like those described in their press release, “highlight the urgent need for initiatives like the Fund Our Foodshed grant program.”
Learn more about Menomonie Market Food Co-op's various community programs online at mmcc.coop/programs/. Visit the co-op's Menomonie location (816 Main St. E, Menomonie) or Eau Claire location (206 N. Barstow St., Eau Claire) to peruse the grocer's goods.
