Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin Grants Support Local Food Economy

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced that 11 Wisconsin companies received a total of $248,840 in Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin (BLBW) grants to support projects that help grow the local food economy. 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. Since it began in 2008, the program has funded 128 projects totaling more than $3.227 million that have generated more than $14.7 million in new local food sales, created and retained 544 jobs, and benefited more than 5,600 producers and 5,500 markets.