PRODUCERS & BUYERS CO-OP LAUNCHED
Linking Local Farms and Institutions in the Chippewa Valley
In the March/April '09 issue of Pea Soup, we wrote about the Chippewa Valley Buy Local Consortium, a model for institutional partnership with local food producers. While the consortium had already begun delivering local food to Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, it was still working on becoming a legal entity.
The consortium is now a co-op! The official launch of the Producers & Buyers Co-op took place June 12 at the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce Breakfast in the Valley.
The Co-op facilitates buying and selling for farmers in 12 counties in the Chippewa Valley region. Sacred Heart Hospital is a founding partner in the project and committed 10% of its $2 million food budget to purchasing local food products in order to provide a market to help the organization get off the ground.
“Having a stable market price allows me to do more long-range planning with my farm operation,” said Darrel Lorch of Lorcrest Farms, Inc., in Blair, Wisconsin. Lorch also serves as an ad hoc member of the Co-op board.
The Co-op intends to bring new buyers on board as products are sourced and serves institutions such as schools, universities, colleges, hospitals, and businesses that provide cafeteria services.
Currently, the Co-op is working to facilitate the production and purchase of locally produced meats (beef, pork, chicken, fish) fruits & vegetables, dairy & eggs, dry goods, and other locally-produced food.
“Support of the Co-op helps rebuild the local processing infrastructure (i.e. for processing meats, dairy, etc.), and expand local food production by providing a stable market.” said Co-op coordinator Mary C. Anderson*, a value-added farmer with extensive direct sales experience.
The idea for the Co-op began in January 2008, when representatives from River Country RC&D and Sacred Heart Hospital met with area farmers at the Midwest Value Added Agricultural Conference and Wisconsin Local Food Summit. In June 2008, Sacred Heart CEO Steve Ronstrom, pledged 10% of the hospital’s $2 million food budget to buying local food. On July 17 a Buy Local Buy Wisconsin grant was awarded to River Country RC&D to pioneer the best way to get local food to local institutions.
After many planning meetings with local farmers, March 26, 2009 marked the State’s formalization of Articles of Incorporation to create the Producers & Buyers Co-op.
To date, the Producers & Buyers Co-op facilitated the purchase over 26,000 pounds of locally grown product from over 14 local rural communities.
“There have been profound changes over the past century for farm families and rural communities, and in the 1990s alone Wisconsin lost almost 40% of its dairy farms. It’s our responsibility to buy local food to support our local agriculture industry,” said Rick Beckler, Co-op organizer and Sacred Heart Hospital’s Director of Hospitality Services. “We have had an outpouring of warm compliments on our food from patients, our Meals on Wheels patrons and employees.”
*Mary Anderson email: Mary.Anderson@rcdnet.
UPDATE 11/09/09 - The
first annual meeting of the Producers & Buyers Co-op will be held
November 10 at 6 p.m. at Sacred Heart Hospital’s Community Auditorium
(900 West Clairemont Ave.) and the public is invited. Members will
elect new officers and approve bylaws and have opportunities to share
the organization’s recent success and future goals and taste local food
products. Please RSVP by calling (715) 579-5013. A reception will begin
at 6 p.m. and the program will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The annual Co-op meeting will provide information on membership opportunities for farmers and processors, and institutions.