John and Halee's background in organic agriculture and the culinary arts gives them an understanding of the grain supply chain with a unique focus on the final product.

Driftless Brewing Company is a relatively new craft brewery, but its origins go quite a way back. The brewery was created out of Chris Balistreri’s passion for homebrewing. Chris made his first batch of homebrew in 1987 with friends in Madison.

Josh and Noah Engel are the quintessential farmers in the Driftless region. Their farm – Driftless Organics – is located on McManus Ridge in Crawford County and has been supplying the Viroqua Food Co+op with certified organic produce for longer than we can remember.

Mead is a delicious alcoholic beverage made by mixing honey, water and yeast and allowing them to ferment and transform into a brew that is greater than the ingredients. Purportedly, mead was the preferred drink of the Vikings in old-world Norway. With Vernon County’s rich Norwegian culture, it is a wonder that mead doesn’t have a more regular place on our table.

If you’ve had the Korean Reuben at the VFC Deli, then you’ve experienced the delicious flavor of Fizzeology Kimchi. Like all of Fizzeology’s products, the Kickapoo Kimchi is a raw ferment that contains live enzymes and probiotics. The ingredients are sourced from local farms and the production takes place at the Food Enterprise Center in Viroqua.

Farmstead refers to cheese that is made entirely from the farm. For Diana, the influence she has at every stage of production is important, from choosing the food her animals eat to monitoring the way each batch of cheese is made.

Carr Valley continues to work hard to keep the tradition of cheesemaking an important part of Wisconsin heritage. Sid may continue to release new, creative products but will always find it important to produce the highest quality traditional varieties as well.

Robert and Summer Schulz are the owners and operators of New Traditions Homestead located in rural Hillsboro. “I have been involved in gardening since a child. Our family always had a big garden and I feel it stuck with me,”

From Viroqua, take a quick 20-minute drive down County Road Y to Avalanche, head north on County Road S, turn east up Smart Hollow Road, and you will get to what seems like the top of the earth on Salem Ridge Road. There you will find a wonderful family that is committed to local and organic agriculture and growing the local food community. Adam and Jillian Varney and their three children, ages one, four, and seven, have a passion to farm. Their farm is Small Family Farm.

We are truly lucky to be located right in the heart of the Driftless region, which has a wealth of local farmers and producers. One of the local producers we are grateful to have right in our neighborhood is Westby Co-op Creamery. They are one of the oldest dairy cooperatives in Wisconsin!

A customer and staff favorite each July are The Berry Bucket blueberries. These outstandingly delicious berries are grown by the Olson family just west of Readstown, Wisconsin. The story of this unique farm begins over 16 years ago.

Diane’s vision states: “By weaving intention, emotion, and sometimes calligraphy in artful imagery of nature, my work is a reminder that we are all interconnected in the vast web of life. We cannot value and save what we do not have an emotional, heartfelt connection to.”