I apologize for any cross postings...
Cris
For Immediate Release
July 19, 2000
Contact: Cris Carusi
608-262-8018
cecarusi@facstaff.wisc.edu
Wisconsin Colleges Pay Family Farmers a Fair Price for Quality Food
Now more than ever, farmers are looking for new markets and customers who will
pay a fair price for their products. Dining services at four colleges in
Wisconsin are buying directly from farmers and paying premium prices for a wide
variety of meats, vegetables, and fruit.
Northland College, Beloit College, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and
the University of Wisconsin-Madison are using their buying power to support
Wisconsin’s family farmers. The UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural
Systems is helping farmers work with the food service managers at these
colleges to break into these new markets.
“There is room for more farmers to sell to colleges,” said John Hendrickson, a
researcher with the Center’s College Food Project. “When colleges buy food
locally, the money stays in Wisconsin's economy and supports Wisconsin family
farmers. And the students get fresh, nutritious food.”
Hendrickson said that the University of Wisconsin-Madison spends nearly $10
million each year on food for its dining services. If ten percent of these food
purchases were made locally, that would put almost an extra million dollars
into the pockets of Wisconsin family farmers.
Northland College in northern Wisconsin has been serving food from nearby farms
since 1997. Lee and Judy Stadnyk of Willow Run Farm sell their produce to
Northland. They have storage facilities at their farm and deliver food weekly
throughout the school year. They are required by the college to carry $2
million worth of liability insurance, which costs them $180 a year.
Northland pays retail prices to farmers like the Stadnyks, who earn $1.00 a
pound for their organic carrots and $.55 a pound for their organic potatoes.
Student requests led the dining center at Beloit College to purchase locally
grown food. According to dining center director Bill Behling, “Beloit students
care about eating food produced on local farms, and I also feel good about
switching to more locally grown food.” During the fall, Behling buys apples
from Finley Orchard in Rock County.
Seasonally, the dining centers at UW-Platteville serve locally grown fruits and
vegetables. During the summer, food service director Deb Putnam buys produce
from a local farm.
“We cook for the Chicago Bears training camp here on campus, and I serve them
local sweet corn and tomatoes,” said Putnam. “I also buy pumpkins that are
grown locally because they are better quality than pumpkins from the
distributor.”
This spring, a UW-Madison program in campus dining centers drew attention to
the benefits of Wisconsin-raised food. The highlight of this program was a
“Regional Seasonal Dinner” that was attended by over 400 people including
students, farmers, professors, and College of Agriculture Dean Elton Aberle.
These participants agreed that UW-Madison can and should serve more food from
local farms.
Why don’t more Wisconsin colleges and universities purchase food locally from
family farmers? Researchers at the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
talked with dining center directors at 28 Wisconsin colleges to learn more
about the barriers to local food purchase and identify potential solutions.
Many dining center directors said that they do not know where and how to buy
from farmers in their area. But dining center directors in Wisconsin do
know the
value of farm-fresh food. The majority of the directors said that they shop
for their own families at farm stands and farmers markets.
Buying from farmers can mean more work for dining center directors. Some
directors say that they don’t buy from farmers because of red tape and higher
costs. Wisconsin farmers cannot offer the convenience of all-season, one-stop
shopping provided by mainstream distributors.
Farmers who sell to colleges sometimes have to buy liability insurance. They
also need to be willing to wait for payment, sometimes for months.
Many colleges, including eight of the 13 University of Wisconsin campuses, are
contracted to large food service corporations. These corporations cut costs by
buying all of their food from large distributors. Only “approved vendors” can
sell large quantities of food to these dining services.
Getting that approval can be tough, but it’s possible. According to UW-Green
Bay food service director, Jim Laughlin, “We have to buy from approved vendors.
But that doesn’t mean that we can’t get local vendors approved. Many Wisconsin
dairies and bakeries are approved vendors with our dining service.”
Student requests often convince food service directors to make the effort to
buy locally. According to Stadnyk, “Students have to take the initiative and
demand a change in the way that they eat. The growers can’t do it. It needs to
be the students. And they need to be backed up by the college’s
administration.”
At Beloit, UW-Platteville, Northland, and UW-Madison, the students and
administrators have already taken these steps to support Wisconsin’s family
farms.
Do you want more information about how to market to colleges in Wisconsin? The
following chart provides contact information for the colleges described in this
article. For more information, contact Janet Parker at (608) 265-7914 or
janetparker@students.wisc.edu
College
Where are they?Person to callPhone #
Northland CollegeAshlandJeff Spangenberg715-682-1339
UW Madison Residence Halls Dining ServiceMadisonMargaret Monahan608-262-9619
UW Madison University ClubMadisonLeah Caplan608-265-1046
Beloit CollegeBeloitWilliam Behling608-363-2575
UW PlattevillePlattevilleDeb Putnam608-342-1776
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Author: Janet Parker
Cris Carusi
Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Office: 1535 Observatory Drive
Mail: 1450 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
phone: (608) 262-8018
fax: (608) 265-3020
email: cecarusi@facstaff.wisc.edu
http://www.wisc.edu/cias/
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