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WI Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program FINAL REPORT RELEASED


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The WI LFPA was able to purchase and distribute over $4.55M of produce, proteins, and value-added product to all counties in the state, engaging with 283 unique farmers and growers. Networks were developed and aggregation and distribution infrastructure were put into action with program resources. Farmers’ wholesale readiness was improved. The quick ramp up of the program meant that the project team needed to be adaptive to meet the opportunities and address challenges in the complex system.


The routes that were developed as part of the WI LFPA picked up product in the “last mile” from small- and mid-sized producers and delivered it the “last mile,” including to small pantries. The cost per dollar value of food delivered was often very high due to the more remote areas reached in the aggregation and distribution networks developed. As a result of this, a next step of the WI LFPA was a feasibility study for a “Super Transport Cooperative” (STC) that would use a hub and spoke model to engage sub hubs. This effort, discussed earlier in this report, seeks an optimized logistics and financial model for sub hubs (for-profit distribution companies and non-profit food system and food access partners) to do the first- and last-mile pick-up and delivery in a more localized area of the state. Information on product availability would be shared across the network so that product surplus in an area could be sold to a different region. The WFHC would provide the statewide aggregation and distribution between sub hubs. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation awarded a $50,000 feasibility study award to WFHC, which is currently being completed, with initial STC work starting in 2026.


The cancellation of the 2025 LFPA brought to a halt much of the momentum that was generated in 2023 and 2024. Farmers shared how important the lost contracts were for their businesses. Food access partners expressed how important the food distributions were for their communities. While the network of farmers, organizations, and agency partners that assembled through WI LFPA have continued to find ways to support key food security aspects of the WI LFPA programming. The middle supply chain, aggregation and distribution routing, and infrastructure developed to reach all 72 counties in the state is at risk due to the loss of these funds.


State procurement dollars were allocated through a new Food Security and Wisconsin Products grant program to support farm to food access in 2026 and 2027. There are also efforts to secure private dollars to support LFPA type programming. It cannot be determined at this date what the results will be, but the work continues.


For more information on the Food Security and

Wisconsin Products grant program reach out to:


Resources developed to support farmers and build networks are now housed on the WI DATCP website:



 
 
 
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