This spring, we applied for a $200,000 grant from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA). The grant, focused on expanding market opportunities for Indiana farmers, gave us an opportunity to define our vision for a nonprofit store that specializes in fresh, local food. It was also an opportunity to test our chops in the food systems world and hear professional feedback on our project. Our proposal was well-received and scored among the top tier contenders, which was a huge affirmation of our vision! Although we didn’t get the grant this year, we have been strongly encouraged to resubmit our application in collaboration with institutional partners in 2023. This kind of collaboration will show community buy-in and add institutional weight to our application as we build our nonprofit’s visibility in food systems spaces.
The rest of 2022 will be focused on securing these institutional partnerships. With the knowledge that our project is capable of bringing in hundreds of thousands of state and federal dollars to our community, we are seeking to build a coalition of organizations who will form the foundation for a strong food system in Jefferson County and beyond. We’re proud of the work we’ve done and can’t wait to see the seeds we planted this year sprout into meaningful fresh food access for downtown Madison and beyond!
Photo Caption: The produce cooler of a farm stop in Bloomington that sells only local/regional food. This is one of three farm stops we studied to inform our grant project model.
