Menomonie Market Food Co-op has awarded gifts to support the local farming community through two giving programs—its Fund Our Foodshed Grant Program and the new Menomonie Market Cooperative Community
Fund.
The Fund Our Foodshed Grant Program is an annual giving program created by the co-op in 2018 to help rebuild our rural community by providing crucial
support for local farming operations and to further the co-op’s mission of
creating a thriving and healthy foodshed by supporting the growth of regional
farming, food processing, and product development in the Chippewa Valley. The program is funded by shoppers through round-ups of change at the registers and a donation by the co-op, and the funded projects strengthen operational infrastructure and increase food production.
For the third year, the Menomonie Market Fund Our Foodshed grant committee made up of co-op board members, staff, and community members reviewed applications from previous years and made selections based on a variety of criteria—most importantly, the potential positive impact on the
agricultural economy of the Chippewa Valley.
The 2020 Fund Our Foodshed Awards went to three area farms: Sacred Blossom Farm (Mondovi, WI), Harvest Moon Organics (Cadott, WI), and L.T.D. Farm (Clayton, WI). Each farm was awarded $1,500; more information about each of the projects funded can be found on Menomonie Market Food Co-op’s website.
This year, the co-op has also launched a new annual giving program, the
Menomonie Market Cooperative Community Fund (MMCCF). This fund was created in 2017 as part of the Twin Pines Community Fund (TPCF), an endowment that exists to aid in developing new co-ops throughout the nation and to give back to local nonprofits.
The TPCF is funded through contributions from Menomonie Market Food Co-op, matches by other co-ops, gifts from shoppers through round-ups of change at the registers, and an annual fundraiser, and it has combined assets of over
$4 million. Unlike many other foundations or endowment funds, Twin Pines only invests in the development of cooperatives, with nothing at all in the stock market. The interest earned by this family of funds is then returned to each
home co-op for gifting to local nonprofits in any of the following areas:
environment, community, farming and hunger, or cooperatives.
Menomonie Market Food Co-op has selected the Dunn County chapter of the
Wisconsin Farmers Union as the first recipient of a $1,500 award through the
MMCCF. Rachel Henderson, farmer at Mary Dirty Face Farm (Menomonie, WI) and president of the Dunn County chapter, says, “We’re grateful for the
community of co-ops that thrive in Menomonie, and in the coming year we will
use these funds for the development of grower co-ops and to help solve the
marketing and processing challenges faced by small and mid-sized farms.”
Menomonie Market Food Co-op is a forty-six-year-old community-owned grocery cooperative whose mission is to be central in building a thriving, healthy community. The co-op offers full-service grocery, scratch-made deli meals, local foods, and knowledgeable, friendly service to everyone. It is located at 814 Main Street, Menomonie, WI, 54751, and its store hours are temporarily 8:00am-8:00pm daily. More information can be found at mmfc.coop.
WisCommunity's Publisher Steve Hanson is a member of the Menomonie Market board and was one of the members of the Fund Our Foodshed Committee.
Memberships
Massive rallies, marches Saturday to call for end to war in Iraq
[img_assist|nid=1749|title=.|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=324|height=243]The antiwar movement steps up the pressure to end the Iraq war Saturday with 11 regional demonstrations and marches across the country, which are expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people.
Wisconsin is sending 25 or more busloads of people to the Chicago march and rally, in addition to those who make their own way there.
The protests, organized by United for Peace and Justice, the nation's largest peace coalition, are attracting broad mainstream support, including endorsements from the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, Milwaukee County Democratic Party, and NAACP. Wisconsin AFL-CIO President David Newby is one of the rally speakers. Others include Rev. Jesse Jackson and US Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.
Details on Chicago and each of the 11 events are available at the Oct. 27 website.
No, this outpouring of support for ending the war and bringing the troops home won't move George W. Bush. That's a given.
But it may help give Democrats some backbone by demonstrating that the antiwar movement is alive, well, and growing daily.
It's not too late to get involved, or even to get on a bus.
Need more inspiration? Watch this video.
Can't go? Do something else.
Bus information, from Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice:
NEW bus seats now available from the Madison area! WNPJ in Madison has reserved two additional buses for the event; CONTACT these organizers directly if you want to reserve a seat - $20/ ticket: Connie Threinen ([email protected] ) 608-238-5489; or Todd Kummer ([email protected] ) 608-257-1490. More info at [email protected] , or call 608-250-9240.
Central Wisconsin, near Wausau! We have room on the bus for 47 people and the cost should be about $30 per person. Contact Carol Lukens, 715-842-4538 or [email protected]
Milwaukee has 12 school buses going - Each ticket costs $15. To reserve your seat, contact Peace Action-Wisconsin at (414) 964-5158 or [email protected]
Racine has a bus: Tickets $20.00. Please purchase in advance. Contact: Dick Kinch - 262/638-0204 [email protected]
Sheboygan will have a bus – and the contact is Chris Kuehnel at [email protected] or 920.693.3141. They’re combing a bus with the Lakeshore Peacemakers group, starting in Green Bay at 7:30 am – going though Manitowoc at 8:20 am, Sheboygan at 9 am, and Milwaukee at 10:20 am. Contact there is: Ron Kossik [email protected]. The Lakeshore Peacemakers have a website for registering for this bus($30) – http://lakeshorepeacemakers.org/
If you live in the NW: The Northland Anti-War Coalition will be taking at least one bus from Duluth/Superior, SOLD OUT while Peace North will likely also take a bus from the Ashland and/or Hayward area. We’re keeping a waiting list –so let us know if you want to get on a bus – or contact Carol Lukens in Wausau to get on that bus [email protected] ! The cost for these buses will be $50 per person; however, for those who make a commitment to go and cannot pay the full amount, there may be sponsorships available. In the Twin Ports and points south (including Rice Lake and Eau Claire), contact Carl Sack at [email protected]. In the Chequamegon Bay and Hayward areas, contact Carol Hannah at [email protected].
The SW is being organized by the Grassroots groups, starting in Prairie du chien –SOLD OUT - SCHEDULE: Depart Praire du Chien at 7:00 a.m. Arrive Fennimore at 7:35 a.m. Depart Fennimore at 7:50. Arrive Dodgeville at 8:20. Depart Dodgeville at 8:35. Arrive Mt Horeb at 9:00 a.m. Depart Mt. Horeb at 9:15.Arrival in Chicago at Union Park at 12:30 pm. Contact Judy James (608) 935-3571. ($20/ticket) –Note: Madison still has tickets – see the contact information above, and get on the bus.
Drew Mueske is organizing a bus from Oshkosh: [email protected] along with Donna Richards and Stella Storch from Fond du Lac at [email protected] . Cost: $30 for adults, $15 for students. We may need to look at a second bus If you have any questions, please call 920-907-2315 or email [email protected]
Press releases and other content not written by a specific Eye On Dunn County author are listed as Eye On Dunn County Staff.
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