By State Senator Julie Lassa

After a long winter, many of us are anxiously looking forward to fresh, locally grown food. Whether it’s a farmers’ market, a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, roadside produce stands or the growing number of supermarkets that feature locally raised and produced food products, it’s easier than ever to find great things to eat that come from close to home.

As a result, we all get to enjoy fresher, healthier, better tasting food. We also know more about how that food was raised and produced, and it didn’t have to travel as far to get to us. And the buy local movement has created all kinds of new markets for farmers, who can now deal directly with consumers, local retailers, or institutions like school lunch programs.

As the author of the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin program, I’ve been interested in promoting the local food movement for a long time. That’s why I was delighted to get my copy of the Farm Fresh Atlas of Central Wisconsin: A Year-Round Local Food Guide, published by Central Rivers Farmshed. It contains listings for more than 140 sources for fresh local food and food products, including CSAs and other local farms, restaurants that specialize in farm-to-table cuisine, community gardens, and 37 farmers’ markets from Sparta in the west to Amherst in the east.

The Atlas also contains other useful information, including the seasonal availability of 43 fresh produce favorites, a calendar of events and workshops throughout the region, and contact information for organizations that support and promote local food producers. It’s the first time I’m aware of that all this information has been collected in one place, and the Atlas is sure to become a favorite resource for anyone in our area looking for great local food sources.

Atlas readers will feel good knowing that all the farms listed are family or cooperatively owned, use sustainable farming practices, and provide safe and fair working conditions for their workers. Organizations and businesses likewise are family owned, cooperatives, or non-profit organizations, and pledge to promote a sustainable regional food system and to protect and sustain the region’s land and water resources.

Publishing the Atlas exemplifies the mission of Farmshed, a non-profit organization based out of The Greenhouse Project, an all-encompassing revitalization of the former Sorenson’s Garden Center in downtown Stevens Point. Farmshed takes a holistic approach to expanding the connection between local consumers and food producers, addressing all aspects of the food system. The organization helps farmers and producers grow and market their products, teaches consumers how to prepare them, and brings them all together to build the local food economy.

The Atlas is available for free at The Greenhouse Project, local libraries, and area businesses that support the local food economy. I also proudly display it outside my office in the State Capitol. If you’d like to distribute the Atlas, learn how your farm or business can be listed in next year’s edition, or support the project, email Farmshed at [email protected]armshed.org or call (715) 544-6154. Atlases are also available for other regions of Wisconsin; you can learn about them at www.farmfreshatlas.org.