For the City Times

STEVENS POINT — Central Rivers Farmshed is recruiting 150 Local Food Investors to donate $100 to help ensure a successful transition under the leadership of a new Executive Director. 

What will the investment do? The seeds of Farmshed’s mission have been planted and the programming has steadily grown. As we transition leadership, we are looking for continued support and investment to help us thrive. 

We’ve come so far, and there is still so much more to be accomplished. In 2007 local food enthusiasts started a grassroots movement to support a regional food system while meeting Fridays for breakfast. In 2011 a neglected greenhouse was purchased and given new life as a local food hub. Today, Farmshed’s efforts in promoting local food systems are extensive. Here are some of the ways Farmshed is working to make a resilient local food community: 

PROGRAMS 

• Farm Fresh Atlas of Central Wisconsin: Want to find a farm and pick strawberries with your kids, a farmers market that’s open on Friday, or a restaurant that buys produce from your CSA farm? Look no further than the Atlas…your free source for local food information. 
• Frozen Assets: Sweet corn and vine ripe tomatoes in January? This is the program that makes it possible by freezing local produce picked at the peak of season. You can have Wisconsin summer right in your freezer. 
• Growing Collective: Want to turn that black thumb green? The Growing Collective can help! Over 60 members inspire and educate each other while teaming up to grow thousands of edible plant starts. 
• Local Food Tastes Great Fundraiser: Do you wish that your kid’s fundraisers were more aligned with your values? Local Food Tastes Great teaches our kids about agricultural abundance by letting them sell goods grown and raised by farmers in our community. 
• Kitchen Rentals: Get your value added food business up in running through the use of a commercially licensed kitchen. 

EVENTS 

• Local Food Fair: Meet farmers, chefs, and food entrepreneurs all in one place. With over 2,000 attendees, it’s the region’s largest local food celebration! 
• Plant Sale: Fill your garden with a diverse variety of vegetable, fruit, herb and other plants that will provide you a healthy bounty all summer long. 
• Chef on the Square: Learn how to prepare seasonal ingredients from the farmers market from the perspectives of local chefs. 
• Farmer Tribute Dinner: We all eat. This is the fall event where we thank our farmers! 
• Community Potlucks: Cook it, then share it with your neighbors! The potlucks are a themed, monthly opportunity to share amazing food with even better company. 
• Workshops: From beekeeping to canning up tomatoes, we line up instructors to share their vast skills with you. 

Farmshed’s Board of Directors and Staff are producing a three year strategic plan to help ensure that Farmshed will continue to thrive under the leadership of the next Executive Director. The support of donors will help see that to fruition. 

Be one of the 150 by sending a check to Farmshed 1220 Briggs Court, Stevens Point, WI 54481 or visiting: farmshed.networkforgood.com/projects/76848-local-food-investors-2019. Campaign runs through July 28th. 

Share your story: Show us how Farmshed has helped you thrive in the local food community by posting a picture on our Facebook page (find the “Plant, Grow, Thrive” post) for a chance to win a Frozen Assets share bag- a $50 value! 

Donors from this campaign will be invited to a Local Food Investor Social on August 21st from 6-8pm. Small bites and beverages will be provided as we get together to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and embrace the future.