Dane County Food Action Plan Project Newsletter | June 25, 2025
|
|
|
| Join us TONIGHT for an open discussion about the future of food in Dane County!
|
The Food Action Plan team is hosting two upcoming town hall events, open to the public, where you can learn more about the project, discuss critical food system issues, and share your vision for a better food system. This is a fantastic opportunity to have your voice heard and connect with what's happening in our community's food landscape.
Mark your calendars:
View our calendar for future community events. We look forward to your participation!
|
|
|
Seeding Resilience: An Embedded Approach to Food Systems Planning in Dane County
|
By Noah Bloedorn
June 12, 2025
Before our eyes we are seeing how food systems built for efficiency and profit falter, leaving communities vulnerable. In my world, this has been evident over the last few months as we have seen food insecurity rise, while funding for emergency programs, especially funds to support local purchasing for emergency food, have been cut.
In the years since COVID rippled through our food system, it feels like a lot of progress has been made in the world of sustainable food systems, largely due to federal funding that allowed people to improve our food system’s infrastructure (think new meat processing facilities, fruit and vegetable processing facilities, on farm infrastructure, etc.) and funding to aid the purchase of local food in places like schools and food banks. With the current state of federal funding, be it uncertain or completely taken away, it feels like that progress has come to a screeching halt.
|
| |
|
| Seeding Resilience: An Embedded Approach to Food Systems Planning in Dane County
|
By Noah Bloedorn
June 12, 2025
Before our eyes we are seeing how food systems built for efficiency and profit falter, leaving communities vulnerable. In my world, this has been evident over the last few months as we have seen food insecurity rise, while funding for emergency programs, especially funds to support local purchasing for emergency food, have been cut.
In the years since COVID rippled through our food system, it feels like a lot of progress has been made in the world of sustainable food systems, largely due to federal funding that allowed people to improve our food system’s infrastructure (think new meat processing facilities, fruit and vegetable processing facilities, on farm infrastructure, etc.) and funding to aid the purchase of local food in places like schools and food banks. With the current state of federal funding, be it uncertain or completely taken away, it feels like that progress has come to a screeching halt.
|
|
| |
While Dane County encourages the reuse of land—such as vacant lots—for new development, urban expansion between 2001 and 2021 still led to an 18% increase in developed land, totaling 19,880 acres. Much of this development was for residential areas, roads, and highways. New developments often extended outward from existing urban areas in Dane County, encroaching on land that was or could be used for farming. As a result, 76% of new development occurred on soils classified as important farmland, contributing to a 17% loss in agricultural land—approximately 76,355 acres.*
Equity in housing is a key consideration for future development, but so is the protection of land that can sustain Dane County’s food needs. Since 1997, the Town of Dunn has taken steps to conserve agricultural land. Today, it protects nearly 4,000 acres of prime farmland from development pressures. As Dane County continues to grow, so too can efforts to preserve its valuable farmland.
*Source: Annalisa Stevenson, Yakun Zhang, Z. Aslıgül Göçmen, Alfred E. Hartemink, Urbanization and sealing of fertile soils: A case study in Wisconsin 2001–2021, Soil Security, Volume 19, 2025, 100183, ISSN 2667-0062, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soisec.2025.100183
|
|
|
| Nourishing Conversations: Building Soil & Community
|
Elliott Gilfillan of Brain Plate Grows shares the story of building a community composting program.
|
| | Whiteboard Short: Infrastructure
|
Food storage, transportation, and processing
|
| |
|
We look forward to collaborating with you and building a healthier, more resilient food system for Dane County.
|
|
|
University of Wisconsin, USDA, and Wisconsin counties cooperating.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming in compliance with state and federal law.
You may request an interpreter, materials in an alternative language or format, or other services to make Extension programs and resources more accessible by contacting our office at extension@danecounty.gov or 608-224-3700 at least 2 weeks prior. There's no added cost to you for these services.
Copyright © 2025 Extension Dane County, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address:
5201 Fen Oak Dr., #138, Madison, WI 53718
608-224-3700
|
|
|
Manage your preferences | Opt Out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.
|
5201 Fen Oak Dr. Ste. 138 | Madison, WI 53718 US
|
|
|
This email was sent to cowen.sarah@danecounty.gov.
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
|
| |
|
|
