The Verona Downtown Farmers Market will accept FoodShare benefits when it returns in summer 2024 thanks to a grant from Dane County.
Executive Joe Parisi announced on Monday, April 8 that 15 local agencies – including the Verona Farmers Market – will receive the Tamara D. Grigsby Office of Equity and Inclusion’s 2024 Partners in Equity (PIE) Food Grant.
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi
According to a news release, the County Board approved the Food Council’s recommendation to expand the PIE program to address food insecurity in 2019. A total of $41,000 will be awarded to the 2024 PIE Food Grant recipients.
“Many Dane County residents and families are still struggling to put healthy, nutritious food on the table due to inflation and economic pressures,” Parisi said in the release. “Through the PIE Food Grant program, we are forming community partnerships to create a stronger local food system. We thank this year’s PIE Food Grant recipients for building innovative food programs that strive to achieve greater equity in our community and help address food insecurity.”
The Verona Downtown Farmers Market will receive $1,645 for a FoodShare credit card machine, signage and an employee each day of the market. Though this will mainly serve the Verona area, it will also reach Fitchburg, Oregon, Cross Plains and other nearby communities.
“Providing EBT at the market will allow those who are in need access to healthy, local foods that they may not be able to find otherwise,” the release states. “At the end of the day, said hired employee will take any extra products to Badger Prairie Needs Network. This will allow for a decrease in food waste and an increase in food access for those in need.”
Vulnerable populations saw food insecurity and other needs rise during the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent inflationary pressures on the general economy and supply chain. While the Dane County community continues to respond and recover from these impacts on its local food system, Dane County government aims to support projects that will provide the greatest impacts in strengthening the community’s food system and cultivating community engagement and access.
The PIE Food program encourages innovative projects that advance equity and access in local food systems through educational and outreach services, according to the release. Recipients were selected based on proposals intended to address issues related to healthy food access, access to land for growing food or issues related to food waste and recovery.
“The PIE grants are among my very favorite projects in Dane County. I am grateful to our community for proposing so many creative projects that address food insecurity in our community,” Dane County Board Supervisor Michele Ritt said in the release. “These project proposals are where creativity and community service meet with heart. I am so proud to be part of this work.”
Recipients received grants from one of two categories, according to the release: small grants ($2,000 or less) and large grants ($2,001 to $4,000).
