Amanda Blackmon is a longtime Frederic native who returned to the community four years ago to raise her two sons and to help strengthen the health and resilience of rural life through practical, local solutions.

As President of the Village of Frederic, serving her second elected term, Amanda has focused on identifying and responding to critical community needs, most notably the impending retirement of the community’s grocery store owners and the risk of losing Frederic’s only grocery store. In response, she helped launch and organize the group that has since formed a grocery store cooperative to purchase the current store and keep it community-owned, with the goal of protecting affordable, accessible food while expanding opportunities for local growers and producers.

A certified grant writer, Amanda secured support for this effort through a WEDC grant and continues to write grants for two other local organizations. In her role as Community Engagement Coordinator for Northwest Passage, she builds relationships and bridges across the region, including launching the Friday farmers market at the Northwest Passage Gallery in Webster, an initiative she plans to continue this summer to further connect local producers with the broader Burnett County community.

As a member of the St. Croix Valley Food Alliance board, Amanda brings proven fundraising and organizational experience and a deep commitment to supporting local growers and ensuring affordable, accessible, healthy food in rural communities. She is especially interested in strengthening regional producer networks, advancing collaborative solutions to rural food access challenges, and exploring partnerships between the Frederic grocery cooperative and the Food Alliance that create lasting community benefit.