2026 Farmer to Food Bank Update
The SCVFA is the proud recipient of the Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation Grant. The SCVFA Farmer to Food Bank program distributes high quality produce & protein from SCVFA Farmer Members to the St. Croix Valley Food Bank. The program began in June of 2025 as a response to the loss of the federal funding of the WI LFPA program. This funding will support the SCVFA Farmer to Food Bank program to grow from providing 4,000 pounds of produce to up to 40,000 pounds of produce to the St. Croix Valley Food Bank. Farmer to Food Bank provides fair wholesale pricing and in turn more entry points for small local farmers to scale into wholesale markets. With this grant, the SCVFA will grow the impact of this program with partners: The Good Acre, Whole Farm Strategies and the St. Croix Valley Food Bank.
In 2026, nearly 10,000 households are projected to be food insecure in western Wisconsin. This number continues to grow due to current economic conditions; meaning we need to increase food distribution to meet the growing need in our communities. Andy Donovan, of First Acre Farm, participated in the pilot year of the program, “the Farmer to Food Bank program generates valuable revenue for our small farm while providing food to our local community. Win-win.”
In the 2025 growing season we partnered with The Good Acre, Second Harvest Heartland, Whole Farm Strategies and the St. Croix Valley Food Bank to bring SCVFA farmer member produce to the food bank.
The Farmer to Food Bank program was a direct response to the USDA cancellation of the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program, of which several of our members participated in 2023-2024. Our initial pilot programming supports three farmer members with with up to $4500 each with weekly deliveries or pick ups throughout the season.
Our goals moving forward include expansion of the program for further community impact. Many farmers in the alliance have expressed strong interest in continuing this type of programming.
SCVFA Farmers Make a difference
In 2025, SCVFA Farmer Members were able to provide 4,000 pounds of produce to people who may not have access to healthy food. Three different farms worked toward this and made a collective $10,000 thanks to our partnerships with The Good Acre, Second Harvest Heartland, Whole Farm Strategies and the St. Croix Valley Food Bank. Donate today to impact the future of this program!