REAP Has a Home.

After years of scraping by in scattered home offices, with Dixie cup phone lines, and no place to meet, REAP is taking the leap and moving into its first real office.  (OK, it wasn't that primitive, but it was scattered!)  

Starting in May, you'll find REAP staff housed on the second floor of 306 E. Wilson Street (in downtown Madison.) 

The walls have been painted thanks to friends Pamilyn, Willie, Stacy, Lori, Molly, Doug, Clare, Emmaray and Anna, the intrepid volunteer paint crew who took the space from drab to "oo-la-la" in just three hours.  The furniture is mostly in place and as soon as the phones are installed (by the end of April), we'll be ready to make it real.  

Stop by and say hello!   

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Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch:
Expanding Young Palates One Roasted Potato At a Time.

What’s a farm-to-school project, working to bring local produce into school kitchens, to do in the middle of the Wisconsin winter?  How can it bring local produce into school kitchens?  

Bring in the local potatoes of course!  And not just standard white potatoes, but also red and blue potatoes.  

This winter REAP's Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch (WHL) program featured potatoes from West Star Farm and other member farms of Homegrown Wisconsin Growers Cooperative.  WHL helped serve the locally grown spuds in Evansville, Mt. Horeb, Monona Grove and Waunakee school district lunchrooms.   

By taking local foods and seeing them through the school kitchen process-- cutting, roasting and serving to hundreds of students, WHL staff and our creative food service director partners are exploring how new foods can be offered on school menus that work within their system. 

And if there was any doubt that students will eat potatoes in a form other than fries or Tator Tots, it was put to rest when kindergarteners to 8th graders clamored for seconds of red, white, and blue potatoes. Outside the lunchroom, WHL continues to inspire young eaters in Madison schools through innovative hands-on activities including:

• Assisting Falk Elementary teachers in hosting farmer-educators and leading tasting lessons in their classrooms.
  

• Presenting another five-week local/seasonal food unit to 2nd and 3rd-graders at Mendota Elementary with Friends of Troy Gardens staff and UW Extension Nutrition Educators.
  

• Cheering on Sherman Middle School 8th-graders and Shabazz High School students as they show off their burgeoning kitchen skills by preparing breakfast for 300-plus farmers’ market shoppers under the inspired tutelage of chef Tory Miller.
  

• Working with Willy St. Co-op’s kitchen to bring a fresh classroom snack to 1,400 elementary students each week.
  

• Guiding 60 students from Lincoln and Falk Elementary Schools in hands-on learning about winter food production in hoop houses on their field trip to Snug Haven Farm (see video clip here: http://wkow.madison.com/Streamer/stream.php?url=/Video/playlist.php?ID=19575)

Whether it’s in the lunchroom or classroom or out on the farm, WHL and our many partners are creatively finding ways to expand the palates of students and empower them to make healthy food choices.  Learn more.

Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch is grateful for the incredible support we continue to get from parents, teachers and the greater community.  We're only able to make these strides in our schools because of those of you who believe as we do, that our kids are the key to a healthier future.  Thank you to:  The American Girl Fund for Children, The Madison Community Foundation, The Brico Fund, the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board, The Evjue Foundation, The Blooming Prairie Foundation, Deja Foods, and the many private donors who help keep this dream alive. 

 Burgers and Brew Sure to Be Another Fantastic REAP Event

REAP's Buy Fresh Buy Local program has come up with yet another way to showcase the great local fare of southern Wisconsin.  And this one's going to be a blast! Join the party when some of Dane County's most popular chefs team up with southern Wisconsin's talented brewers, farmers and cheese makers to serve up mouthwatering mini-burgers and satisfying suds at “Burgers and Brew: The Taste is Local” on Saturday, May 31st from 4-7 pm at Capital Brewery Bier Garten in Middleton.  

Unique burgers and veggie burger sandwiches will be specially prepared with locally raised meat or vegetables and will feature dynamite flavor combos using handcrafted Wisconsin cheeses. Guests will wash the tasty treats down with locally-brewed beers selected to uniquely compliment each chef's creation.  A variety of traditional and not-so-traditional burgers, veggie burgers, beers, and root beer will ensure variety and fun for all tastes.  

May 31st, 4-7 pm
Capital Brewery Bier Garten
7734 Terrace Ave., Middleton

Info and Tickets Online!

Best yet, this celebration will raise funds for REAP's Buy Fresh Buy Local program, which connects farmers and chefs all year round.  

Each $25 ticket gets you three mini-meal combos featuring a fabulous burger and brew tasting. Choose from eight all-star teams featuring chefs from The Weary Traveler, Bluephies, Fork and Spoon Café, The Old Fashioned, Brasserie V, Willy Street Co-op, Lombardinos and Ian’s Pizza. Each chef will pair with a brewer from one of the following: Furthermore Beer, Tyranena Brewing, Fauerbach Brewery, Capital Brewery, Ale Asylum, Lake Louie Brewing, Milwaukee Ale House and Sand Creek Brewing. Brewers and chefs will be joined by farmers and cheese makers in creating and serving the mini-meal. In addition to a beer featured with the burger, brewers will offer additional beers to sample.

Tickets are available at Willy Street Co-op or you may purchase them online. Additional beer sample tickets will be available at the event in 5 packs for $10.