A Collaboration with FairShare
What Is Nourishing Wisconsin?
REAP Food Group and FairShare CSA Coalition are hosting our second Farm to Institution conference this November 11th, 2026 in Chippewa Falls!
We’re scaling up local food procurement by bringing together producers and buyers from across the state to build community knowledge and identify gaps for wholesale distribution to regional institutions. We’re lucky to have so many field experts in the state, and are excited to bring the community together for connecting and learning!
The upcoming conference in November will feature sessions on establishing fair terms, packaging and marketing, product standards, collaborating for local purchasing, and more! We’ll also be hosting a formal networking session at the conference, as well as an informal event the night before to get a chance to make extra connections.
2026 Conference Schedule
Tuesday, November 10th
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Optional Social Mixer at Market on River
Wednesday, November 11th
8:00 AM – Arrivals, Registration & Light Breakfast
8:45 AM – Welcome
9:00 AM – FIRST SESSIONS
Producer Session: Veggie Compass by John Hendrickson from CIAS
Buyer Session: Local Food Purchasing 101 by Tricia Phelps from Taste the Local Difference
10:30 Break
10:45 AM – SECOND SESSIONS
Producer Session: Packaging and Marketing for Institutional Sales by Tricia Phelps from Taste the Local Difference
Buyer Session: Collaborating for Local Purchasing with Bobbie Guyette from the School District of New Richmond and Jaime DeSmit from St. Croix Valley Food Alliance
12:15 PM – Lunch
1:15 PM – THIRD SESSION
Establishing Fair Terms: Buying and Selling between Local Farms and Institutions; a panel featuring Tracy Vinz from Olden Organics, Bobbie Guyette from the School District of New Richmond, and Josh Bryceson from The Good Acre moderated by Sam Odin from The Village Farmstead.
3:00 PM – Networking
4:00 PM – Closing Messages
4:30 PM – Conference Adjourned
Join the Community of Practice
Coordinating with the conference, we’re hosting a quarterly Community of Practice for organizations working on farm to institution programming to network, inform future conference sessions, and share knowledge.
Community of Practice Recordings
Conference Session Recordings
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2024-38640-42989 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number ENC24-241. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.
