Dane County  
Minutes - Final Unless Amended by  
Committee  
Food Council  
Consider:  
Who benefits? Who is burdened?  
Who does not have a voice at the table?  
How can policymakers mitigate unintended consequences?  
Wednesday, December 4, 2024  
5:30 PM  
Hybrid Meeting: Attend in person at the Lyman  
Anderson building, 5201 Fen Oak Dr, Madison, WI 53718;  
Meeting Room Moraine (C); Attend virtually via Zoom  
A. Call To Order  
Chair Warner called the meeting to order at 6:17 pm.  
6 -  
Present  
CARL CHENOWETH, Chair BILL WARNER, Vice Chair SHIRLEY NENNIG,  
DANIEL CORNELIUS, SEBASTIAN HASSELL, and ADDI FAERBER  
3 - ERICA JANISCH, JAY BROWER, and KERRY MARREN  
Excused  
Attended by Zoom: NENNIG, FAERBER, HASSELL, CORNELIUS, JANISCH  
OTHERS PRESENT: YGP member Radhika Gupta, Jess Guffey Calkins  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
A motion was made by FAERBER, seconded by NENNIG, to approve the minutes.  
All in favor, motion carries (6-0).  
Food Council Meeting Minutes - 2024.09.25  
2024  
MIN-292  
Attachments: 2024 MIN-292  
C. Public Comment on Items Not on the Agenda  
None  
D. Presentation  
-Dane County Food System Plan progress report and discussion  
This took place on the Madison Food Policy Council meeting. Additional discussion on  
DCFC.  
-Madison Public Market updates from MPM director Keisha Harrison  
This took place on the Madison Food Policy Council meeting.  
JANISCH joined at 6:22 pm.  
7 -  
Present  
CARL CHENOWETH, Chair BILL WARNER, Vice Chair SHIRLEY NENNIG, ERICA  
JANISCH, DANIEL CORNELIUS, SEBASTIAN HASSELL, and ADDI FAERBER  
2 - JAY BROWER, and KERRY MARREN  
Excused  
E. Action Item  
Organic Conversion Program funds  
Created in 2017, these funds offer up to $250/year, for up to 3 years, for farms converting  
to, or starting as, organic. Not many growers have inquired about or applied for these  
funds. There is still $2,000 remaining out of the original $3,000. DCFC discussed the  
idea that providing funds to support growers in obtaining Good Agricultural Practices  
(GAP) Certification may better address growers’ needs. GAP certification allows growers  
to access wholesale markets and also sell to schools.  
A motion was made by CORNELIUS, seconded by JANISCH, to authorize Jess to  
move forward with developing an application process for up to $250 for GAP  
certification (any year) while also looking at what resources can be available to  
support producers seeking this certification. All in favor, motion carries 7-0.  
F. Reports to Committee  
Regular Business Reports  
- Regional Food Action Plan (Regional Food System Partnership grant) – WARNER,  
Guffey Calkins  
Update was covered in presentation.  
Project website: https://dane.extension.wisc.edu/dane-county-food-action-plan/  
- Wisconsin Food Systems, Inc  
No report  
- Regional Agriculture & Food Sovereignty; Community Gardens – Guffey Calkins  
Regional Ag & Food Sovereignty (RAFS) meetings are open to all: 2nd Fridays, 1-2:30,  
Zoom.  
- Food Access; Double Dollars Program – Guffey Calkins  
No report  
- Public Health Madison & Dane County; City of Madison Business Development –  
Nick Heckman via Guffey Calkins  
No report  
- Extension/Dane County – Guffey Calkins  
County Executive Melissa Agard will hold upcoming evening listening sessions: 12/12 in  
Dane, 12/17 in Fitchburg, and 12/18 in Cottage Grove.  
https://www.danecounty.gov/PressDetail/11508  
Upcoming food systems educational events on the UW-Madison Extension Dane County  
website (https://dane.extension.wisc.edu/) include gardening education classes.  
DCFC Action Plan reports  
- Policy  
The Policy team met, and will start with land access policies recommendations. The  
group will meet again in January, and may be reaching out to some individuals to speak  
to DCFC.  
- Food Access and Equity (PIE).  
Draft 2025 PIE grant review timeline:  
- Fri 1/10/25 – Have 2025 application finalized  
- Mon 1/20/25 – Start announcing opening of PIE Food Project grants  
- Mon 2/24/25 – Close the grants (end of business). That gives applicants 5 weeks plus  
an additional weekend and Monday 2/26 to submit.  
- PIE review team reads 2/25-3/9/24; meets sometime between 3/10-3/21/24 to make  
decisions.  
- Fri 3/31/24 – Funding decision deadline.  
- Community Engagement  
No report  
- Organizational Capacity  
No report  
- Food System Resource Recommendations  
No report  
Council Discussion  
- 2025 Meeting dates  
DCFC will keep the 1/22/25 meeting for now, and will determine whether to switch to a  
different regular meeting date.  
G. Announcements  
- (FAERBER) Farm Fresh Atlas listing process is open for 2025.  
https://farmfreshatlas.org/.  
H. Future Meeting Items and Dates  
1/22/25  
I. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
None  
J. Adjourn  
A motion was made by CHENOWETH, seconded by HASSELL, to adjourn the  
meeting. All in favor, motion carries 7-0. Adjourned at 6:59 pm.  
Minutes respectfully submitted by Jess Guffey Calkins, pending committee approval.