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, July 16, 2025  
6:00 PM  
Hybrid Meeting: Attend in person at the Lyman  
Anderson building 5201 Fen Oak Dr; Meeting Room  
Moraine (C); attend virtually via Zoom  
A. Call To Order  
Vice Chair NENNIG called the meeting to order at 6:25pm  
5 - CARL CHENOWETH, Vice Chair SHIRLEY NENNIG, ERICA JANISCH,  
SEBASTIAN HASSELL, and ADDI FAERBER  
Present  
4 - Chair BILL WARNER, DANIEL CORNELIUS, KERRY MARREN, and RICHELLE  
ANDRAE  
Excused  
OTHERS PRESENT: Andrew Hirst, Noah Bloedorn, Lindsey Day Farnsworth, Alder Tag Evers,  
Nicholas Leete, Josh Perkins, Hedi Rudd, Matthew Salbego, Devika Suri, Alder Bill Tishler, Nick  
Heckman, Rebecca Kemble, Jess Guffey Calkins  
ATTENDED BY ZOOM: NENNIG, JANISCH, FAERBER, HASSELL  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
MINUTES OF THE JUNE 18, 2025, FOOD COUNCIL MEETING  
2025  
MIN-186  
Attachments:  
2025 MIN-186  
Motion by FAERBER to approve minutes, Second by JANISCH. All in favor,  
motion carries (5-0).  
C. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda  
None  
D. Presentation  
Foodshed Partnership Project - Andrew Hirst, Community Action Coalition  
Presentation  
FOODSHED PARTNERSHIP PRESENTATION - 07-16-2025  
2025 PRES-078  
2025  
PRES-078  
Attachments:  
E. Reports to Committee  
Regular Business Reports  
- Dane County Food Action Plan - Noah Bloedorn via WARNER, Guffey Calkins  
We're currently in the midst of our community engagement phase, which wraps up in October.  
This phase is centered around getting out into the community, familiarizing people with the  
project, and getting their input into the issues they care the most about as it relates to food.  
After this phase we will begin Drafting the Food Action Plan and Policy Recommendations,  
using the input from the community engagement and literature review phases.  
Here's a look at what we've been up to, to make sure your voice is heard:  
What We've Been Doing:  
·
Out in the Community: We've been hosting lots of informational events, including our  
project launch, stakeholder meetings, and "State of the Food System" presentations.  
You might have seen us tabling at dozens of events across Dane County, actively  
listening and collecting your direct input on the food planning process.  
Partnering Up: We've also been distributing funds to community organizations. This  
helps them run their own engagement activities, ensuring we're reaching diverse  
groups with culturally-relevant outreach. Some of our partner organizations include  
Kennedy Heights, Lussier Center, Project Home, Sustain Dane, Dane Buy Local, Dane  
County Farmers Market, Rooted, Northside Planning Council, and others.  
Committees in Action: We've established 4 dedicated committees diving deep into key  
food system areas:  
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Edible Landscapes: Exploring how we can grow more food in our shared  
spaces.  
Commercial Rent Prices: Tackling the high costs and complexities food  
entrepreneurs face with commercial spaces.  
Workforce Benefits: Looking at ways to improve conditions and support for  
food sector workers.  
Food Resource Management: Focusing on reducing food waste and  
improving how food is recovered and distributed.  
Get Involved & Share Your Voice!  
Your input is shaping this plan. Here are ways you can still contribute and help spread the word:  
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Visit Our Website: Learn more about the project::  
<https://dane.extension.wisc.edu/community-food-systems/dane-county-food-action-  
plan/>  
Take Our Surveys:  
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Consumer Survey: <https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q27L2CL>  
Producer Survey: <https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HR28CHY>  
Subscribe to the newsletter:  
<https://dane.extension.wisc.edu/community-food-systems/dane-county-food-action-  
plan/facplan-newsletters/>  
Don't Miss Our Upcoming Events!  
We have many more opportunities for you to connect, learn, and share your thoughts. We'd  
love to see you there!  
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July 22nd | Brix Cider, Mt. Horeb  
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5:30 PM - 7:00 PM: State of the Food System Town Hall.  
August 2nd | Sun Prairie Sustainability Fair  
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Visit our table at this event!  
August 5th | The Madison Club  
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM: Dane County Food Collective’s State of the Food System  
o
Presentation and Town Hall. Happy hour (7:30-8:00 PM) followed by  
presentation and discussion.  
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August 7th | Parks Alive, Penn Park  
o
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Visit our table!  
August 11th | Lakeview Library (Northside)  
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5:30 PM - 7:30 PM: Northside State of the Food System Presentation & Town  
Hall.  
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August 12th | Vitruvian Farms  
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM: Future of Farming Panel. Networking followed by a panel  
discussion with various farmers.  
September 11th | Mt. Zion Baptist Church  
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Faith & Food Summit. Gathering of faith leaders and  
emergency food providers.  
September 27th | Yowela Farms (Stoughton)  
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2:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Harvest Gathering. Includes a State of the Food System  
Presentation and Town Hall.  
- Wisconsin Food Systems, Inc - CORNELIUS  
No report  
- Regional Agriculture & Food Sovereignty; Community Gardens - Nicholas Leete via Guffey  
Calkins  
Rooted’s community garden team, in the wake of decreased prospects of federal funding, has  
been making plans for reduced staffing for community gardens next year while looking for  
additional funding to stave off that possibility.  
We are also beginning to make plans for our community garden summit next February or  
March and are asking for topics from interested gardeners. Ongoing tours and workshops  
hosted at different community gardens throughout the county can be found at  
https://rootedwi.org/get-involved/events-calendar/  
- 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  
The USDA SNAP-Ed (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education) program was cut in  
the federal budget law that passed July 4. This program and funding are a major part of  
UW-Madison Extension’s FoodWIse program, which provides nutrition education in schools and  
community groups for low-income individuals. SNAP-Ed funding will end by Oct 1. Extension  
leadership is working out the specifics of these significant changes to the FoodWIse program.  
Upcoming educational events are listed on the UW-Madison Extension Dane County website:  
<https://dane.extension.wisc.edu/>.  
DCFC Action Plan reports  
- Policy - CHENOWETH  
No report  
- Food Access and Equity (PIE) - JANISCH, NENNIG  
No report  
- Community Engagement - WARNER  
No report  
- Organizational Capacity  
No report  
- Food System Resource Recommendations  
No report  
F. Announcements  
None  
G. Future Meetings Items and Dates  
8/20, 6pm  
H. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
None  
I. Adjourn  
A motion was made by CHENOWETH, seconded by JANISCH, to adjourn the  
meeting. All in favor, motion carries (5-0). The meeting adjourned at 6:42pm.  
Minutes respectfully submitted by Jess Guffey Calkins, pending council approval.