Since its founding in 1984, Stepping Stones of Dunn County has been an invaluable resource to those facing food insecurity in Northwest Wisconsin. In 2024 alone, Stepping Stones distributed 816,000 pounds of food through their food pantry, serving over 5,000 people in the Menomonie community and beyond.
Mike Racette is the Coordinator for Farmers Feed Dunn County, a Stepping Stones program that partners with Dunn County farmers for the purpose of getting a regular supply of local, fresh food into the hands of the community. In his role, Mike coordinates the receipt of food donations, some purchases, and Stepping Stones’ Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance (WI LFPA) Program grants.
As a beneficiary of the WI LFPA Program, Stepping Stones received local food deliveries through the WI LFPA Direct to Farmer grant. Mike was also involved with managing a 2024 WI LFPA Community Partner grant titled, “Farmers Feed Dunn County - Food Diversification Initiative,” which aimed to expand the Farmers Feed Dunn County program by acquiring protein from local producers and diversifying produce for distribution to underserved communities in Dunn County.
“Because of our background and our prior connections, we were able to very quickly get involved with WI LFPA,” Mike said.
Mike encouraged area farmers to apply for Direct to Farmer grants for the 2023 and 2024 WI LFPA growing seasons. Farms accepted into the program were awarded guaranteed contracts for the season, with their products going to food access programs locally and around the state. The Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative (WFHC) coordinated transportation of the products from the farms to food access sites like Stepping Stones.
“The WFHC always did their best to accommodate our product requests,” Mike said. “And because we're open six days a week, we were able to receive products virtually any time.”
Stepping Stones was noticing a need for more animal protein at the pantry, which was the catalyst for their Community Partner grant program. Mike coordinated with farmers in the area that produced eggs, meat, and a diverse array of produce to regularly supply the pantry.
“Every Wednesday we have an egg producer that brings farm fresh eggs which is so great,” Mike said. “We also have a grower who provides just a really nice mix of summer fresh vegetables.”
Products procured through Stepping Stones’ Community Partner grant also supply Project SAM (Share-A-Meal), a weekend kids’ meal program. Mike works with Mary Dirty Face Farm to provide apples for the kids.
“For the farm it's great,” Mike said. “There's a guaranteed market with a price that works for them. And for us we have local apples. People know where those apples come from. I hope the funding can continue because we would simply just not be able to do that without this grant.”
As a farmer himself, Mike is knowledgeable about working with and purchasing from farmers. In 1992 Mike and his wife, Patty Wright, founded Spring Hill Community Farm in Prairie Farm, WI. The farm was managed collectively with the foundational values of environmental stewardship, economic justice, and growing community. After nearly 30 years of operating a full-time CSA, Mike and Patty scaled down the operation in 2020 and have shifted more of their time towards organizations like Stepping Stones.
Despite being well connected with other farmers in the Dunn County area, Mike still uses the Wisconsin Local Food Directory to find more farmers near him based on the products they have available. In 2024 he used the directory to connect with Jeremiah’s Bullfrog Fish Farm to provide trout for the pantry.
“Jeremiah's Bullfrog Fish Farm is just south of Menomonie and they've been a provider of these absolutely wonderful fresh frozen trout fillets to the pantry via the WI LFPA Program,” Mike said. “I saw that they were in the directory this year and had been awarded a Direct to Farmer contract. So, I reached out to them through the directory and we were able to have a conversation about them providing trout to Stepping Stones every Friday.”
The Wisconsin Local Food Directory is maintained by Wisconsin Farmers Union as part of the WI LFPA Program with the goal of connecting food access organizations to area farmers.
“[The trout] is an absolutely fantastic and very popular product, but not anything that we could ever afford to purchase on our own,” Mike said. “WI LFPA made it happen.”
Mike uses the Wisconsin Local Food Directory at the beginning of each season. He is able to see if new farms have been added and what products they have available. Currently the Directory lists over 85 different farms across the state. Wisconsin Farmers Union members are eligible to list their farm on the Directory at no cost. Cara Vellender is a staff member with Wisconsin Farmers Union who manages the Wisconsin Local Food Directory and assists Directory users in connecting with farmers and buyers.
“We hope that, through the Wisconsin Local Food Directory, more local producers will be able to connect with buyers in order to strengthen local food markets and that we can continue to connect communities with the healthy foods that local producers offer,” Cara said.
Over the last 38 years Stepping Stones has operated on the belief that all people have the right to nutritious food and that sufficient resources exist in the community to prevent hunger. Mike is proud of the work that Stepping Stones has done to serve the community.
“We’ve heard from volunteers and guests that the food at Stepping Stones is better than what they can get in the grocery store,” Mike said. “To me, that’s how I know this is working and we're doing well. My goal is to have the best locally grown farm products available because everybody deserves good food.”
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