Institutional Food Market Coalition
Posted November 2008
Doug Wubben and Michelle Miller attended the Institutional Food Market coalition meeting at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). 38 participants heard from institutional food service buyers about their experiences purchasing from the Badgerland Produce Auction and the other three local food auctions around the state. Local food purchasing among the coalition members experienced a five-fold increase this past year. In 2007, four institutions purchased 19,000 pounds of produce, representing $11,000 in sales. In 2008, 16 institutions (including 3 distributors), purchased 92,000 pounds of produce, representing $54,000 in sales. The coalition launched a new web site at www.ifmwi.org to give institutional buyers a sense of the playing field for buying local. The site will be expanded to include information on other venues for wholesale, large volume purchasing of local food beyond produce auctions.
