Story originally printed in the Westby Times or online at www.westbytimes.com

Published - Monday, April 14, 2008

Access to locally-grown foods to be discussed at meeting in Viroqua

GreenLeaf Market is partnering with Viroqua Food Cooperative and Valley Stewardship Network to provide both the training and tools necessary for local farmers to connect with local food service providers via the Internet.

The training/meeting is free of charge and is scheduled for Monday, April 28, in Room 115 at Western Technical College-Viroqua Campus at 7 p.m.

All farmers and producers wanting to market their product to local businesses are invited to attend as well as local restaurants and grocers wishing to provide locally sourced ingredients.

Aimed at reducing the amount of time it takes to source, purchase and manage local food purchasing programs, GreenLeaf utilizes a shared online system to reduce costs and improve efficiencies for all parties.

The training is being co-sponsored by the Viroqua Food Cooperative, a Viroqua grocery co-op that is committed to supporting local agriculture and the Valley Stewardship Network, an area nonprofit working to encourage the development of a sustainable, local food system.

GreenLeaf Market is designed to give local family farmers the same marketing and Internet benefits as a large farming operation. The site offers the benefits of a national marketing cooperative while allowing each farm to keep their individual autonomy. GreenLeaf provides easy to use tools and training to reach new customers, and streamline relationships with their existing customers. Funded by both the National Science Foundation and the state of Wisconsin, GreenLeaf Market is proud to launch this service and training in the state of Wisconsin.

Space is limited. so sign-up early. Contact Jessica at the Valley Stewardship Network, 637-3615 or vsn@frontiernet.net, to register.

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