The Food + Farm Exploration Center is teaming up with Central Rivers Farmshed to feed the community.
Food + Farm is a science and technology center. The 50,000 square-foot building sits on 24 acres in Plover. The partnership is thanks to the “Farm Fresh and Free” grant from the Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin. Now, Farmshed can wash and package vegetables grown at the exploration center and distribute them to area food pantries.
“This partnership with Farmshed will allow us to take the vegetables grown in our demonstration fields used for education and share them with our community when they are harvested,” says Heath Dornfeld, operations and exhibits director. “We will be able to feed minds and bodies.”
Vegetables coming straight from the fields at the exploration center require minimal processing and packaging. This means food banks can accept them for distribution. Farmshed’s service of small-scale processing was a great solution. Processing the food will then allow for distribution to the partner pantries.
“Farmshed and the Food + Farm Exploration Center share a common need to better connect the communities they serve, to the food that nourishes them and give back through providing access to healthy whole foods,” said Trevor Drake, executive director of Farmshed. “Through sharing resources this project will annually provide our community with learning from the field to the processor and provide those at risk with empowering nourishment.”
It’s planting season in the exploration center’s demonstration fields. This year, sweet corn, snap beans, potatoes, peas, and cucumbers are going in the ground. Food + Farm’s team of educators will host programs connecting lessons in the Ag Stem Gallery to the fieldwork. The demonstration fields provide a key connection in strengthening our food system. Visitors to the exploration center will learn about the science modern farmers use to produce the food served in the café. Then, they head out into the fields and see it all happening.
