Dane County food council hears updates on Food Action Plan, county land leases and market programs

The Dane County Food Council met virtually and received progress reports on the county's Food Action Plan, county land-lease posting practices, and several local programs and events.

Jess, representing the Dane County Food Action Plan project team, said community engagement work is underway and that organizers are preparing a newsletter and a schedule of engagement dates. "I think we talked about it last meeting that was gonna be happening on May 1 at Pasture and Plenty, kind of like a stakeholder engagement event that went well," Jess said, adding that staff will email meeting dates and a first newsletter "probably get sent out a week from tomorrow."

Why it matters: the Food Action Plan is intended to gather community input that could inform future county initiatives and policy recommendations related to food access, distribution and local food systems.

Council members then discussed county land leases potentially available to growers. One member summarized conversations with the county real estate coordinator and procurement staff about where and when lease opportunities are posted. "They are posted online. It's just that, my understanding is that they try to have them all posted around August or September because they all will get contracted and the lease will start in January," the member said, describing the current timing and accessibility challenges for growers.

Meeting participants noted a few practical barriers: county parcels listed for lease may lack water or infrastructure, postings are concentrated late in the year, and finding listings requires either knowing what to search for or subscribing to the Dane County procurement website. The council was told that users can create a free account on the county procurement site and subscribe to a specific code to receive automated notices when land-lease solicitations are posted.

Council members said outreach could help make the procurement postings easier to find for growers who might benefit from mid-size plots or cooperative arrangements; they suggested exploring whether lease notices could also be posted or linked on the Extension website and through farmer networks.

Other brief reports and announcements included:

- Double Dollars: A council member said the Double Dollars program will run at participating farmers markets from June 1 through Oct. 31. (Program details and funding levels were not specified in the meeting.)

- Food Access & Equity grant winners: Council members said the county board approved the awards at a recent meeting and that the county executive plans a press release; members were asked to hold off announcing winners until the county's formal announcement.

- Events: Radhika, a council member, reminded members that YUT will host a "sustainability safari" on Wednesday, May 28, at the Henry Billak Zoo from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. "I'll be there the entire day," Radhika said.

- Membership change: A council member announced that Supervisor Brower Jay resigned from the food council, reducing membership to eight and leaving the quorum at five until a new supervisor appointment is made.

Meeting process and next steps: members said more outreach and data collection are needed before the council can move from discussion to formal policy recommendations on county land leasing. One member cautioned that developing policy will be a multi-month process. Jess said staff will circulate engagement dates and the newsletter when available and that the council will schedule a follow-up meeting in the coming weeks.

Votes at a glance: The meeting recorded two procedural motions'approval of the minutes and adjournment'which passed by voice vote; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript.

The council set its next regular meeting for June 18 and adjourned after the procedural votes.