The Story of Our Food System

Dane County is home to one of the most vibrant and celebrated regional food systems in the United States. From the Dane County Farmers’ Market on the Capitol Square to award-winning farm-to-table restaurants, a world-class dairy industry, an extensive gardening culture, and deeply rooted support for local food, the County’s food identity is a source of great community pride. However, beneath the surface lies a set of persistent, structural challenges that, if left unaddressed, threaten to erode the foundations of that identity.

This project’s community engagement process revealed a population with a clear and consistent set of priorities. People want food that is fresh, local, affordable, and reflective of their culture and values. When asked what a thriving food system looks like, respondents across backgrounds described strikingly similar visions:

• The ability to purchase food close to home
• Access to community gardens, shared meals, and healthy food options
• A food economy that supports farmers, business owners, and their employees 
• Choices that reflect the diversity of the County’s cultures and cuisines

The analysis also revealed five themes that describe the challenges and concerns of the people who live in our food system:

1. Affordability – Amid an ongoing cost of living crisis, many families are forced to make hard choices related to food. The economic forces behind food insecurity extend far beyond Dane County and have recently pushed more families into unfamiliar territory where health and nutrition are secondary considerations to simply having enough.
2. Disparity – Access to food and the land that produces it is shaped by race, employment, housing status, language, culture, and more. Despite many celebrated aspects of our local food system, navigating a fragmented food system places disproportionate burdens on many households.
3. Consolidation – Large financial and corporate entities, grocery giants, and commodity producers are increasingly absorbing farmland, infrastructure, and the trusted retailers that support the growth and sale of diverse local products. 
4. Emergency Preparedness – The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of national supply chains and revealed the critical role that local producers and emergency food networks play in maintaining access during the next health, climate, economic, or political crisis. 
5. Excessive Waste – Food waste represents a double failure: an environmental burden and the inefficiency of connecting what is, at times, perfectly edible food to people who could benefit from it.

At the highest level, our food system consists of three major components: production, consumption, and infrastructure. What we make, what we eat, and how they connect. By using the above vision and themes as lenses to help understand the existing conditions in each of these three areas, we can build toward recommendations for change.