Recognition for Loretta’s important work in building Dane County’s local food systems.

Planter Award given by:
Dane County Food Council
210 Martin Luther King, Jr. #362
Madison, WI 53703

Loretta worked at the Williamson Street Grocery Cooperative (WSGC) in Madison, ensuring that local and (where possible) organic food was available to the store’s diverse and growing membership. Her vision for and commitment to building a local food system was unwavering, and Loretta’s enthusiasm for local procurement spilled over into other store departments, resulting in a robust array of local products in every retail category at WSGC. She developed one-on-one relationships with hundreds of local produce farmers over the years. She helped them to understand what she needed to market their products effectively and she guided local farmers to plant with WSGC customers in mind.

Loretta took great care to cultivate right relations with farmers, negotiating fair prices and other agreements which resulted in long, satisfying relationships between the store and its suppliers. Loretta accomplished much of this without a road-map, working with her farmer-suppliers to create a system that was mutually beneficial. This system is still intact and self-organizing, allowing subsequent co-op produce managers to pick up where she left off. After leaving WSGC in 2006, she continued work in this vein, assisting over 40 midwest produce managers in their efforts to build sustainable local agreements with area farmers to supply their local markets. She continues to consult with individual stores on local food procurement, a testament to her dedication to building local food systems in Dane County and beyond.

Nominated by:
Michelle Miller, Associate Director
John Hendrickson, Outreach Specialist – fresh market growers
University of Wisconsin – Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (608-262-5200)