The Dane County Office of the Executive issued a proposal for a $1.7 million increase in funding for the “Farm to Food Bank” program Wednesday, according to a press release from the County Executive’s Office.

According to The River Food Pantry Director of Operations Helen Osborn-Senatus, the “Farm to Food Bank” program allows local farmers to sell their produce to Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, who supply food to agencies like The River. It was created during the COVID-19 pandemic as a solution to individuals needing more food assistance and the agricultural industry facing supply chain issues.

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said the Farm to Foodbank program supports the local farming community by creating a market for their products.

“The Farm to Food Bank was a program through which we would give money to Second Harvest to buy fresh local food from our farmers and growers,” Parisi said. “And this was a great way to provide more fresh, healthy food for those in need and at the same time support our local farm community.”

According to the release, the original proposal for the 2024 county budget included $6 million in funding for the program, but was reduced by $1.5 million by the Dane County Board of Supervisors. The new proposal would restore this reduction and draw unallocated federal dollars from the 2021 American Rescue Plan, according to the release.

Since 2022, demand for services from The River Food Pantry, which is located in Madison, has gone up by 30%. The increase in funding will help meet that demand, Osborn-Senatus said.

“This hits our development team, because now there’s funding available so they have some support with the budget as they’re trying to raise and bring in the money for us next year,” Osborn-Senatus said. “And in operations, this means that as I’m looking for different goods and products, I don’t have to worry as much about being able to purchase good, fresh, whole produce, because we’ll be able to get more of it at no cost to us.”

The proposal was introduced at the Dane County Board of Supervisors meeting Thursday evening and is expected to be reviewed by the full board in the coming weeks.