By Tabitha Bland | Published: Jul. 22, 2025 at 10:03 PM CDT
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – In the United States, between 30 to 40% of the food supply goes to waste. The Farm to Food Bank program in Dane County is working to fix that.
Every week, Second Harvest buys produce that farmers at the weekly farmers market can’t sell.
Second Harvest Food Sourcing Coordinator Ben Auerbach explained that they buy up to 2,000 pounds of produce each week, which reinvests around $8,000 back into the local farming economy.
“To know that that they have some here to buy that produce each week, even if they have extra amounts of it from the season is just a core resource for them and core thing they can depend on,” said Auerbach.
Mary Uselman sells fresh produce at the farmers market and participates in the Farm to Food Bank program.
“It helps both ends out both Second Harvest and the farmer. There’s so much produce during the summertime and it’s hard to get rid of it at the market,” she said.
After the food is purchased from local vendors, it is delivered to a local foodbank.
“It’s a happy spot, looking at all that beautiful produce it brings joy to myself, to my volunteers and to our customers,” said Francesca Frisque, Director of Community Food Resources at the Goodman Center.
Frisque helps get the food from the truck into the center.
From there, it is brought to the produce pantry where food bank customers can take it home.
“Food pantry customers are just like your neighbor, just like your friend and they appreciate fresh and local produce just as much as you and I,” Frisque said.
The money used to purchase the food from farmers comes directly from donations to the Farm to Food Bank program.
The program continues every week while the farmer’s market is in operation.
