The UW-Madison Extension Community Food Systems Program will provide no-cost virtual workshops for small-scale food and farming business start-ups during Mondays in April, from April 1st to April 29th, at 2pm.
The sessions will cover topics such as:
- food licensing,
- food trucks,
- cooperative businesses and partnerships, and
- social media best practices.
“We are dedicated to assisting food and farming entrepreneurs in Wisconsin as they navigate the array of resources available to businesses. Our goal is to empower entrepreneurs to initiate or grow their ventures with increased support and prospects for success,” said Jessica Jane Spayde, Food Entrepreneurship Specialist at the Community Food Systems Program at UW-Madison Extension.
Monday, April 1 – Wisconsin Food Licensing: Getting Your Transient Retail License through DATCP. Join Extension Educator Jess Guffey Calkins and our guest food safety specialist to learn how to navigate the process for getting Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) licenses and inspections to sell at your local farmers market. Presenters will use examples of licensing for vendors selling eggs, meat, or produce.
Monday, April 8 – Making Money with Your Food Truck. Join Extension Specialist Addison Vang and the owner of Mi Mi Cafe food truck in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to hear the story of starting and growing a mobile food business and to get advice from a successful food truck operator.
Monday, April 15 – Complexities of Partnership: Important Partner Conversations for Your Food or Farming Business. Join Extension Specialist James Pyecroft and Co-op Development Specialist at the UW-Madison Center for Cooperatives Kelly Maynard to learn about what makes a good business partnership, taught through case studies of cooperative business startups.
Monday, April 22 – Food Safety in Wisconsin: Licensing for Your Mobile Food Business. Join Extension Educator Lissa Radke and our guest food safety specialist to learn the process for getting your Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) license to operate a mobile food business. This workshop is relevant for anyone who wants to serve food at a farmers market, festival, or food truck site.
Monday, April 29 – Strategic Social Media for Your Food or Farming Business. Join Extension Professor and Educator Patrick Nehring and Dr. Kristin Runge, Communication Research Specialist and Principal Investigator for the UW-Madison Division of Extension Economic Development Administration University Center, to learn about current research on social media that will help you be more strategic with your timing and messaging of your posts.
All workshops are free to the public and will be hosted on Zoom. Registration for the event is available online at: https://go.wisc.edu/p392xq.
For additional information about the workshops email Jessica Jane Spayde, Food Entrepreneurship Specialist at the Community Food Systems Program at the UW-Madison Division of Extension, at spayde@wisc.edu.
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