Welcome to the St. Croix Falls Buy Local Project
In July of 2008, the City of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, began work on its Buy Local project through a grant from the Americorps VISTA program. This three year grant provided for two full-time volunteers, Arianne Peterson and Julie Hildebrand. As of June of 2009 the City of St. Croix Falls received an additional VISTA volunteer, Katelin Holm. These volunteers have created this site to communicate with the community of St. Croix Falls and other communities interested in creating a buy local movement. We hope you will check in often to learn more about what our community has to offer locally, and follow our blog.
Arianne's focus is specifically on local food. Through this site, you'll be able to learn more about where you can find local food resources--from farm stands to markets, stores, and restaurants. You can also keep track of the progress we're making in building a food system that allows institutions like our schools, medical center, and nursing home to easily connect with local farmers.
Julie's project is to create a Buy Local culture for the SCF community, and to promote the use of locally made products in our businesses. This site will showcase what SCF businesses have to offer in product and services. Soon there will be a web store on this site to purchase products with our Buy Local Thrive Local logo, and the VISTA blog postings showcase fun "doings" in the world of the three SCF VISTA's.
Katelin is working to enhance self-reliance in the St. Croix Falls community by producing a local skills database and facilitating the organization of re-skilling workshops in the area of food production, arts and culture, and nature. Efforts will focus on the incorporation of community member’s skills, ideas, and needs so if you have a skill to share or are interested in education in a specific area please contact Katelin at kholm[at sign]cityofstcroixfalls.com.
All of this work will help to create a vibrant sustainable community, so check in often and see what exciting things are happening in our town!The SCF Buy Local project is fortunate to partner with many wonderful organizations including:
- Americorps VISTA
- City of St. Croix Falls
- SCF Chamber of Commerce
- SCF Business Improvement District
- St. Croix Regional Medical Center
- Land Stewardship Project & St. Croix Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign
- Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch
- Polk County UW - Extension
