Food With Purpose: How Tend & Table Feeds Wisconsin’s Communities

Good Food That Gives Back: How Tend & Table Feeds Wisconsin’s Communities

There’s a special kind of joy that comes from biting into a carrot grown just a few miles from home or roasting a chicken that you know was pasture‑raised on a small Wisconsin farm. At the breakfast table or around a potluck spread, those flavors carry stories: of farmers who wake before dawn, of neighbors who trade recipes at pickup sites and of a community that believes in feeding one another. Tend & Table was born from those stories and from a crisis that threatened them. This story was even featured on NBC 26’s local news report, which highlighted how the program makes fresh Wisconsin food accessible while supporting small farms.

Why Tend & Table Exists

In 2024, Wisconsin’s local food system suffered a major blow: more than $3.6 million in institutional food contracts vanished, leaving over a hundred local farms suddenly without buyers. That loss didn’t just hurt farmers; it also meant fewer fresh fruits and vegetables for families across the state. Tara Roberts‑Turner, general manager of the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative (WFHC), watched the fallout and knew something had to change. Working with producers from every corner of the state, she helped create Tend & Table: a statewide subscription box aimed at rebuilding markets for farmers and making local food more accessible.

From the beginning, Tend & Table has been about purpose. It’s not a national meal kit, nor is it your typical CSA. It’s a farmer‑led service designed to strengthen the middle of the supply chain and reconnect communities with their food. Each purchase supports over a hundred small and mid‑sized farms and funds donations of fresh produce to food pantries, ensuring that buying local also means giving back.

Supporting Farmers Across Wisconsin

Walk through the Tend & Table packing facility and you’ll see produce, pasture‑raised meats and dairy from farms across Wisconsin. These aren’t anonymous ingredients from a global supply chain; they’re the harvests of your neighbors. The Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative sources food from more than a hundred farms statewide. Some of these farmers lost institutional contracts when federal programs were cut, and Tend & Table now offers them a reliable market.

“They've got a bunch of different products from the north to the south, to the east and the west, and we're able to pull a little bit from all of them to include in our boxes every week,” said program lead Kendra Forseth during a news interview.

By buying a box, customers keep these farms in business and help rebuild the infrastructure needed to get local food from farm gate to family table. Unlike many subscriptions that lock you into long commitments, Tend & Table offers flexible weekly and monthly options. You can choose produce, meat, or a lower‑cost FarmShare Box (a blend of both) for families on a budget.

More Than a Box: Feeding Neighbors in Need

Food insecurity isn’t just a statistic; it is a reality for thousands of Wisconsin families. Recognizing that, Tend & Table baked generosity into its business model from day one. Every purchase funds fresh food donations: a portion of each sale goes directly to local food pantries. Customers can also donate an entire box that will be delivered to a family facing hunger. As Forseth noted in the NBC 26 story, this program is about getting produce to places where people might not otherwise be able to get it.

The Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative, which operates Tend & Table, also supports several community food partnerships statewide. In August 2023, WFHC announced that its collaboration with the Jefferson Food Pantry was supplying more than two tons of fresh produce each week. Volunteers greet visitors with colorful carts of fruits and vegetables, share recipes, and make guests feel like they’re shopping at a farmers’ market. Sara Ariss, the pantry’s interim director, said fresh produce is “crucial for the health and well-being” of seniors and families facing economic hardship.

Easy for You, Transformative for the Community

Signing up for a box isn’t just convenient; it’s an act of community care. Here’s what happens when you subscribe:

• You get peak‑season food: Tend & Table’s produce and meat boxes highlight what’s freshest each week. Think strawberries in June, sweet corn in August and winter squash in October.
• You support small farmers: Each purchase keeps more than a hundred family farms afloat and rebuilds the supply chain they depend on.
• You nourish a neighbor: A portion of every sale funds food pantry donations, and you can easily sponsor a box for a family in need.
• You build resilience: By choosing local food, you help restore markets lost when institutional contracts vanished, making Wisconsin’s food system stronger for everyone.

Get Involved

The work doesn’t end with subscriptions. Tend & Table also offers fundraising programs for schools and community groups. It’s an easy way to raise money by selling something everyone needs: fresh, local food. If you’re looking for a meaningful gift you can buy a box for a friend or family member. You can even donate a FarmShare box for less than $45 and know it will land on the table of a neighbor who needs it.

Local food isn’t just a trend; it’s a lifeline. Tend & Table proves that a simple weekly box can connect families with farmers, strengthen rural economies and feed hungry neighbors all at once. That’s why you’ll find folks across Wisconsin lining up to pickup their Tend & Table boxes and feeling good about where their food comes from. Join them. Your dinner plate can be part of something bigger.