Extension’s Community Food Systems Program is providing no-cost virtual workshops for food entrepreneurs 10-11:15 a.m. every Monday from March 7 to April 4.
The session will cover topics such as:
- social media marketing
- best practices in personnel management
- aggregation and distribution
- culturally rooted food business development, and
- business development tools
March 7:Kristin Runge, Community Development Specialist with UW-Extension
Kristin will illustrate how food entrepreneurs can utilize social media to enhance their businesses brand reach.
March 14: Jim Versweyveld, Extension Farm Management Outreach Specialist
Jim will be focusing on topics such as farm leadership development, HR best practices, and employee safety and health. His talk will focus on how to hire and retain employees through improvements in management and workplace culture.
March 21: Panel representing unique food businesses
Speakers include Brian Gronski from Farmer’s Best in Green Bay, Trevor Drake of the Central Rivers Farm Shed in Stevens Point, and Christine Ameigh of Christine’s Kitchen in Madison. Each business represents a distinct model of local food business incubation, aggregation, and/or distribution.
March 28: Philomena Kebec, Bad River Enterprise Center and member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Philomena brings prior experience in her role as a policy analyst and attorney with the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission and will discuss her role in supporting the development of a commercial fishing company.
April 4: Jess Spayde, Extension Community Development Educator in southwestern Wisconsin
Jess will introduce participants to GrowthWheel, a business planning tool, to highlight key areas of business development business concept, operational set up, organizational processes, and customer relationships.
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/b8m3it
