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ORGANIZATIONS
AMOS is an interfaith coalition
of La Crosse area congregations committed to creating a more just and compassionate community. The AMOS volunteers work in
task forces to ‘cut’ complex social problems into specific ‘issues’ around which engaged citizens
can create new solutions or bring about positive change to existing policy or practice. The Food Inse- curity Task Force created Share the Bounty program to provide fresh produce to people who use area food pantries. (The Share the Bounty truck is located at Riverside Park and Onalaska farmers mar- kets so shoppers can donate any produce they purchase.) The lo- cally grown produce is collected by Share the Bounty and distributed to pantries by the Hunger Task Force of La Crosse. AMOS also sponsors “Preparing Garden Produce” cook- ing demonstrations and tastings
to help people learn how to make meals with in-season produce.
Clearwater Farm At Clearwater Farm in Onalaska, children who live in the city get involved in planting, maintaining and har- vesting a garden of vegetables, fruits and herbs. Clearwater Farm started in 1999 and is a nonprofit organization run by volunteer staff and families. The farm offers a variety of options and volunteer opportunities as well as sharing
in the garden’s harvest. Family membership is $40/year.
The mission of La Crosse Area YMCA’s Pioneering Healthier Communities program is “Be the spark that creates change to sup- port healthy living.” The program creates and sustains a collaborative environment that promotes and supports eating well and moving more. Projects range from install-
ing bike racks to improving healthy behaviors by creating healthier concession environments.
The La Crosse Seed Library, locat- ed in the La Crosse Public Library, allows people to check out heir- loom garden seeds to plant, grow, harvest and return to the library. As the only seed library in Wisconsin, it began in 2013 with initial seed stock from Seed Savers Exchange, Decorah, Iowa, one of the largest heirloom seed repositories in the world. One of the Seed Library’s goals is to increase education and awareness of heirloom seeds, seed saving and the importance of grow- ing and eating local foods.
Healthy eating and physical activ- ity are two priorities for the La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium, which publishes a health scorecard for 20 area coun- ties each year.
Formed in 2009, the La Crosse Healthy Living Collaboration (HLC) brought together local
groups working on nutrition, phys- ical activity and tobacco control. The mission of HLC is to make living tobacco free, eating healthy and being physically active the norm among La Crosse County residents. The goal: to make La Crosse County the healthiest coun- ty in Wisconsin. Many initiatives, such as the Farm2School program, FoodShare (EBT/Quest) and debit card acceptance at the Cameron Park Farmers Market, sprang from this collaboration.
Local food pantries and other or- ganizations that promote healthy eating with local foods include WAFER and Couleecap. The Hunger Task Force is a local food bank and runs the Food Recovery Program, which sup- ports a variety of organizations and programs.
Local colleges also support and promote a healthy local food system, including: UW-La Crosse, Viterbo University and Western Technical College.
Kelly Becker, co-chair of the La Crosse Public Library’s Seed Library, displays some of the more than 60 varieties of mostly heirloom seeds for vegetables, flowers and herbs.
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PHOTO: Peter Thomson, La Crosse Tribune