Central Rivers Farmshed

Join us this Friday, August 21st for our official grand opening and ribbon cutting for the new kitchen at 12:00 PM! Everyone is welcome.

Stick around after the ribbon cutting until 2:00 PM for kitchen tours and a chance to chat with us about all things Farmshed operations. We’d love to see you there! 🎉🎉

📍1300 Maria Drive, Stevens Point, WI

Farmshed has been working hard for years on building out a shared kitchen space for budding entrepreneurs and the community at large. We are very excited to open up this space for everyone to share. Before we do that though we are sending out a call for Volunteers to help with the final shore up of the space. While much has been done we need a few extra hands to help move, clean and organize the space. So if you and anyone you know is willing to help we would love to show you the space, provide water and light refreshments and get down to work for a few hours!

DATE: 7/27 - 7/31
TIME: 5pm-7:30pm
PLACE: The Farmshed Kitchens at the Grove
1300 Maria Drive, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, 54481

We ask that you park in the front parking lot of the old convent and then walk to the back of the building where you will see signs up for volunteers. Any questions don’t hesitate to call or text Paul Giddings 715 252 1865.

We are very excited about this new chapter and it could not have been possible without the support of the community and volunteers like you!

Before Claire finished her internship with Farmshed, she wrote us another blog post giving guidance to introducing the concept of sustainable eating to kids. She offers ideas to slowly integrate practices and habits with young kids and teens. Read it today!

A message from Farmshed's Board:

Throughout the lengthy planning process of this move, we always assumed our first priority would be renting out the kitchen. This way we could generate revenue that would eventually fuel our community and food security work.

As we grew impatient, we found an opportunity to use our cherished refrigerated truck to join in on the food security work that the Food Hub and WI Regional Transport COOP are doing.

Paul turned out to be the perfect fit for Farmshed’s current situation. In his first month with Farmshed, he’s been driving all over the state picking up local produce from small farmers for delivery at food pantries & schools. When he’s not driving, he’s putting finishing touches on the new kitchen which is near completion. If everything keeps running as planned, it will be available for rentals before the end of the month.

Here’s what we need from our beloved Farmshed supporters:

1. Spread the word: New Driver Position!
While the work with the WI Regional Transport COOP has been an amazing fit for Farmshed, it’s slowing down progress with the kitchen. We need to hire a new driver to free up Paul to work with kitchen contracts. If you know someone, here are a few details you can share:
a. Our truck does not require a CDL to drive, but it’s VERY big, and requires some experience with that.
b. 30+ hours per week. Some of these routes are long, so these hours could be packed into 3 or 4 days per week. Starting pay is $20/hour, but will re-evaluate that in 6 months.
c. Physical: lifting required, 50+ lbs.
d. Contact for more details: Paul can be emailed at [email protected]

2. Save the Date for our grand opening to see the finished kitchen, anticipating June 27th. This will be a combined event with CREATE.

Thanks again for sticking with us through the quiet times, the desperate times and the messy times. We’re almost on the other side!

ATTENTION SMALL SCALE PRODUCERS! If you are interested in a unique opportunity to expand your business, Main Street America's Hartford Small Business Accelerator Program. Small scale producers and business interested in peer to peer learning and facilitated sessions on how to expand your business through scaling operations, expanding e-commerce, and increasing sales should contact Karen Margelofsky, [email protected], by June 7th if you are interested in being nominated.

For questions about the program, please contact:
[email protected]

For more details about the program, visit: https://tinyurl.com/5d3vjjuz

(Small scale producers can self-nominate, but priority will be given to producers nominated by Main Street Programs)

Still a couple of days left to get plants from Growing Collective! The same group of folks who brought years of past plant sales are still here to help you get your garden started as their own organization! Head out tomorrow and Thursday to get some plants🥕🌱🌻

See details below.

We have a new blog post up on our website written by our intern Claire! Claire brings her expertise in sustainable nutrition to offer a different perspectives and guidance about seasonal eating. Read our post here: https://www.farmshed.org/blog

We have more new faces with us at Farmshed! Aly and Claire are both UWSP students assisting Farmshed with making social media posts, writing blogs, and with the move to the new site. We are so happy to have them with us this spring!