REAP Food Group

Ownership

REAP Food Group is a nonprofit organization founded by Madison residents and led by locally-rooted leadership. The organization was originally founded in 1997 under the name Dane County Research, Education, Action and Policy on Food Group by a diverse group of academics, elected officials, and citizens concerned about food issues.

Local Sourcing

The organization is committed to efforts that strengthen local supply chains and support sustainable Wisconsin farms. REAP's Farm to School program provides over 80,000 pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables for snacks and school lunches in the Madison Metropolitan School District exclusively from local sources.

Community Involvement

REAP's Farm to School program provides fresh food to schools, where kids learn about nutrition, sustainability, farming, and the local food system. Additionally, REAP created the Farms2Families program that purchases locally-raised food from local farmers and redistributes to Latino families, and UpRoot Food Truck brings fresh local food to parks across Dane County.

Local Workforce

REAP values diverse life experience in its staff, is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and strongly encourages multilingual/multicultural individuals and members of racial/ethnic minority groups to apply. Staff bios show long tenures and mission-driven hiring, though specific wage data is not available.

Revenue Retention

REAP is a nonprofit focused on building and sustaining a local food system across Southern Wisconsin that supports small family farms and locally-owned businesses. As a nonprofit, all revenue is reinvested in the mission rather than distributed to external shareholders, keeping community wealth local.

Local Presence

Strong local signals include specific Madison/Wisconsin references (Dane County, WI Farm to Business, Glou Glou restaurant), named local programs (Dane Co. Food Action Plan, Dane County Food Collective), and a mission-driven narrative about building local food systems. The single-location focus, local 608 phone number, and community-table language indicate grassroots rather than corporate positioning.