Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture

Cisa's local hero program educates the Community about the many benefits of local Agriculture. The local hero program markets local farm products through social media, cisa's website, and press outlets. in 2023, members in cisa's local hero program included 285 farms and 116 retailers, restaurants, institutions, and specialty producers. in 2023, cisa's highlights of local farms were featured in articles, radio, and tv news stories; in over 400 radio, tv, and print ads and psa's; and over 1 million impressions via online advertising. Nearly 20,000 people receive monthly email or social media updates. Cisa's website played a critical role in connecting people to local farms and had 80,000 users and 301,000 page views.

Through our food access program, cisa expands access to local food for consumers with limited spending power. Cisa provided 700 low-income seniors with a summer farm share and educated them and service providers about the benefits of fresh, local food. We support mobile markets in accepting ebt/snap and hip (a state-run incentive program for local fruits and vegetables) and in outreach and communications to potential customers.

Cisa provides farmers with essential support and technical assistance on nearly all aspects of running their businesses. in 2023, cisa had specific funding to support beginning farmers, farmers who sell direct to consumers, and farmers markets. We continue to provide assistance on climate change adaptation as well as business, finanical, and market planning and decision making. A total of 402 farms, businesses, farmers' markets and service providers attended 322 workshops and technical assistance consultations.

Growing the local food system: cisa researches food system gaps and creates opportunities to build the local food economy. in 2023, we helped develop and support farmers in accessing climate and disaster recovery resources.