A string of small restaurants in Milwaukee are sounding the alarm about rising costs and a decline in sales.

The post After closures, Milwaukee restauranteurs sound alarm about rising costs, decline in sales appeared first on WPR.

Hanna Lee is a cheesemaking assistant at Uplands Cheese Company in Dodgeville. This year she became the first American to be named "Young Cheesemonger of the Year" at the 2025 World Cheese Awards.

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Winter farmers markets are not new in Wisconsin, but a few communities have started them up recently.

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Flour Girl & Flame — a restaurant half the year and a mobile food truck the other half — is not your typical pizzeria. Owner Dana Spandet visited "The Larry Meiller Show" to spill secrets about her award-winning pies.

The post West Allis restaurateur slices through the pizza scene appeared first on WPR.

Wisconsinites are paying slightly more for their Thanksgiving meal this year, thanks in part to a higher cost for turkey.

The post Survey: Wisconsin families paying more for Thanksgiving dinner appeared first on WPR.

The preparation for the free Thanksgiving meals served in the West Bend area began months ago. For one of the organizers, the effort is what “Thanksgiving is supposed to be about.”

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"You should absolutely grind your own beans," said Ryan Castelaz of Discourse Coffee. "If there's one thing that you can do to increase the quality of your coffee at home, once you've bought the right beans for you, is to grind fresh at the time of brewing."

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Temperatures remained into the 80s well in the fall this year in parts of the Midwest. Agrivoltaics offers a respite to extreme heat and land access for new farmers.

The post Solar arrays supply shade — and land — for Midwest farmers appeared first on WPR.

“Community fridges” have been a hunger-fighting trend around the world, and Wisconsin organizers have followed suit as a means to offer free, fresh produce to anyone in the area in need.

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During a visit to WAFER Food Pantry in La Crosse on Monday, Gov. Evers said the state followed the judge's ruling in issuing the payments.

The post Evers calls out Trump administration for trying to claw back food assistance appeared first on WPR.

Gov. Tony Evers and the Trump administration wrangled over the state’s authority to issue food assistance payments the legal conflict played out in federal courts.

The post Evers says state food benefits remain available amid Trump appeal, USDA order appeared first on WPR.

Gov. Tony Evers said Wisconsin is restoring benefits for nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites who receive federal food aid.

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Milwaukee County is allocating $150,000 to help residents who rely on federal food assistance amid the ongoing government shutdown. 

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Gov. Tony Evers has declared a state of emergency and a period of "abnormal economic disruption" due to the ongoing federal government shutdown and a potential lapse in FoodShare benefits.

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Two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must continue to pay for SNAP, the nation’s biggest food aid program, using emergency reserve funds during the government shutdown.

The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island gave the administration leeway on whether to fund the program partially or in full for November. That also brings uncertainty about how things will unfold and will delay payments for many beneficiaries whose cards would normally be recharged early in the month.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program starting Nov. 1 because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown. The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net — and it costs about $8 billion per month nationally.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat and the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture committee that oversees the food aid program, said Friday’s rulings from judges nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama confirm what Democrats have been saying: “The administration is choosing not to feed Americans in need, despite knowing that it is legally required to do so.”

Judges agree at least one fund must go toward SNAP

Democratic state attorneys general or governors from 25 states, as well as the District of Columbia, challenged the plan to pause the program, contending that the administration has a legal obligation to keep it running in their jurisdictions.

The administration said it wasn’t allowed to use a contingency fund of about $5 billion for the program, which reversed a USDA plan from before the shutdown that said money would be tapped to keep SNAP running. The Democratic officials argued that not only could that money be used, but that it must be. They also said a separate fund with around $23 billion is available for the cause.

In Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell ruled from the bench in a case filed by cities and nonprofits that the program must be funded using at least the contingency funds, and he asked for an update on progress by Monday.

Along with ordering the federal government to use emergency reserves to backfill SNAP benefits, McConnell ruled that all previous work requirement waivers must continue to be honored. The USDA during the shutdown has terminated existing waivers that exempted work requirements for older adults, veterans and others.

There were similar elements in the Boston case, where U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled in a written opinion that the USDA has to pay for SNAP, calling the suspension “unlawful.” She ordered the federal government to advise the court by Monday as to whether they will use the emergency reserve funds to provide reduced SNAP benefits for November or fully fund the program “using both contingency funds and additional available funds.

“Defendants’ suspension of SNAP payments was based on the erroneous conclusion that the Contingency Funds could not be used to ensure continuation of SNAP payments,” she wrote. “This court has now clarified that Defendants are required to use those Contingency Funds as necessary for the SNAP program.”

For many, benefits will still be delayed after the ruling

No matter how the rulings came down, the benefits for millions of people will be delayed in November because the process of loading cards can take a week or more in many states.

The administration did not immediately say whether it would appeal the rulings.

States, food banks and SNAP recipients have been bracing for an abrupt shift in how low-income people can get groceries. Advocates and beneficiaries say halting the food aid would force people to choose between buying groceries and paying other bills.

The majority of states have announced more or expedited funding for food banks or novel ways to load at least some benefits onto the SNAP debit cards.

Across the U.S., advocates who had been sounding the alarm for weeks about the pending SNAP benefits cut off let out a small sigh of relief on Friday as the rulings came down, while acknowledging the win is temporary and possibly not complete.

“Thousands of nonprofit food banks, pantries and other organizations across the country can avoid the impossible burden that would have resulted if SNAP benefits had been halted,” said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, one of the plaintiffs in the Rhode Island case.

The possibility of reduced benefits also means uncertainty

Cynthia Kirkhart, CEO of Facing Hunger Food Bank in Huntington, West Virginia, said her organization and the pantries it serves in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia will keep their extra hours this weekend, knowing that the people whose benefits usually arrive at the start of the month won’t see them.

“What we know, unless the administration is magical, is nothing is going to happen tomorrow,” she said.

Kristle Johnson, a 32-year-old full-time nursing student and mother of three in Florida, is concerned about the possibility of reduced benefits.

Despite buying meat in bulk, careful meal planning and not buying junk food, she said, her $994 a month benefit doesn’t buy a full month’s groceries.

“Now I have to deal with someone who wants to get rid of everything I have to keep my family afloat until I can better myself,” Johnson said of Trump.

The ruling doesn’t resolve partisan tussles

At a Washington news conference earlier Friday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, whose department runs SNAP, said the contingency funds in question would not cover the cost of the program for long. Speaking at a press conference with House Speaker Mike Johnson at the Capitol, she blamed Democrats for conducting a “disgusting dereliction of duty” by refusing to end their Senate filibuster as they hold out for an extension of health care funds.

A push this week to continue SNAP funding during the shutdown failed in Congress.

To qualify for SNAP in 2025, a family of four’s net income after certain expenses can’t exceed the federal poverty line, which is about $31,000 per year. Last year, SNAP provided assistance to 41 million people, nearly two-thirds of whom were families with children.

“The court’s ruling protects millions of families, seniors, and veterans from being used as leverage in a political fight and upholds the principle that no one in America should go hungry,” Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said of the Rhode Island decision.

Judges order Trump administration to use emergency reserves for SNAP payments during the shutdown is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Local business owners and volunteers around the state are stepping in to bridge the gap for the 700,000 Wisconsinites who receive food assistance.

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A Wisconsin-themed episode of the actor’s new docuseries “Breaking Bread” is airing Sunday, Nov. 2.

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The government shutdown is creating uncertainty about whether a federal food benefit program that helps support pregnant people and young children will run out of money.

The post Moms and kids could lose federal food aid if the shutdown drags on, food advocates say appeared first on WPR.

A new cookbook of gravestone recipes honors the loved ones behind cherished family food traditions, including “Grandma’s Spaghetti Chicken Casserole” in Racine.

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In 2025, agriculture is no longer just about yield—it’s about survival. As climate volatility intensifies, land constraints tighten, and geopolitical shocks reshape supply...

The post Crop Science Innovation in 2025: The Frontline of Climate Resilience appeared first on Cleantech Group.