TUE AM News: Wisconsin Grocers Association raising concerns over proposed FoodShare cuts; Recovery.com acquires RedFox AI, plans new tech development

May 27, 2025

— The Wisconsin Grocers Association is raising concerns about “deep cuts” to FoodShare included in the federal budget reconciliation bill.

FoodShare is the state’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food benefits to low-income recipients. WGA says the program is a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of state residents, as well as a key part of local retail food economies.

According to the association, the program “helps make it financially viable” for grocers and other small retailers to keep brick-and-mortar stores open in some communities. Under the budget bill, the group argues FoodShare reductions would put an increased burden on local grocers, food banks and others.

Mike Semmann, president of the WGA, says some local grocery stores may shut down without additional support if FoodShare is cut.

“Grocers will always step up — we always have,” Semmann said in a statement. “But we can’t do it alone, and some grocery stores shouldn’t have to pick between keeping their doors open and feeding their neighbors.”

The state Department of Health Services says the cuts to SNAP would cost Wisconsin taxpayers $314 million per year and put 90,000 people at risk of losing their benefits. The program provides benefits to nearly 700,000 state residents, DHS says.

“This is over a quarter billion dollars each year that Wisconsin couldn’t use for our health care, our roads, our schools, or our economy,” Wisconsin Medicaid Director Bill Hanna said in the DHS release.

The agency says working families in the state generate $1.50 in economic activity for every $1 in SNAP benefits provided. And DHS notes the state’s payment error rate of 4.41% is among the lowest in the country.

“These errors are not fraud,” the agency said. “For the first time ever, Congress is proposing an extreme, zero tolerance policy for payment errors harming states like Wisconsin that consistently keep error rates low.”

The WGA is also applauding federal lawmakers for “making permanent tax relief a reality” for small businesses, referencing another provision in the reconciliation bill. Semmann is thanking the Trump administration and policymakers for the “big win” on taxes included in the legislation. The bill would expand a tax deduction available to small businesses and make it permanent, according to a document from the White House.

“But let’s be clear: while some will take the tax benefits and move on, Wisconsin’s grocers and economic stakeholders will be the ones left to safeguard our communities when FoodShare dollars disappear,” Semmann said.

Meanwhile, the head of Green Bay’s Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative says the reconciliation bill includes multiple provisions that are “favorable to dairy farmers,” including a $56.4 billion increase for farm bill programs.

“We appreciate the support of the House leadership and members of Congress that helped deliver movement on several key policy priorities for Edge dairy farmer members,” CEO Tim Trotter said in a statement.

The legislation would extend the Dairy Margin Coverage Program, which helps farmers manage market risk, through 2031 while expanding certain commodity programs. Plus, it would expand conservation programs, put more money toward animal health efforts and more, the co-op notes.

Trotter says the group will work to “ensure these critical provisions for the dairy industry remain at the forefront as the bill moves over to the Senate for consideration.”

See more perspectives on the reconciliation bill at WisPolitics.

— The head of Recovery.com says acquiring Madison-based startup RedFox AI will enable the creation of new AI-based tools for helping people connect with treatment.

Ben Camp, CEO and fo-founder of Recovery.com, says AI is a powerful tool for advancing the company’s mission of building the best online resource for finding mental health and addiction treatment. The Madison company recently announced the acquisition.

He notes the business has already begun incorporating AI into its platform, and “the addition of the RedFox team will help us accelerate that work while keeping trust, safety, and patient focus at the center.”

Recovery.com has been recognized as the fastest-growing company in Madison, and was among the top 4% of the 2025 Inc. 5000 list, the announcement notes. Its platform lists offerings from more than 20,000 providers.

RedFox AI, led by co-founders Nick Myers and Brett Brooks, has developed a voice-based AI assistant called Navigator. It’s meant to help users conduct at-home diagnostic tests based on official instructions and was designed to limit “hallucinations,” a term for when AI produces false or misleading information.

Both of the startup’s co-founders are joining Recovery.com, with Myers taking on the role of director of AI innovation. He will lead the company’s efforts to integrate AI across internal operations and the user-facing product, according to the announcement. Meanwhile, Brooks will join the engineering team to help scale AI features across the platform.

The leaders of both companies have worked in the same location for years, at the co-working space and startup hub StartingBlock Madison.

Myers, who recently joined the board of directors for the Wisconsin Technology Council, says “we’ve always admired their mission” since meeting the leaders of Recovery.com in 2021.

“It’s been incredible witnessing their momentum firsthand,” Myers said in a statement. “Joining forces allows us to apply our technology and experience where it matters most — helping people get the right care, faster.”

Meanwhile, Recovery.com board member and HealthX Ventures Managing Partner Mark Bakken says the acquisition marks “a proud moment” for Madison’s startup community.

“I’ve gotten to know Nick and the RedFox team over the past couple years and I’ve been impressed by their focus on building patient-centric AI solutions … This kind of creative partnership is exactly the type of thing that moves digital health forward,” he said in a statement.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Listen to earlier WisBusiness podcasts with Camp and Myers.

— GOP lawmakers are circulating legislation that would allow Wisconsin fairs that get state funding to serve hard liquor and apply for bingo and raffle licenses.

Rep. Rob Kreibich of New Richmond and Sen. Cory Tomczyk of Mosinee recently sent a cosponsorship memo on the bill to other lawmakers. It would change a law related to state aid that DATCP provides to counties and other organizations that host local fairs to cover the cost of prizes paid out to exhibitors. That aid is capped at $20,000 per fair, which claimants must apply for within 30 days after the fair.

Under current law, the itemized statement used to apply for the funding must state that gambling devices, the sale of intoxicating liquors and “exhibitions of immoral character” were prohibited from the fairgrounds. The bill would remove the requirement that this statement is included, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.

The bill is being circulated at the request of the Wisconsin Association of Fairs, the memo shows. A total of 73 county and district fairs get this state funding for exhibitor premiums.

Along with being able to serve hard liquor and apply for raffle and bingo licenses, fairs would “no longer be the interpreter of what is considered immoral character,” the bill authors wrote in the memo.

“Bingo and raffles have proven to be popular ways to raise money and create excitement, and fairs would like to add these as additional “revenue streams” to their events,” authors wrote. “They’d also like to offer “Bloody Mary Sunday Specials” but cannot do so because it would violate the state statute.”

The cosponsorship deadline is June 10 at 5 p.m.

See the memo.

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