Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Current Competitive Grant

Research and development of an online local foods buying club cooperative

Project ID: M2011-03

This 2-year grant for $48,490 was awarded in 2011.

Location: Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Poweshiek, Tama, Washington counties

The project seeks to develop the Iowa Valley Food Cooperative (IVFC), a web-based, direct to consumer, marketplace for food, fiber and other producers in eastern Iowa. A case study of the cooperative will be developed so that it can be replicated elsewhere and linked with other cooperatives such as the Iowa Food Cooperative that is based in Des Moines.

Jason Grimm

Jason Grimm Jason Grimm is the Food System Planner with Iowa Valley RC&D in Amana, IA. He is the project director of the Iowa Valley RC&D's Regional Food Initiative. He coordinates the Linn-Johnson Local Food Task Force in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City metropolitan region. In addition to Jason's professional career at the Iowa Valley RC&D he is a beginning farmer and partner in his family's small family farm near Williamsburg, IA. Jesse Singerman is the past President of the Organic Trade Association and the National Cooperative Bank Development Corporation. She currently serves on the board of directors of Frontier Natural Products Co-op, Taproot Nature Experience for Children, and the Riverside Theater; as well as on the Leonardo Academy Standards Development Committee of the National Standard for Sustainable Agriculture Practices. In addition, Jesse is an Adjunct Lecturer for the for the University of Iowa MBA program where she teaches "Introduction to Sustainable Business" a course she developed in 2009.

Co-Investigator(s):

Christina Elwood-Gehrke, Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development; Jesse Singerman, Prairie Ventures LLC


This competitive grant project is part of the Leopold Center's Marketing Initiative.

Topics: Market research and feasibility studies, Supply networks