Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Current Competitive Grant

Establishing shared-use processing facilities at three possible locations in central and south central Iowa

Project ID: M2012-06

This 1-year grant for $21,000 was awarded in 2012.

Location: Lucas, Polk counties

The nonprofit Neighborhood Investment Corporation has been working with the Iowa Food Cooperative to develop a shared-use processing facility in the unused kitchen at the Robert W. Mickle Neighborhood Resource Center in Des Moines. The kitchen is a potential location for the development of new food-related small business enterprises. In addition to the Mickle Center, two additional sites will be analyzed as potential locations; a former bakery in the historic district of Valley Junction of West Des Moines and an existing kitchen in Chariton, Iowa.

Jack C. Porter

Jack C. Porter Jack C. Porter is a preservation consultant for the State Historical Society of Iowa. He has over thirty years of experience in public service roles in Iowa, and currently serves as president of the Board of Directors for the Neighborhood Investment Corporation in Des Moines. Formerly he worked as the program coordinator of the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service and the executive director of the Sherman Hill Association. He received his master degree in Architecture from Iowa State University. [Contact lead investigator]

Co-Investigator(s):

Gary Huber, Iowa Food Cooperative


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

Topics: Business management, distribution and marketing, Community-based food systems