Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Local food, local government: Farm to Fork program a success

Back to Leopold Letter Summer 2009

By ALLISON SEVERSON, Leopold Center Communications Intern

 “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -- Attributed to Margaret Mead

Mead’s quote holds true for most successful local food systems that have been established in Iowa. One good example is in Pottawattamie County, where a brainstorming session led to creation of a local food council and a thriving local food economy.

From the farmers and food processors to the retail outlets and consumers, all play a part in making the community food system effective. What started as a few people talking about a need for more local food and producers has sparked booming farmers markets and more community members gathering together.

These changes began when Shirley Frederiksen, Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development, and Melvin Houser, Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors, started to talk about the need for more local food and producers.

Getting government involved
As an elected government official, Houser thought that just as the government supports current farming practices, public health, wellness and tourism, it was about time for the government to be involved in the promotion of a local and regional food system. He and Frederiksen envisioned the benefits stretching across many areas, from tourism to public health.

A Leopold Center grant helped their ideas become a reality when they applied for and were awarded a two-year grant for the project, Pottawattamie County Farm to Fork. Now in its second year, the project aims to develop a mentor program and a strategic plan that will increase the production of locally-raised food in southwest Iowa.

Farm to Fork is part of the Southwest Iowa Food and Farm Initiative (SWIFFI). This is a multi-county coalition of individuals and groups working to build a regional food system in southwest Iowa.

Houser stressed the importance of the local Resource Conservation and Development’s (RC&D) involvement in the project and cause, but also said that it must be a grassroots movement to achieve long-term success.

In the winter of 2007-08, Donna Peters, Western Iowa Development Association, helped write an action plan for Farm to Fork. One of the plan’s goals was to educate growers and eaters. Publications, fliers and handouts have been produced and spread through the community via friends, families, neighbors, churches and co-workers. “Donna Peters and this action plan were vital tools for our success,” said Frederiksen.

In the fall of 2008, the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to establish a local foods council. The resolution called for an eight-member foods council that would be active in continuing to advance the strategic plan created the previous year.

“The foods council is a diverse set of people, from the grocer to the school nutritionist; they all come to the table seeing this in a different way. A diverse set of people acting as one is a great thing, and really makes this possible,” Houser explained.

Organizers of Farm to Fork are hoping to continue to increase the number of beginning producers in the region, expand the number and diversity of local growers as well as farmer-led businesses, and build stronger relationships between consumers and producers in the region. Helping meet these goals is a new local foods coordinator, Bahia Barry, who was hired to help carry out the strategic plan and expand the Farm to Fork program. To accomplish these things, she has helped organize a food atlas and is working on a database of local producers, as well as a Web site. Building relationships with grocers and restaurant owners is an important part of Barry’s position.

“Having a local foods coordinator is really important to continued success,” Houser said. “She makes contacts with local grocers and restaurants, and has a hand in recruiting new producers.”

Many changes can be seen in Oakland, where Frederiksen said the Riverside Farmers Market attracts more than 100 people downtown on Wednesdays. She said a farmer’s market fund provides a canopy and chairs that encourage community members to sit and socialize.

“This is a great example of a community really coming together and treating this as a community service event,” Frederiksen said. “Jan Kenkel and Becky VonWeihe are market managers and are doing a great job of bringing the community together.”


Connections are important
Houser said economic development and a vibrant community are two of the strongest arguments for involvement in local and regional food systems work. Rich Pirog, Marketing and Food Systems Initiative leader, said that the networking, technical assistance and shared ideas among local groups participating in the Regional Food Systems Working Group are as important as the financial help they receive from the Leopold Center.

“Part of the local success relates to the connections made with other people who also are looking at the broader picture of the benefits of local and regional food commerce,” he said.

When asked what someone could do to “get the ball rolling” in his/her own community, Frederiksen advised: “Get like-minded individuals together–go to your board of supervisors and RC&D. They may have already started something. All it takes is a couple of community activists to get together and make the case. The progress can be slow, but it is progress.”

Frederiksen and Houser agree on the benefits of this work, with three that rise to the top of many lists: becoming self-sufficient, creating a sense of community, and renewing a relationship with the land.

Other examples of growing regional food systems

Other examples of Iowa communities where local and regional food systems are forming, growing and improving with help from the Regional Food Systems Working Group (coordinated by the Leopold Center) include:

  • Hometown Harvest of Southeast Iowa (Davis, Jefferson, Keokuk, Mahaska, Van Buren and Wapello counties), led by the Pathfinders RC&D, Fairfield;
  • Northeast Iowa Food and Farm Coalition (Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek counties), led by Iowa State University Extension, Decorah;
  • Southwest Iowa Food and Farm Initiative (Adair, Adams, Audubon, Cass, Guthrie, Montgomery, Pottawattamie and Shelby counties), led by the Wallace Foundation for Rural Research and Development, Lewis;
  • Northwest Iowa Regional Local Foods System (Cherokee, Ida, Monona, Plymouth, Sioux and Woodbury), led by the Floyd Boulevard Local Foods Market program, Sioux City;
  • Northern Iowa Food and Farm Partnership (Black Hawk and neighboring counties) led by the UNI Center for Energy and Environmental Education; and
  • COMIDA (the Spanish word for food), (Marshall County)

Over the past two years, RFSWG has surpassed its goal of increasing local food sales. Sales of local foods tracked in several communities showed a $330,000 increase during the past year. One food cooperative in northeast Iowa tripled in size and increased the number of local food vendors from 18 to 78.

Back to Leopold Letter Summer 2009