Program linking farmers to underserved communities has provided more than $2 million in food

A program started in 2022 to purchase food grown in Iowa by farmers for a fair price to be distributed through food banks and hubs to underserved communities has provided more than $2 million in food value.

The Iowa Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program was launched in September 2022 and “achieved early, nationally recognized, success” in purchasing high-quality, healthy and culturally relevant food from local farmers and producers to distribute throughout the state, according to Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development, a not-for-profit organization in Amana.

The cooperative agreements are funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Rescue Plan. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is being managed in partnership with Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development.

A total of $5.67 million over three years was awarded to Iowa to continue building on the strengths of a local food system, according to Iowa Valley officials.

The cooperative agreement program is expected to purchase from at least 300 Iowa farmers and producers with a tiered equitable purchasing standards, aiming to reach every county in Iowa through partnerships with 15 distributors, including food hubs, food banks, and the Meskwaki Nation, which are managing aggregation, distribution, and local partnerships to provide food access across the state.

The food banks or hubs participating include: Northeast Iowa Foodbank, Waterloo; HACAP Food Reservoir, Hiawatha; Food Bank of Iowa, Des Moines; Iowa Food Coop, Des Moines; Iowa Food Hub, Decorah; Field to Family, Iowa City; and Organic Greens, Kalona.

The Meskwaki Nation also worked with the state government to apply for this grant, according to program officials. The grant was written for state and Native American governments.

Through the program, the Meskwaki community will receive produce that’s culturally appropriate for their community, as well as other communities in need of culturally relevant fresh food such as hot peppers, wild rice, collard greens and white eggplant, Kaci Ginn, operations director for Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development, said.

The program emphasizes a decentralized approach, allowing local experts to meet community needs through individual implementation plans designed by distribution partners.

Since the start of the program in 2022, 230 beginning, established and socially disadvantaged farmers and producers throughout the state have sold through the cooperative agreement program, getting food to the people who want it, without shortchanging the farmer, according to program officials.

The purpose of this program is to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency.

“The challenge of food insecurity is a statewide and global issue,” Giselle Bruskewitz, senior program director with Iowa Valley, said in a statement. “People lack access to food. In the state of Iowa, we are finding we can produce a significant amount of food locally to feed ourselves but we have a distribution problem. The (program) is working to address this challenge by connecting the dots between our talented farmers and underserved Iowa communities with strong partnerships and our local food infrastructure.”

Ginn pointed out that a “special” health piece of this program is that communities are receiving fresh, nutritious foods, unique to their geographic region that are “peak of the season,” which they are more likely to eat and enjoy.

According to the cooperative agreement program data, 94 counties are being served, 694 sites are receiving distributions and 234 producers are recording sales and 71 percent are socially disadvantaged producers — immigrants or refugees, people of color, LGBTQIA, women, veterans or beginning farmers.

Ginn said their goal to reach all 99 counties.

The breakdown of foods being distributed includes: 54 percent produce; 24.13 percent meat and poultry; and 10.6 percent dairy and milk.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com