Homegrown: Feeding Iowa

Sonia Kendrick has moved steps beyond advocating for local foods.

I highlighted some of the goals of her project, Feed Iowa First, in an article in The Gazette earlier this year.

Kendrick is an Army veteran who wants to help provide nutritious produce for Iowans in need.

She is attempting to fill that need with vegetable gardens grown on land provided by area churches and by training aspiring farmers who don't have the experience needed to qualify for federal loans.

Kendrick operated a pilot project last year at The Alliance Church, 1622 42nd St. NE, where she harvested more than 2,000 pounds of carrots, tomatoes and other vegetables that were donated to the church's Abundance of Love Food Pantry.

As we move closer to the growing season, I thought it was a good time for an update on her project.

She has been offered 45 acres of land to use this year at various sites in Cedar Rapids and Marion.

As any gardener knows, land is just the start.

Her non-profit organization is in need of essentials, including coolers, buckets, stainless steel tables, a tractor, tillers, potato planter, seeders, fencing and a wagon for hauling. They also need pea and bean seed and seed potatoes.

Feed Iowa First's goal is to raise $50,000 to build and operate the gardens and donate $180,000 in fresh vegetables to food banks this year. Donations are tax-deductible.

“If we had the equipment and the funds we could use those 45 acres to really push out the vegetables,” Sonia said.

She added that 500 acres will be needed to serve the 25,000 undernourished people in Linn County with 2 1/2 daily cups of vegetables.

Feed Iowa First worked with Iowa State University to determine that more than 800 acres of underutilized land surrounds religious organizations in Cedar Rapids, Marion, Robins and Hiawatha.

“We could solve the problem of access to fresh vegetables in these four cities for the whole county,” she said.

Feed Iowa First has sent in its paperwork to the IRS to get its designation as a 501C3, allowing the organization to legally accept donations.  They received a grant from the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation to pay for filing with the IRS.

Anyone interested in helping can find out more on the organization's website at Feediowa1st.org or contact Sonia at feediowa1st@gmail.com or (319) 329-5818.

See the original article here.