What s happenin in FoodCorps Black Hawk County:

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1 What s happenin in FoodCorps Black Hawk County: Celebrating National School Breakfast Week at Lincoln Elementary by posing with a breakfast themed photo booth. Making soup with ingredients from all over the world at CultureFest. Do you know where your food comes from? YWCA Spring Break, making fruit kebabs with the kids. Apples, strawbeeries, grapes, oranges, grapefruit, and more. Yum! Nicole Miller 3420 University Ave Ste B Waterloo nicole.r.miller@foodcorps.org

2 Southern Iowa Local Foods Initiative is working to build healthier, more prosperous communities by working to create vibrant, local foods systems. By supporting local farmers and growers, we can support sustainable food practices that improve food security, health, the environment, community ties and local commerce. SOUTHERN IOWA Food Coordinator continues to work on the 2015 FMPP grant to grow and expand farmers markets in her region. Currently, she s organizing market activities to increase participation. She hosted a spring farmers market workshop and she s been a guest speaker at several events including the Iowa Farmers Market Association s annual meeting. She recently applied for the SCBG and Fresh Step grant. Partners include the University of Iowa, who filmed a promotional video for the FMPP project, Iowa State University Extension, who ve provided speakers for workshops and who we ve collaborated with on the Heddleson grant, a grant to create food safety posters for farmers market vendors and last,wic and Union County Parent Educators to increase use of SNAP/WIC vouchers at farmers markets. Food Coordinator is helping to organize opening day events at Creston s Farmers Market. She will also be launching the local foods video, produced by the University of Iowa, as a part of the FMPP grant to promote area farmers markets. She will speak at Osceola s Annual Diversity Garden s open house in late June. Alexi Groumoutis 609 New York Ave. Creston, IA agroumoutis@hotmail.com

3 Since 2011, Healthy Harvest of North Iowa has led the way as area producers, retailers, eating centers and companies join forces to support a local and regional food system. HEALTHY HARVEST Marketing projects: Producer profile, local food information campaign, updating HH website Local Food Guide - New layout, new ad opportunity for non food partners! Farmers market support - Supporting market-tomarket collaboration. Multiple market food education programming and supplies Local meat marketing - Meat & Greet for local meat producers and local chefs. Exploring meat markets. Local Food Coalition brings 20 partners together quarterly, 5 priority project teams, ISU Community Food System Program Regional farmers markets - market to market collaboration. Cerro Gordo County Public Health - Beginning planning for Farm to School program. Co-sponsoring two PFI Field Days: Aug. 3 - Joia Food Farm, Charles City Aug Farmer-led Aggregation, Clear Lake Visit for complete details. INQUIRIES: Successful Farm to School programs Effective local food conferences Jan Libbey Healthy Harvest of North Iowa libbey.jan@gmail.com

4 The Local Foods Coordinator position with Buchanan County ISU Extension and Outreach is unique in that it is funded by four separate entities: Independence Community School District, City of Independence, Buchanan County Health Center, and Buchanan County ISU Extension and Outreach. This position is also a part of the Buchanan County Food Work Team, which is a coalition of local organizations and individuals who are committed to the promotion of local foods in Buchanan County and beyond. Buchanan County ISU Extension and Outreach is also a member of NIFFP. Green Thumb Garden Camp summer gardening camp for elementary kids Nutrition Education Partnership with the Health Center to do taste testing and physical education with Pre-K, 1st, and 3rd grades Teaching nutrition lessons in 3rd-12th grade School Gardens Buchanan County Health Center, City of Independence, Independence Community School District, Buchanan County ISU Extension and Outreach, Independence Farmers Market, Buchanan County Conservation, UNI s Center for Energy and Environmental Education, TD and Guy Garden Oasis, 4-H, Master Gardeners BUCHANAN COUNTY ISU EXTENSION AND OUTREACH Farmers Market It was a great year and are already planning for next year on how to make the market even better. We had about an average of 20 vendors per market and estimating 150 people in attendance each day. This season we had successful event days, such as Wellness Day, Kid s Day, Salsa Day, and two fundraiser days- Aa Soup Feed and a Chili Cook-off. Farm to Fork Harvest Celebration included an afternoon of local farm tours and a local foods dinner. Holiday Farmers Market an indoor farmers market was held in December and included many vendors selling Christmas candy, handmade crafts and gifts, and some vegetables. INQUIRIES: What grants are out there for counties that do not meet poverty guidelines? Do any other counties have this issue? How do you successfully start to get local foods in restaurants? How do you promote local foods in your region? Is there a cohesive brand? Searching for advice and resources for, 1) Hiring seasonal workers that are reliable, 2) Cooler storage for seasonal products Sarah Kielly 2600 Swan Lake Blvd., Ste A, Independence, IA skielly@iastate.edu

5 Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative Gardens are growing! Kate has been running around all over Northeast Iowa, teaching Early Childhood classrooms about planting seeds and growing food. Lauren has been working hard in the Oelwein garden planting spring crops and looking for summer volunteers. Andrew s two garden clubs are up and running, with a radish harvest coming in the next few weeks. Our service members have received two garden trainings this spring. This photo is from a training at the Postville Community Garden, where all-star 4H Master Gardener / Food & Fitness champion Cici Mueller gave our service members a quick rundown on what it takes to run a successful school garden and shared strategies for selling produce to school cafeterias. NEIFF Several communities in NE IA are gearing up to launch a regional Walk More, Connect More campaign. This effort, spearheaded by Food & Fitness director Ann Mansfield, aims to promote walking and walkability throughout our region. Walking maps have been developed for 10 communities in the area, and a meeting with 45 community health stakeholders is being convened in West Union to combine our efforts into a cohesive regional message. #WalkNEIA #WalkMoreConnectMore INQUIRIES: If you have any questions about the Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative, the Iowa Food Hub, or our partnerships with schools, please reach out and let us know! We re working hard to help schools Try Things that will make their students and communities healthier and happier. Emily Neal Northeast Iowa Food & Fitness Initiative nealem01@luther.edu

6 EAT GREATER DES MOINES Eat Greater Des Moines works to identify, develop, and connect resources supporting the entire food life cycle in central Iowa. Garden Signage - Have purchased and distributed 22 garden signs for network. Have funding to purchase 8 17 additional throughout summer. Garden Meet Ups - Hosting at least 3 garden meet ups in local gardens throughout summer. Topics include volunteer engagement, pollinators and soil health. Double Up Food Bucks Launched at 4 markets and 1 mobile grocery. IC Kitchen Connect platform will be coming to central Iowa! Food Rescue - continue to find new food recovery donors and recipients. Building directory of donors. Hunger Free Dallas County Initiative - in process of building new website and expanding outreach.. We Moved We are now part of the Telligen Community Initiative Nonprofit Synergy Center. Quarterly Healthy Food Stakeholder Meeting Tuesday, June 6th Feed Greater Des Moines had over 150 attendees gathered to engage in dialogue regarding hunger and local food. Already planning for next year! INQUIRIES: Interested in learning others experiences with Department of Inspections and Appeals when building/opening a commercial kitchen space. Looking for others interested in new statewide hunger advocacy group Aubrey Alvarez Region 2704 Fleur Drive, Des Moines, IA aalvarez@eatgreaterdesmoines.org

7 The Southwest Iowa Food and Farm Initiative is a network for food producers and consumers working to develop a healthy local food system. SWIFFI works to build a sustainable regional food system that links production, processing, distribution, and consumption; for better health, food security, stronger communities and economic development. SWIFFI is a multi-county coalition of individuals and organizations working together with Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development. SWIFFI works in Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie, Cass, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont, and Page counties. We recently updated and reprinted the Southwest Iowa Local Food Guide, which lists and maps out all of the local food producers and sellers in our region. We developed partnerships with the AHSTW (Avoca) and Riverside (Oakland) school districts, and are working to build relationships with more schools. SWIFFI also provides promotional support to local food and farm events in the Southwest Iowa. We are also working to implement our strategic plan, which was adopted in In addition to working with local producers, small businesses, nonprofits, and consumers, we are continuing to build partnerships with schools, economic development and planning organizations, county extension offices, and more. We are continuing conversations with partners across the river in eastern Nebraska, as the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area is the largest market in our region. We are creating relationships with local schools to develop Farm to School programs. SWIFFI Earlier this year we hosted a producer sharing day with Practical Farmers of Iowa for local farmers to learn from one another. We visited Hamburg s Farm to School program this spring, which includes livestock and is incorporated into various classes and student clubs. We will be hosting the Rural Ramble, a farm crawl in Pottawattamie County, this summer. Lance Brisbois Golden Hills RC&D 712 S Hwy 6, Oakland, IA lance@goldenhillsrcd.org

8 WAPELLO COUNTY PRODUCE WITH A PURPOSE This summer, we will be doing four deliveries of local food boxes, partnering with worksites in Wapello County to bring fresh, local produce to customers at their workplaces. We have identified a few new growers to work with, and we re looking forward to another summer filled with delicious food boxes! We are identifying local stores and restaurants in Wapello County who are interested in sourcing local food, and figuring out how Extension can best partner with both buyers and producers to increase the amount of local food consumed in the community. There is a barrier to both buyers and producers when trying to establish a new purchasing relationship, and Extension hopes to decrease that barrier through our local food work. We will be holding our annual family-oriented garden-to-table program called Garden Bites this summer, with three sessions spanning June, July, and August. During Garden Bites, we invite families into our school garden at Liberty Elementary to learn a gardening skill, harvest fresh produce, cook new recipes, and gather for a family meal, all with a locally-produced, in-season focus. UPCOMING WORK: Our FoodCorps service member has established a school garden at the school district s preschool, and we look forward to a new school gardening partnership there. There are many opportunities to work on Farm to School at the preschool, and we are working with teachers and the administration to change our nutrition program to focus on local produce for the coming school year. Jen Lamos Region th Avenue, Ottumwa jenlamos@iastate.edu

9 Northern Iowa Food & Farm Partnership (NIFFP) seeks to be part of a broad based effort to create a more local & regional food system that improves the economic viability & environmental -Community Producers Workshop -Helping women of Burma find garden space -Iowa Nutrition Network (INN) School Grant -Speak at SNA (School Nutrition Association) with other Local Food Coordinators -Started a garden at Highland Elementary -Many community partners involved -Local asparagus for Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program -Local strawberry tasting at one elementary -Region 9 ISUEO staff -FoodCorps -Leopold Center -EMBARC -Northeast Iowa Food Bank -Waterloo School District -Cedar Valley Good Food Network -Local producers and local food buyers -Cedar Valley Makers NIFFP -HIGHLAND GARDEN PLANTING DAY -COMMUNITY PRODUCERS GARDEN PLANTING DAY -College Hill Farmers Market (June-Oct) -Friday Market on the Park (once per month) -NIFFP Farm Crawl October 8th noon-5 p.m. -Local Food Dinner November 1st INQUIRIES: -Grants: Any resources for Farm to School grant writing -Resources for Restaurants and Purchasing Local -Always looking for speakers. -Event planning resources -Market plans -Goal: Marketing campaign for local foods in region -Funding sources? Jodie Huegerich, RD Region 9 UNI-CEEE Cedar Falls, IA jodie.huegerich@uni.edu

10 The Southwest Iowa Food and Farm Initiative is a network for food producers and consumers working to develop a healthy local food system. SWIFFI works to build a sustainable regional food system that links production, processing, distribution, and consumption; for better health, food security, stronger communities and economic development. SWIFFI is a multi-county coalition of individuals and organizations working together with Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development. SWIFFI works in Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie, Cass, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont, and Page counties. We recently updated and reprinted the Southwest Iowa Local Food Guide, which lists and maps out all of the local food producers and sellers in our region. We developed partnerships with the AHSTW (Avoca) and Riverside (Oakland) school districts, and are working to build relationships with more schools. SWIFFI also provides promotional support to local food and farm events in the Southwest Iowa. We are also working to implement our strategic plan, which was adopted in In addition to working with local producers, small businesses, nonprofits, and consumers, we are continuing to build partnerships with schools, economic development and planning organizations, county extension offices, and more. We are continuing conversations with partners across the river in eastern Nebraska, as the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area is the largest market in our region. We are creating relationships with local schools to develop Farm to School programs. Earlier this year we hosted a producer sharing day with Practical Farmers of Iowa for local farmers to learn from one another. We visited Hamburg s Farm to School program this spring, which includes livestock and is incorporated into various classes and student clubs. We will be hosting the Rural Ramble, a farm crawl in Pottawattamie County, this summer. Lance Brisbois Golden Hills RC&D 712 S Hwy 6, Oakland, IA lance@goldenhillsrcd.org

11 FoodCorps Linn County Extension 4-H programs are proud partners with Pick a Better Snack (Iowa Public Health Grant), Matthew 25 and FoodCorps. Our project sees over 1200 youth a year in our programming efforts of growing food, tasting food and cooking with food. FoodCorps Service Members shared many cooking in the classroom lessons. Service Members also shared with PABS team great ways to prepare asparagus sautéd. FoodCorps Service member also created a ranch dip that kids enjoyed with bell peppers and other vegetables. The recipe was shared in classrooms and at Parent Conferences. LINN COUNTY FoodCorps, 4-H, Cedar Rapids Schools and Community partners gathered to discuss next steps in farm to school efforts. Cedar Rapids Schools Nutrition and Wellness staff asked for assistance in making bean dishes tasty. Service members have been seeking ideas and running trials featuring local black beans. Tasting events are planned at several schools in April. FoodCorps service members and Matthew 25 staff have been working to plan Summer Story Nights at our schools. These events will be a monthly family activity, offering garden snacks, experiential learning in the garden, reading time, and a free book! Families, teachers, and community partners are invited to create a community around the school gardens in the summer. Matthew 25 and FoodCorps: Matthew 25 staff and FoodCorps service members have all the gardens composted and ready to plant! Garden Clubs have begun and we are all excited for another great growing season in Cedar Rapids! Ann Torbert 4-H Youth Development Specialist atorbert@iastate.edu ext. 319 Tess Romanski Youth Education Coordinator, Matthew 25 tess@hub25.org

12 FoodCorps WAPELLO COUNTY What s happenin in FoodCorps Wapello County: February and March 2017 GARDENING: After spring break in March, we started going to the Prime Time Youth Care afterschool program to do gardening lessons once a week. The garden is already growing a variety of cold weather crops, which the kids will get to taste and cook with before the school year is over. We also established a brand new playground garden at the preschool, which 200 kids will be able to access! COOKING: In February, the PTYC kids created their own bean salads, using 3 different types of beans and 4 different types of vegetable. Each group created a unique, delicious salad, which everyone got to sample. In March, we experimented with fruit infused waters, bring a variety of fruits to try. The kids were also encouraged to create an advertisement for water, which they enjoyed. IN THE CLASSROOM: Along with Pick a Better Snack, Regan visited each class in the Ottumwa Community Preschool in March to teach about worms and start miniature wormeries. Since Regan is the PABS teacher there, a few kids thought they would have to eat worms. But after that was cleared up, most of the kids LOVED the lessons! Teachers were thrilled to have their own wormeries too! IN THE COMMUNITY: We partnered with Abriendo Caminos, a nutrition program designed for families of Mexican descent. For six weeks, families came to learn about nutrition and healthy decision making. Regan taught nutrition lessons and did tastings with the kids, who ranged in age from preschool to middle school. They learned about avoiding added sugars, fats, and salts, and increasing physical activity. Jen Lamos Wapello County th Avenue, Ottumwa jenlamos@iastate.edu

13 FoodCorps Des Moines Public Schools is Iowa s largest provider of public education with more than 30,000 students. Des Moines is a vibrant, innovative and diverse city. - Jenetta, Esperanza, and Patience have been integrating nutrition lessons into special events (Read Across America Day,), classes (ELL, Science), and family activities. DES MOINES Pictured: Bulletin board at Park Ave Summer planning has begun. The Moulton garden will be partnering with CFUM, DMACC students, and an LSI gardener this summer to share the garden space and get kids learning and growing. Pictured: Moulton Garden FoodCorps members are leading many after school groups and supporting family events such as Moore Elmentary s Crock Pot night. Families taste a premade recipe and get the recipe and ingredients to take home. Pictured: Fruit to make Cat in the Hat kabobs at Hillis Elementary Meetings & Milestones Local Food Leader training and meeting Feed Greater Des Moines Conference Seed Exchange at Cherry Glen Learning Farm FoodCorps Iowa Spring Gathering Mid-Term Reviews Pictured: Feed Greater Des Moines event Lyn Jenkins nd Ave, Des Moines lyn.jenkins@dmschools.org

14 Lacey shared her love of worms with kindergarten classes at Hayes elementary school! She brought her vermicomposting worms and taught 4 thirty minute classes in 3 classrooms. She also assisted with the school s Ag day event. DAVENPORT Cooking classes continue on a weekly basis at Monroe elementary school through our partnership with the Stepping Stones After School Enrichment program. We also continue to teach bi-monthly cooking lessons through our partnership with Family Resources at the Fairmount Pines housing complex. Truffula fruits were a hit at the Dr. Seuss Title 1 family event at Fillmore elementary schools. Lacey connected with several families and had many students sign up for the school s garden club during the school s Summer Preview section at the school's Fun Night. Lacey continues to be an active participant on the Davenport school district s Wellness Committee. She has assists with note taking and updating policy changes on Google docs, shares resources to support policy recommendations and offers thoughtful comments during committee meetings. Kathy Bierl 1008 W. Kimberly Road Davenport IA bierlk@mail.davenport.k12.ia.us