Pop quiz 👇 Every $1 spent on Iowa-grown foods generates $. in economic activity A) $1.47 B) $1.94 C) $2.18 D) $2.60 👉 Drop your guess in the comments. (Answer will be revealed in the comments soon!)

Pop quiz 👇 ___% of Iowa landowners are under age 44 A) 18% B) 12% C) 5% D) 27% Drop your guess. Answer will be revealed in the comments later.

There’s a word that explains a lot about modern agriculture, even if Merriam-Webster hasn’t caught up yet: chickenization. It’s what happens when animals become “widgets,” farms become factories, and power quietly shifts from thousands of farmers to a handful of corporations.

Got a story to tell? 🗣 Share your local food success, idea, or perspective with us. We’re always looking for stories that show how food connects Iowans across the state. iowafoodsystemcoalition.org/media-submission

In recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day, we hear from two Indigenous women residing in Iowa and learn how shifting our perspective can help bring us back into balance with the natural world. Tune into the latest episode of At the Iowa Farm Table wherever you get your podcasts.

📍 Malvern, IA — pop. 1,000. At 65, Tom Mulholland postponed retirement to keep his small-town grocery alive. Rising supplier costs + uncertainty around SNAP threaten stores like his. Hear Tom’s story Oct 2 at 6:30 PM. 👉 RSVP: calendar.app.google/Lh5e5xPF5xpc...

Iowa schools spend millions feeding kids — in effect, they’re the largest restaurants in the state. In this replay, we dig into the real economics of school lunch and who benefits from Iowa's school lunch dollars. Listen on Substack or wherever you get your podsattheiowafarmtable.substack.com

September 24 is Iowa Local Food Day, the official kick-off to Farm to School Month! See if your district is joining in, or learn how schools, early care sites, and colleges can celebrate by serving local foods this fall. 🔗iowafarmtoschoolearlycare.org/iowalocalfoodday

The status quo isn’t the only path. Iowa agriculture has choices. Emily Deakyne with the Diverse Corn Belt Project joined us on our most recent podcast on At the Iowa Farm Table to talk about the future of farming in Iowa. Find it wherever you get your podcasts. atttheiowafarmtable.substack.com

For decades, conversations about agriculture in Iowa have centered on what’s broken: water quality, consolidation, chemicals, ultra-processed food. But rarely do they lead to the bigger question: what would a better system actually look like?

🍎 Join us Sept 10 for the UNI Local Food Festival (hosted by our partners at UNI CEEE)! We’ll have free local apples + enjoy free local burgers & sliders starting at 10:30.

Join us for our quarterly gathering where food leaders from across Iowa come together to exchange ideas, share stories, and build momentum for a stronger food system. This session will also focus on one of the most pressing issues facing our state: water quality. Sept 11, Zoom, 9am.

🚨 We’ve surpassed $400k in pledged support for Iowa’s local food system! We’re extending the Local Food Promise to keep the momentum going. Make your promise and help show what’s possible when Iowans commit to fresh, fair, and community-rooted food. 💪 IowaFoodSystemCoalition.org/Promise

Iowa’s nitrate levels hit historic highs, forcing lawn watering bans, swim advisories, and costly cleanups. A new report confirms what many Iowans already know: agriculture is driving the problem, and solutions can’t wait. So what can you do about a challenge this big?

🎧 New episode drop! We head to the Iowa Quality Dairy Products Competition at the Iowa State Fair, where the stakes (and the squeaks) are high. From small-batch creameries to big-name dairies, we dig into how Iowa’s milk game is changing. Substack // wherever you get your pods

Our newest episode, “What Sweet Corn Tells Us About Iowa’s Appetite for Change” we dig into the cultural layers of Iowa’s sweet corn obsession and what its enduring popularity reveals about what eaters are willing to do (and spend) for food they believe in.

When the researchers onstage at Monday's event were asked if the state has “reached a point” where “regulation is necessary," all four — and the crowd of roughly 500 — proclaimed "yes." The 200-page CISWRA report found nearly 80% of nitrate contamination in Iowa rivers comes from ag sources.

From water quality to food hubs to hunger, At the Iowa Farm Table explores what’s working—and what’s not—in Iowa’s food system. Hosted by farmer, author, and journalist Beth Hoffman. New episodes every other Monday. 🎧 Listen wherever you get podcasts.

🌽 Sweet corn season is here, but local food shouldn’t be a once-a-year treat. Take the #LocalFoodPromise and help build a food system that feeds us all, all year long. IowaFoodSystemCoalition.org/Promise

Bayer—which has spent more than $10 billion settling lawsuits from customers claiming the product Roundup gave them cancer—has substantially increased its lobbying budget.

This week’s episode of At the Iowa Farm Table dug into it: sweet corn, culture, and Iowa’s appetite for change. Episode sponsor, Healthy Harvest of North Iowa, has a collection of sweet corn recipes to help you savor the season. healthyharvestni.com/consumers/recipes/?_sft_wprm_ingredient=sweet-corn

Bayer, the biotech company and manufacturer of Round Up, has substantially increased its spending on lobbying in Iowa since the introduction of a pesticide labeling bill in 2024, Cami Koons reports.

New podcast episode! 🌽 We dig into Iowa’s sweet corn obsession...from its Indigenous roots to canning plants, farm crisis survival, and what it reveals about the food we’re willing to go the extra mile for. 🎧 Listen: attheiowafarmtable.substack.com #IowaFoodVoices #SweetCornSeason #ifsc

We sat down with Ilsa Dewald, Johnson County Food and Farm Manager, to talk about local food policy councils and what's happening in Johnson County on our Side Dish episode. Check it out! #attheiowfarmtable #iowafoodsystemcoalition #ifscpartner

Gov. Reynolds rejected $29M in federal funds for Summer EBT, replacing it with Iowa’s own model: Healthy Kids Iowa. We unpack what the new program looks like on the ground—and ask: is it really working for families, pantries, and kids?

Iowa's landscape is one of the most altered on Earth. Nearly 70% of land is in crops—94% of it corn and soy. Not for our plates, but for fuel, feed, and export. It’s a system built on policy, not food. And it's breaking our water.

With Iowa’s water quality concerns making headlines, it’s more important than ever to support the kind of farming that protects our rivers. In North Iowa, producers like JÓIA FOOD FARM are growing nutritious food while caring for our water, air, and soil.

In 2012, Rob Faux was bringing water out to the hens on his organic farm in northeast Iowa when a plane flew over and sprayed pesticides on him, his partner, and his farm. Not once, but twelve times. Listen: attheiowafarmtable.substack.com/p/drenched-i...

Gov. Reynolds turned down $29M in federal funds for Summer EBT and replaced it with her own program, Healthy Kids Iowa. We talk with pantry leaders, parents & advocates to see how it’s actually working. New episode of At the Iowa Farm Table out now.

Nitrate levels in Des Moines' drinking water are hitting historic highs. The city issued its first-ever lawn watering ban, and rural communities are struggling too. In this episode, we revisit the grade school water cycle diagram—then rip it up. Because the reality in Iowa is very different.

Iowa State University Extension released the 2024 Food Hub Impact Report, and the numbers are big: seven Iowa food hubs worked with more than 450 farms and moved $4.3 million in local food. Check out the full report and share it with anyone who still doubts the economic punch of local food.

Want to start eating local, but not sure where to start? We’ve got you. When you make the #IowaLocalFoodPromise, you'll get: 🍅 A seasonal food calendar 📍 Local food directories 📦 Food hub info 💰 A budget worksheet to make your promise stick iowafoodsystemcoalition.org/promise