Charles City farm among Iowa projects receiving USDA food systems grants

Projects aimed at strengthening Iowa’s food supply chains

To The Press

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is investing more than $5.2 million in federal funds into 24 Iowa projects, including one in Charles City.

Joia Food Farm in Charles City, owned and operated by Wendy Johnson and Johnny Rafkin, is receiving a Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Equipment Grant for $46,617, to be matched with the farmers’ own funds of $5,175.

The funds will be used “to establish a food hub node that will reduce duplicative food hub routes, connect specialty-crop producers with existing food hubs, and create opportunities for local institutions to seamlessly integrate into the food hub network,” according to the grant announcement.

Healthy Harvest of North Iowa said the project will create new market opportunities for North Iowa’s producers to plug into the statewide food hub network. It will also provide incentives to develop new farms, strengthening the local food system from the ground up.

Healthy Harvest is a nonprofit organization working to support local food systems.

Joia Food Farm will seek to address a challenge faced by producers in North Iowa, where the absence of a local food hub or aggregation site hinders their access to the statewide food hub network, according to information from the  Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS).

The local food hub node will include a walk-in freezer and refrigeration unit and provide short-term storage and help with distribution to area institutions including day cares, schools, restaurants and hospitals. The node is expected to generate one to three new jobs.

The intent of the USDA’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure grant program is to build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain by developing and expanding markets for Iowa’s small farms and food businesses.

As more Iowans are looking for local food options, the program is helping to strengthen supply chains and build the infrastructure behind food production, said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

“By enhancing processing capacity and reinforcing distribution networks, we’re creating more robust pathways for Iowa farmers and small businesses to bring their high-quality Iowa food and ag products to market,” Naig said. “As a result, these projects and logistical investments will ultimately help enhance our supply chains, create jobs in rural communities and grow Iowa’s economy.”

Many of the 24 selected projects will expand wholesale markets that serve schools and early care facilities as well as other institutional buyers like hospitals and colleges. The projects will also help farms and small businesses gain access to grocers and support other intermediary markets such as food hubs, post-harvest processing facilities or other distribution networks.

A portion of the overall investment, $997,040, will be invested into strengthening connections between Iowa’s wholesale food hubs, which will lead to increased capacity, aggregation and distribution.

In coordination with the Iowa Food Hub Managers Working Group, which was organized in 2015 by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa will invest in new software and the creation of standard operating procedures for the Iowa Hub-to-Hub Network.

The plan also calls for hosting a Middle of the Supply Chain Buyer and Supplier Summit to build relationships between local food buyers and producers, and to share innovative improvements to Iowa’s food system infrastructure.

A supply chain coordinator will also help build new markets and sales for Iowa’s food hub network and producers.