Welcome to local foods connection

We are  a group of Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines community activists who donate fresh produce to low-income families.

Our Purpose Since 1999

Local Foods Connection purchases produce, bread, eggs, meat and other products from local earth-friendly farms and donates these goods to families who cannot afford such nutritious, tasty and fresh food. We provide opportunities for families to visit a farm and to learn healthy cooking methods. With your support, we assist families in need of a helping hand, strengthen our local foods network and empower the farmers who live and work just outside of your neighborhood.

Families Who Care

Local Foods Connection works with families who, throughout a four- to five-month period, are committed to preparing good, healthy meals using our donated produce. We partner with local religious institutions, social service organizations and medical offices, such as The Arc of Southeast Iowa and Free Medical Clinic, to find families who care about what they eat and the environment in which they live. Our families include single mothers, immigrants, the elderly, racial minorities and people with exceptional medical needs.

In 2006, 9.7% of Polk County, 10% of Linn County and 13.3% of Johnson County residents lived below the federal poverty level. Limited household income can hinder access to nutritious foods.

Education Program

Our education program teaches our families about farming and healthy meal preparation, so that they can make good use of the produce they receive. By participating in activities such as reading books, taking cooking classes and sharing recipes, our families earn points that they can trade in for kitchen equipment.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Local Foods Connection pays for a family’s enrollment in a CSA program. A membership in a CSA is a promise of a box full of fresh produce from a local farm every week for about twenty weeks. A box is filled with a mixture of vegetables ready for harvest, from greens, turnips and radishes in the spring to squash, eggplant and potatoes in the fall. Shares can include bread, eggs, fruit and flowers.

CSA shares are paid for in the spring, guaranteeing farmers the income to produce their crops. In return, the farmers supply members with high-quality food throughout the growing season.

Small Family Farmers

We purchase goods from farmers who use sustainable farming practices, such as growing vegetables without chemical pesticides and raising animals in a humane environment. Farmers in Atalissa, Cedar Rapids, Dorchester, Grinnell, Iowa City, Kalona, Kanawha, Mechanicsville, Riverside, Solon and West Branch provide us with fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, eggs and meat.