Local Foods Connection took the Iowa City Head Start program to Friendly Farms in Iowa City for a farm field trip on Wednesday. The Iowa City Head Start program is one of our client agencies for the first time this year and we are greatly enjoying their participation in our program. The Iowa City Head Start is located in the offices of HACAP (Hawkeye Area Community Action Program). Here is some information about them:

Building better Iowa communities involves ensuring the success of our children. HACAP focuses on early child development to provide essential resources to children during a critical time of growth. Head Start and Early Head Start are comprehensive child development programs that serve children from birth to age 5, pregnant women and their families.  They are child-focused programs and have the overall goal of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families.

In addition to center-based school readiness programs, Early Head Start provides a home program for pregnant women and children age birth-3.  Nurturing healthy and robust child development today promotes the future prosperity of our local communities. Learn more at:

Iowa City Head Start Website

At the farm, Farmer Bob, his son David, and friend Sarah Neary gave each child two plum tomatoes, one ear of sweet corn and one purple potato. Farmer Bob told the children stories, showed them growing plants and let them walk inside his 150 year old barn.

All photos are copyrighted 2009 Local Foods Connection and not for public use. Reuse or reproduction is prohibited.

Grabbing for Sweet Corn

Eating a Tomato

Reaching for Purple Potatoes

Here is a statement one of the Head Start teachers wrote about their enrollment in Local Foods Connection this year:

“Our Head Start classrooms have participated in your program for the first time this summer.  I have been a teacher here for seventeen years, and I have never been able to give the children in my classroom the experiences your program has allowed us to provide for them.  We have given the children the opportunity to try several new vegetables.  (Kohlrabi, bok choy. Chinese cabbage, rhubarb cobbler, snap peas, purple and yellow green beans, to name a few.)

My classroom loves eating snap peas and purple green beans.  It is so fun to watch the children get excited about the vegetables they are eating.  We have switched canned vegetables for fresh twice a week since starting the program.  It is a different experience to eat big, fresh green beans. (compared to canned) We can feel the difference, see the difference, and surely taste the difference. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn and use your program.  I hope that other teachers can benefit from your program. “