Join ISU Extension & Outreach Grundy County for the first ever live, virtual tour of the Iowa Food Hub. Staff will connect with us from the Iowa Food Hub live so that you can ask to see different parts of the hub from procurement to processing and much more. Participants will get the chance to ask questions of Food Hub staff, as well as regional local foods coordinator, Jodie Huegerich.

When we are finished virtually touring the food hub, Jodie will virtually drive us over to a local farm, who is a supplier to the Food Hub, where we will get a tour of their farm and to visit with the grower about the benefits of selling to the Iowa Food Hub.

Like a demonstration farm, Iowa Food Hub advisors and staff conduct research, and what is learned is transferred through educational programs and materials for the farmers to learn what works and doesn’t work. Farmers can apply this new knowledge to their farm with less risk than had they done the research themselves.

IFH programming focuses on Small and medium-sized farm viability, Food access and equality, Local economic development, Job creation and retention and Beginning and established farmers.

The Iowa Food Hub buys local produce, meats and more from local producers and then redistributes it to hospitals, schools, institutions in order to really promote providing local foods to as many sources as possible in Iowa. “This is a great opportunity for local farmers, growers, producers to learn more about a new avenue for sale and distribution of their products across the state of Iowa!”- says Grundy County Extension Program Direction, Shari Sell-Bakker.

Program will be held May 3rd at 10:30 a.m. at the Grundy County Extension & Outreach Office, 703 F Avenue, Suite 1, Grundy Center. Meeting is free and open to the public. Pre-registration not required but is highly recommended to Shari at 319-824-6979 or sellbakk@iastate.edu.