REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS

Southwest Iowans with an interest in regional food systems and local sustainable agriculture attended a planning meeting for an eight-county Regional Food System on Thursday, April 12th at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic. There were two sessions to accommodate the most number of participants. Ken Meter made a presentation on "Finding Food in Farm Country", speaking about data he has collected on the subject over a number of years and how it relates to the regional food systems. His presentation was followed with a Q&A session. It was a challenging and fascinating presentation. On his website, crcworks.org, in one of the write-ups it notes that one needs to attend several of these presentations to take in all the information because of the detail in it. That certainly is an accurate statement. Included in his presentation was area specific data that brought the issues very close to home.

"This data often gives people a new way of looking at the farm and food economy. The analysis helps local participants gain a deeper knowledge of the conditions they face," said Meter. Those participating in the meeting were from numerous backgrounds including agricultural production, lending, economic development, political, education, health, retail, and others.

This and future gatherings are the first steps in the development of a strategic plan for a Regional Food System for this area. This plan is called for in a $20,000 grant awarded by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Value Chain Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture to a local group known as the Cultivators. The Cultivators is a working group of the Wallace Foundation for Rural Research and Development comprised of organizations from Iowa State University Extension, National Center for Appropriate Technology, Cass County Memorial Hospital, Harrisdale Homestead, and Global Horizons. People interested in more information about the Regional Food System study or to be involved at some level should contact Keith Booth at kbooth@iastate.edu.

The Wallace Foundation Learning and Outreach Center located in Lewis, Iowa houses the offices of the Wallace Foundation for Rural Research and Development, the offices for ISU Southwest Area Extension and the farm.

Set in a wonderful rural setting, it has large conference and meeting rooms available for use by groups, an ICN facility and offices available for rental. In the summer visitors are greeted by some of the beautiful gardens of the Armstrong Farm. Shown here is one of the 2003 gardens.

Through a small grant from the Community Vitality Center and in collaboration with the Southwest Iowa Coalition, the Grow Iowa Foundation and ISU Extension, the Wallace Foundation is a part of the SW Iowa Window Showcase Project where southwest Iowa artisans, hand-crafters, and small food producers have the opportunity to have their products seen in windows in the business districts in SW Iowa communities.

These are items for sale and can also be seen at www.villiscareview.com/shop.htm

Wallace Foundation was one of the sponsors of the 10th Annual Local Foods Conference of the Iowa Network for Community Agriculture.

The INCA 10th Annual Local Foods Conference - "Blazing the White Pole Road from Farm to Fork to Fitness" was held in Atlantic and Anita February 4 and 5, 2005. This conference which included discussions on organic research, vegetable & fruit production and value adding, community gardens and community development which are all part of the Wallace Foundation's emphasis on horticulture and alternative sustainable agriculture.

Bob Burcham, Neely-Kenyon Farm Manager was one of the speakers at the break-out session on Organic Research and Related Issues.

The Wallace Foundation for Rural Research and Development serves residents of the following counties:

Adair - Adams - Audubon - Cass - Carroll - Clark
Crawford - Decatur - Fremont - Guthrie - Madison
Mills - Montgomery - Page - Pottawattomie
Ringgold - Shelby - Taylor - Union