The Buyer + Supplier Meet-ups are a collaborative effort of partners of the Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition Procurement Strategy Team. The meetings provide a venue where school and child care nutrition professionals and Iowa food producers can build their networks and ask questions related to local food procurement.

The network has scheduled four meetings in 2022. The meetings are open to school and childcare food service staff who are making purchasing and programming decisions for their districts and participating in Child Nutrition Programs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Iowa farmers, producers, processors, local food aggregators and distributors currently selling into school markets are also welcome.

The networking meetings are intended to give:​​

  • School and childcare food service direct access to suppliers on the calls who are selling local foods to schools and childcare. Buyers are encouraged to come with their specific needs and wants.

  • Suppliers direct access to school food service directors and managers who are making purchasing and programming decisions for their districts and participating in USDA's Child Nutrition Programs. Suppliers are encouraged to come prepared with their product availability and information on how schools and childcare can procure their product(s).

​If you are interested in attending, please register for notifications here. Meeting​s will be held on Zoom. Contact information can be exchanged during calls through the chat function. These calls will not be used for advertising or making specific purchasing/supplying agreements.

Questions?​​

Buyers should contact:
Brenda Windmuller, Education Program Consultant
Iowa Department of Education
515-681-5752
brenda.windmuller@iowa.gov

Food Producers should contact:​
Teresa Wiemerslage, Food System Specialist
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
563-794-0599
wiemer@iastate.edu

 

Meeting Materials

9/1/22. Iowa Local Food Day and Great Apple Crunch Resources

9/22/22. Local Food for Schools grants

10/6/22. Food Hub Directory

11/3/22. Using Local Meat in Schools

12/01/22 Farm to School Through the Eyes of Child Nutrition Operators. Meeting recording Recipes have been added to this page.