Farm to School
Meet-ups
The Farm to School 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, food producers and other support organizations can build their networks and ask questions related to local food procurement.
The network has scheduled four meetings in 2026. 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 professionals, producers and support staff a space to learn new methods, programs or activities to support Farm to School and Early Care efforts.
Attendees an opportunity to ask questions, share challenges or successes and meet professionals passionate about Farm to School and Early Care.
Meetings 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?
Teresa Wiemerslage, Food System Specialist
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
563-794-0599
wiemer@iastate.edu
2026 Topics and Registration
September 3: Celebrating Local Foods. Ask questions about the Choose Iowa Local Food for Schools grants. Get ready to share about plans for Iowa Local Food Day and Great Apple Crunch. All schools and early care sites attending are eligible for free apples during the Great Apple Giveaway. Register here
October 8: Supporting school pantries and food sharing programs. Hear from schools who have on-site pantries. Get ready to share about your efforts to share food and support hunger relief efforts. Register here
November 12: Local Food Fundraising and Booster Funds. What if schools could fund raise to support local food purchases? Learn about a new effort from the Iowa Food System Coalition to create a local food booster fund for schools—and help them raise the dollars to make it possible. Register here
January 14: Schools doing scratch-cooking. Learn how 4 Iowa schools are doing more scratch cooking through their participation in the USDA PLANTS grant program. Register here