May-June 2025 Newsletter

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

My favorite “local restaurant lore” is from Lincoln Cafe: In the early 2010’s the phrase   “Food is Important” or “Il Cibo È Importante” was so central to the mission of the restaurant that they offered free fries for life to customers who got a tattoo of the motto. Today-now The Lincoln Winebar- the motto is- their website url.  While simple, the phrase evokes a powerful message without pretentiousness. Food has the power to nourish our bodies and foster community. Few things bring people together like food—it’s the perfect way to celebrate.

As an organization, we saw an opportunity for Feed Iowa First to create space to continue the food justice work in this community, focusing on collaboration and innovation. In our strategic planning process, we determined the need for an annual food centric event, celebrating the crucial food system work that we do. We are unique in that we focus on providing nutrient dense produce to food insecure folks, while supporting business creation and market building for emerging farmers through the Equitable Land Access (ELA) Program. From the beginning, Feed has focused on the interconnection between farmers and food insecurity. ELA in its current form is a relatively new program for us. We have one “cohort” of graduates, who are working as farmers and entrepreneurs. To recognize our emerging farmers and continue the evolution of this program, this year we will launch that inaugural event, designed to build connections between emerging farmers and chefs and invite community stakeholders to enjoy the bounty.

Introducing *drumroll please* GLOBAL GRAZE!

New Pioneer Co-op has joined as a sponsor, providing a generous stipend to participating restaurants. Our Equitable Land Access farmers’ provisions and stories will be featured throughout the event, taking place at the Cedar Rapids Public Library rooftop and Whipple Auditorium. The chefs will create international street food inspired fare for folks to “graze” as we connect over community, culture and food. One of the best features of the event will be the farmer/chef partnerships, where restaurants will work with farmers to create unique global dishes with produce at its peak. This event uses food as the starting point to spark relationships between our ELA program farmers and emerging markets, including local restaurants.

We also consulted with our farmers to determine the optimal timing for produce in Iowa. This date was specifically chosen for the availability of produce. With a less than 30-mile radius between our farmers and restaurants, this event will be hyper-local. This is unique today in the way we source food. For example, the average tomato takes three weeks to get from harvest to the grocery shelves. The average piece of produce travels 15,000 miles from where it’s grown to eventually consumed. All of this is to say, our team has put a lot of intention behind crafting this event and its focus on local food system connectivity. We’re looking forward to bringing everyone together in a laid-back setting to celebrate the incredible synergy that happens when great farmers and top local restaurants come together.

For more information on ticket sales (to launch in mid-July ) and the announcement of participating restaurants, stay tuned for upcoming email announcements or check our event landing page here!

(Special thanks to New Pioneer Co-op for their generous sponsorship and to our event team: Alicia Simmons from Frontier Co-op, Clarissa Koch from Economic Alliance, Coady Sierra, Annie Wells, Natalie Jasso and Alora Kraus!)

Jody Josten
Executive Director

NEWS

Wanatee Farm Updates

Things are buzzing at Wanatee Farm as we roll into summer. We are done planting our first round of summer crops, and we have jumped headfirst into the next phase of the season—harvesting, pruning, weeding, mowing, and tackling all the behind-the-scenes tasks that keep the farm thriving. Our planting marathon will keep going strong through September, so stay tuned for more growth. We’re already harvesting a colorful mix of rhubarb, collards, lettuce, radishes, turnips, and turnip greens—fresh and flowing through the distribution channel. The week of June 9th, we had an amazing volunteer crew from the Knox Presbyterian Youth Group to help with the Wanatee Farm fence project. We also had Sapien Group help us with some sweet potato planting on June 19th, and we loved their extra hands! An extra huge shoutout to our amazing volunteers, Bob and Rick, who have been handling the farm maintenance and making sure everything is good and running. The shop is also getting glow-up with flowers and weeding in full swing as well. Thank you to everyone who’s digging in and helping Wanatee shine this season—we couldn’t do it without you!

Laura Tirado 
Wanatee Farm Manager 

Urban Farm Updates

The growing season is off to an incredible start! In May, we planted at ADM, St. Andrew, EcoLips, Bethany Lutheran, Faith Lutheran, and TransAmerica, with a diverse mix of eggplant, squash, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, beans, popcorn, carrots, and cucumbers. A huge thanks to the TransAmerica staff who volunteered on May 15th to plant eggplants at their site. On May 21st, our friends from Frontier Co-op built additional hydroponic beds at our shop—now flourishing with lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and mustard greens. We celebrated our first urban harvest of the season on May 27th: fresh lettuce from Marion Methodist. By the start of June, all spring crops had been successfully planted across our urban garden sites. Harvests are now coming in strong—lettuce, radish, turnip, Swiss chard, and cherries are making their way to tables. None of this would be possible without our hardworking volunteers and site ambassadors—thank you for laying the foundation for a fruitful season ahead!

Isabel Schmidt
Urban Farm Manager

Equitable Land Access Updates

ELA farmers at Wanatee are harvesting and sending to market the first fruits of their labor. In May and June, Black Earth Gardens, owned and operated by Mari Hunt Wassink, harvested a variety of herbs, leafy greens, and strawberries for its summer CSA in collaboration with Trowel & Error. Their CSA completely sold out this year, so we highly recommend you tune in early and get on their list for next year! This CSA not only delivers on fresh, organic food, but serves as a model for food justice. It offers sliding scale plans and accepts SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks to make local food more accessible to low-income Iowans. Check out their CSA page and Black Earth Garden’s Facebook page for more info.

AP Farms, founded by Akola Parou, is growing produce to meet the needs of his African community. Akola expects his first harvests of green cabbage, heirloom tomatoes, green and red roselle, Brussels sprouts, and Jute leaves to hit the market in July. If you are interested in purchasing directly from AP Farms or learning more about its products, you can reach Akola at (319) 693-7120.

Our newest participant, Elouth Imani, has officially launched his farm business. It is our pleasure to introduce… Afro-Iowa Unity Farm! I’ll let Elouth speak for himself about why he started this business:

“When I got here in 2019, I struggled with the taste of food. It wasn’t organic, and if you wanted organic, it was expensive. So, I decided to start a farm dedicated to cultivating organic produce with care and precision. My priority is to provide organic produce to the community and educate them on how to farm organically in Iowa, which can help cut down the cost of organic food. At the heart of my operation is community – I’m passionate about growing more than just organic produce; I’m growing relationships and a healthier future.”

Elouth will be harvesting green cabbage from late June to mid-July. If you want to get in touch, you can contact him at imanielouth@gmail.com.

Alora Kraus
Equitable Land Access Program Director

Distribution Updates

We’re excited to announce that produce distribution is officially underway for the summer season! Our Veggie Van and Pantry distribution kicked off in June, bringing fresh, local produce to our community. Be sure to check out the Veggie Van & Pantry flyers and all related links—schedules, stops, and resources are now available. Even better, the Produce Shed is now open for the season! You can drop off donations 24 hours a day during the week. If you’re dropping off after office hours or on weekends, just text or email our Distribution Coordinator—contact info is posted inside the shed.

Don’t forget to sign up for the 2025 Veggie Van season using our Signup Genius link to get involved.

Monday Volunteer Nights have started at the shop from 4:00–6:00 PM at 1506 10th St. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401. Come garden and prep with us—just bring water, closed-toed shoes, gloves, and gear ready for some hands-in-the-dirt action.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities, please check out our resources!

Melanie Fetter
Food Safety and Distribution Coordinator

EVENTS

Global Graze: Raising Funds for Local Farming
Mark you calendars for Friday, September 12th, from 5pm to 8pm at the LivingLearning Rooftop City (450 5th Ave SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401) for our new annual event, Global Graze!

This exciting new signature rooftop event is a delicious fusion of international flavors and local food, featuring globally inspired street food crafted by talented local chefs in collaboration with area farmers. Each dish is a unique celebration of Iowa-grown ingredients brought to life through diverse culinary traditions from around the world.

What to Expect:

• Creative street food tastings from chef-farmer teams
• Rooftop views, live entertainment, and community vibes
• A chance to meet the people growing and preparing your food
• A silent auction, benefiting Feed Iowa First 
• Supporting local farming and food equity in Iowa

Produce Shed is Open!

SHOUTOUTS

FOR YOU