Bring Iowa Home for the Holidays

Bring Iowa Home for the Holidays: Celebrating Local Food Across Iowa

This holiday season, the Iowa Food System Coalition (IFSC) and its partners are proud to highlight the incredible work happening across our state to bring locally-grown food to your table. We are excited to showcase the initiatives, events, and resources from our partners to make this season a celebration of Iowa's thriving local food community.

Sourcing Guides

Healthy Harvest of North Iowa and the UNI Local Food Program promote local food through their Grow. Eat. Play. campaigns, offering holiday recipes, guides, and festive quizzes.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach FFED shares their statewide Food Hub Directory. Food hubs are great places to source local ingredients for your holiday meals.

Gifting

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach provides a CSA Directory. CSAs are great gifts that keep on giving throughout the year, offering fresh, local produce to your loved ones.

Healthy Harvest of North Iowa’s Grow. Eat. Play. campaign offers ideas for Easy Local Food Gifts Guide, perfect for the holiday season.

Holiday Events

Eat Greater Des Moines is partnering on a community Thanksgiving meal and working to source local turkeys for this year's event. They invite local media and the community to come and see how sourcing local makes a difference.

Clear Lake Farmers Market will host a holiday market on Sunday, December 15th in the historic Surf Ballroom featuring local vendors selling homemade and homegrown goods—perfect for finding unique gifts and treats.

Food Access

The holiday season is often the busiest time of year for food pantries. As the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) continues to experience record levels of need, with an average of 1,200 individuals served daily, their commitment to providing local food is more important than ever. Read More >