Local Food Purchasing & Procurement

The purchase of locally grown and processed foods by institutions such as schools, hospitals, and grocers and by aggregators like food hubs is essential to strengthen local food systems. Investment and targeted technical support to make the connections between buyers and sellers will support farmers by ensuring consistent and reliable markets, while providing healthy foods to our communities.

• Every year, public institutions across the United States – from school districts to city governments – spend billions of dollars on food purchases to feed millions of people. These purchases can be a powerful lever for change, serving better food, promoting thriving communities, good jobs, local producers, environmental stewardship.

• Direct-from-the-farm sales, which includes individuals, retailers, institutions, and intermediaries, was a $9 billion industry in 2020. This number went up 3%between 2015 and 2020, despite a 12% decline in farms making direct farm to consumer sales demonstrating growing capacity to fill this market (NASS, 2022).

• Intermediate markets such as schools, grocers, and institutions play a role in farm profitability. An analysis of farm profitability for those selling direct-from-the-farm found that among the top performing farms and ranches, those that sell only through intermediated channels, or a combination of direct and intermediated channels performed much better than those using direct markets only (Jabolinski, McFadden, Bauman, Shideler, 2018).

• The 2022 US Ag Census suggests Iowa farmers are adjusting to the reported plateauing of direct to consumer sales (Wilkinson, 2022). Census data shows that there were fewer Iowa farms selling direct to consumers in 2022 than in 2017 and more farms selling to retail, institutions, or food hubs (NASS, 2022).

In 2022, Iowans spent $12.6 billion on food and beverage purchases not including food and drink purchased at restaurants, bars, or events. If just 10%of this budget were met through local production, it would put $1.2 billion to work circulating in Iowa’s economy (State of Iowa, 2024).

The Local Food Purchasing and Procurement priority team is dedicated to fostering expanded partnerships and creating capacity to support the outlined strategies. This team is currently led by organizations who support local food purchasing on multiple levels.

• Kaitlyn Scheuermann, Waukee Community School District

• Teresa Wiemerslage, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Farm, Food and Enterprise Development

To achieve our goals of increasing capacity for all food businesses and institutions to purchase local food at a fair price to farmers, we have determined the following six strategies and actions are urgently needed.

Strategy 1: Increase investment in the procurement of local/regional food through institutions including, but not limited to schools and early care centers, governmental agencies, groceries, restaurants, etc.

Strategy 2: Increase targeted technical support and education for food procurement.

Strategy 3: Enhance infrastructure and equipment for all scales of businesses.

Strategy 4: Develop policy recommendations to support this goal, working closely with the Local Food Policy Network team.

Strategy 5: Integrate procurement messaging in communication and education campaigns.

Strategy 6: Ensure that all children have access to comprehensive food system education.

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Camp Creek Organic Produce

Healthy Harvest of North Iowa

Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Iowa Department of Education

Iowa Farmers Union

Iowa Food Bank Association

Iowa Food Hub

Iowa State University Extension & Outreach Farm, Food and Enterprise Development

• Local Food for Schools

• Farm to School & Early Care Coalition

Iowa Valley Resource Conservation & Development

Northeast Iowa Food Bank

Practical Farmers of Iowa

School Nutrition Association of Iowa

Southern Iowa Resource Conservation & Development

University of Northern Iowa Center for Energy & Environmental Education

Waukee Community Schools Farm to School Program

• The number of Iowa farms engaging in direct-to-consumer sales has decreased from 2,575 in 2017 to 2,427 in 2022, reflecting a broader national trend where growth in local food sales is more concentrated through intermediaries such as institutions and retailers.

• Despite the decline in direct-to-consumer sales, the number of Iowa farms selling to retail markets, institutions, or food hubs has significantly increased from 558 in 2017 to 957 in 2022. This shift highlights the growing importance of intermediary markets for local food distribution.

• The success of the Iowa Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools (LFS) has proven what’s needed and possible to connect institutional interest in purchasing local food and production capacity.

• Technical support such as Cafeteria Coaching has proven effective in helping early care, K-12 schools, and other institutional buyers on how to effectively utilize local foods.

• Read the Existing Conditions section in this chapter to learn about these and other important details about this priority.

Participants in the Iowa Food System Coalition work together, rely upon each other, and hold one another accountable in the work to advance the priorities of the Iowa Food System Plan. Interested in working together to advance a thriving, equitable food system in Iowa? Fill out our Interest Form here.