Local foods resources for counties:

• FFED Program Overview (pdf)
• Local Food Coordinator Peer-to-Peer Resources
• Local Food Coordinators: Who are they, and why are they important? (pdf)
• Beginning Local Food Coordinator Toolkit
• Why is ISU Extension and Outreach investing in local foods?
• 2014 Report about Local Food Engagement Best Practices from Extension Regional Directors (pdf)
• Results Summary for 2017 County Local Foods Resource and Needs Survey (pdf)

Are you a local food coordinator or other county extension staff engaging in local foods work and looking for more specific resources?  Check out our other resources for producers in your area, professional development opportunities for yourself, program funding opportunities, community coalition development, curriculum for working with youth and more under our Tools navigation tab.

Looking for ISU Extension and Outreach professionals engaged in local foods?

• Visit the FFED staff page to learn more about our team’s areas of support.
• To find county staff around the state engaging in local food systems, go to a local county extension website and search the staff page for ‘local food coordinator’; if there is not a local food coordinator listed for that county or region, other county staff that may be engaging with local food efforts are horticulture specialists, Master Gardener coordinators, or County Youth Coordinators (CYCs). Find a county’s extension webpage.
• To locate ISU Extension specialists and resources outside of the FFED Program, check out the following:
  • ISU Extension Food Safety page
  • ISU Extension Horticulture page

Examples of extension-led local food projects:

ISU Extension and Outreach county staff are already leading in local foods by:

• Helping initiate farm-to-school and farm-to-institution projects, including connecting local producers to local buyers. (View an Introduction to Farm to School for County Staff webinar hosted by FFED in October 2017.)
• Initiating and participating in developing a local or regional food hub.
• Providing educational programing such as workshops on seasonal menu planning and cooking.
• Creating a regional food identity with branding and marketing campaign.
• Supporting the creation of an incubator farm for beginning farmers.
• Increasing food access for low-income populations by initiating and supporting garden and food box donation efforts.
• Planning “farm crawls” showcasing local producers. (View a farm crawl best practices guide created in Iowa by Healthy Harvest — Fresh on the Farm Toolkit 2017.)
• Managing and marketing local farmers markets.
• Supporting community and school gardens, including donating produce to local food pantries.