The ISU Local Food Festival is an annual celebration of local food and healthy living. This event centers around incorporating local foods into your daily meals, empowering healthy lifestyles, and sustainability-focused activities to engage students, faculty and staff to make connections with Ames and nearby communities. The festival began in 2015 as a collaboration between the Farm, Food and Enterprise Development, ISU Dining, ISU’s Live Green! Initiative, the ISU Sustainable Agriculture Student Association, and other partners. 

Festival Details

Join the 2,500 plus students and faculty in attendance for this free event Wednesday, September 20, 2023 from 9:30 am – 1:30 pm on central campus between Beardshear Hall and Curtiss Hall. 

The festival features educational displays, locally grown and produced products for sale by local vendors and ISU clubs, and recipe samples using fresh-picked produce from the ISU Horticulture Research Station.

“The opportunity to showcase how easy it is to eat healthy is something our chefs really enjoy,” explains Karen Rodenkamp, food service manager at Iowa State University.

Questions? Contact Megan Kemp at mkemp@iastate.edu.

Volunteer Opportunities

Interested in volunteering with the Festival? Email Megan Kemp at mkemp@iastate.edu.

Sponsors and Vendors