Marketing and Food Systems Initiative
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What's new
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Competitive Grants
- 2009 grant projects Read about 18 new projects for the initiative. Grants for 7 earlier projects also were renewed. Read descriptions of projects and profiles of the people who will be doing the work. Read about projects that cross all initiatives at the Leopold Center.
- Food Facts: Results from Marketing and Food Systems Research This web page has key research findings from projects supported by the Leopold Center's Marketing and Food Systems Initiative and the Regional Food Systems Working Group. Also available as a colorful print report, March 2008
Regional Food Systems Working Group
- Local foods in Iowa The Leopold Center leads the Regional Food Systems Working Group of the Value Chain Partnerships project. The working group is supporting local food system efforts in these areas:
- Hometown Harvest of Southeast Iowa (Davis, Jefferson, Keokuk, Mahaska, Van Buren and Wapello counties), led by the Pathfinders RC&D, Fairfield
- Northeast Iowa Food and Farm Coalition (Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek counties), led by Iowa State University Extension, Decorah
- South West Iowa Food and Farm Initiative (Adair, Adams, Audubon, Cass, Guthrie, Montgomery, Pottawattomie and Shelby counties), led by the Wallace Foundation for Rural Research and Development, Lewis
- Northern Iowa Food and Farm Partnership (Black Hawk and neighboring counties) led by the UNI Center for Energy and Environmental Education
- Northwest Iowa Regional Local Foods System (Cherokee, Ida, Monona, Plymouth, Sioux and Woodbury), led by the Floyd Boulevard Local Foods Market program in Sioux City (no web site available) and
- Marshall County (no web site developed yet)
More about the Regional Food Systems Working Group and Value Chain Partnerships at www.valuechains.org
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About the Initiative
Objectives for the Marketing and Food Systems Initiative are to:
- Research and test new marketing strategies and business structures that allow Iowa’s farmers and communities to retain more of the value for energy, food or fiber produced;
- Support education, conduct research and facilitate partnerships to increase investment and support of local and regional food, fiber and energy enterprises; and
- Using a communities of practice framework, conduct research and education to address challenges that impede farmers and farmer networks from being equal partners in energy, food or fiber-based value chains.
Initiative overview [PDF printable version]
Initiative leader: Rich Pirog, (515) 294-1854, rspirog@iastate.edu; or Program Assistant Beth Larabee, (515) 294-8530, blarabee@iastate.edu