Meeting to Discuss Local Food Buying Options Next Week

By  Penny Brown Huber
 
There is a new opportunity opening up for those of you who are looking for new markets for your food products.  I have been working on a project here in Story and Boone Counties, called Health for Life.  This project is targeted at getting local foods into senior care facilities to improve their food, to provide commerce for local growers and to build community within senior care facilities. 
 
On April 13th, a meeting will be hosted at the Prairie Rivers Resource Conservation and Development Office, 2402 South Duff Avenue, Ames to bring together farmers and farm businesses to meet with two senior care facilities:  Madrid Homes, Madrid and Bethany Manor, Story City. 
 
The meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m. and provide an opportunity for you to hear what Madrid Homes and Bethany Manor's interests are in purchasing local food, what their food needs are and then, for you to outline what food products you have available.  This type of commerce has been successfully done in Waverly, Iowa at Bartels Retirement Community.  After four years, Bartels is buying almost their entire food needs from local growers and doing it in some very unique ways. 
 
So if you are interested in selling meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb), eggs, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, grains or other locally grown and/or produced food products, we hope you will attend.  This will be your chance to make the connection in a smaller market (their food needs could be met by small and mid-size farmers), and to establish a new customer. 
 
Let me know if you are interested and can attend.  If you do attend, please bring some information on your farm and a list of the products you would be interested in selling.  Thank you.
 
 Penny Brown Huber
Grow Your Small Market Farm Program
414 So. 17th St., Suite 102
Ames, IA 50010
515.232.1344