Community members come together to support Iowa farmers at local event.
By Tom Ackerman
On Aug. 18, 200 people gathered in Iowa City to show support for their local farmers and taste local cuisine.
Iowa City, in partnership with the Downtown District and Field to Family, hosted the first ever Farm to Street Dinner, in which local chefs prepared six-course meals made from local produce.
Proceeds will go to local education and children’s programs. The event was inspired by a similar event in Tennessee, organizers said.
The proceeds fund programs such as Farm to School, which provides healthy foods to Iowa City schools, and the IC Parks and Recreation Foundation.
Tickets were on sale for $75 and sold out in June in 48 hours.
“Supporting our local food system has multiple benefits,” said Mayor Jim Throgmorton at the event. “It stimulates our local economy, it helps sustain area farms, and it reduces energy consumption for handling, transporting, and storing food.”
Michelle Kenyon, the program director for Field to Family, said the income is critical because the U.S. Department of Agriculture funds are not enough to cover costs and includes “highly competitive and arduous applications for one to two years of benefits.”
Kenyon noted some of the local farms that offered the food for the evening included Wilson’s Orchard, Friendly Farm, Green Share, LCC, and Muddy Miss Farms.
The night also welcomed Iowa City restaurants and chefs who prepared the food, including chefs from Baroncini Ristorante, Devotay, Motley Cow Café, North Side Bistro, Pullman Bar and Diner, and SHARE Wine Lounge and Bistro.
Alison Demory, director of nutrition services for Iowa City schools, said these types of events help kids eat better.
“Field to Family has been an invaluable partner for the School Nutrition Department,” she said. “These fresh and local items are not only delicious, they help us teach students where their food comes from.”
Field to Family was established in 2010 with a mission to connect farmers with their communities, as well as kids at school.
In May, the group hosted two Farmer Fairs, in which local elementary students took field trips to local farms to taste new foods and learn