Iowa Food System Coalition
@ifsc.bsky.social
The Iowa Food System Coalition (IFSC) was formed to chart a course toward a thriving, sustainable, and equitable food system in Iowa.
There’s a word that explains a lot about modern agriculture, even if Merriam-Webster hasn’t caught up yet: chickenization. It’s what happens when animals become “widgets,” farms become factories, and power quietly shifts from thousands of farmers to a handful of corporations.
Chickenizing the American food system
The loss of flavor and farms, and the Iowans pushing back.
attheiowafarmtable.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:22 PM
There’s a word that explains a lot about modern agriculture, even if Merriam-Webster hasn’t caught up yet: chickenization. It’s what happens when animals become “widgets,” farms become factories, and power quietly shifts from thousands of farmers to a handful of corporations.
Got a story to tell? 🗣
Share your local food success, idea, or perspective with us. We’re always looking for stories that show how food connects Iowans across the state.
iowafoodsystemcoalition.org/media-submission
Share your local food success, idea, or perspective with us. We’re always looking for stories that show how food connects Iowans across the state.
iowafoodsystemcoalition.org/media-submission
Media Submission | Get Involved Today — Iowa Food System Coalition
Explore Iowa Food System Coalition's initiatives on land access, food development, infrastructure, and more. Join our meetings and stay connected with local food policies.
www.iowafoodsystemcoalition.org
October 26, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Got a story to tell? 🗣
Share your local food success, idea, or perspective with us. We’re always looking for stories that show how food connects Iowans across the state.
iowafoodsystemcoalition.org/media-submission
Share your local food success, idea, or perspective with us. We’re always looking for stories that show how food connects Iowans across the state.
iowafoodsystemcoalition.org/media-submission
In recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day, we hear from two Indigenous women residing in Iowa and learn how shifting our perspective can help bring us back into balance with the natural world. Tune into the latest episode of At the Iowa Farm Table wherever you get your podcasts.
The Key to Ecological Healing
A celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day
attheiowafarmtable.substack.com
October 6, 2025 at 1:36 PM
In recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day, we hear from two Indigenous women residing in Iowa and learn how shifting our perspective can help bring us back into balance with the natural world. Tune into the latest episode of At the Iowa Farm Table wherever you get your podcasts.
📍 Malvern, IA — pop. 1,000.
At 65, Tom Mulholland postponed retirement to keep his small-town grocery alive. Rising supplier costs + uncertainty around SNAP threaten stores like his. Hear Tom’s story Oct 2 at 6:30 PM.
👉 RSVP: calendar.app.google/Lh5e5xPF5xpc...
At 65, Tom Mulholland postponed retirement to keep his small-town grocery alive. Rising supplier costs + uncertainty around SNAP threaten stores like his. Hear Tom’s story Oct 2 at 6:30 PM.
👉 RSVP: calendar.app.google/Lh5e5xPF5xpc...
September 26, 2025 at 11:22 PM
📍 Malvern, IA — pop. 1,000.
At 65, Tom Mulholland postponed retirement to keep his small-town grocery alive. Rising supplier costs + uncertainty around SNAP threaten stores like his. Hear Tom’s story Oct 2 at 6:30 PM.
👉 RSVP: calendar.app.google/Lh5e5xPF5xpc...
At 65, Tom Mulholland postponed retirement to keep his small-town grocery alive. Rising supplier costs + uncertainty around SNAP threaten stores like his. Hear Tom’s story Oct 2 at 6:30 PM.
👉 RSVP: calendar.app.google/Lh5e5xPF5xpc...
Iowa schools spend millions feeding kids — in effect, they’re the largest restaurants in the state. In this replay, we dig into the real economics of school lunch and who benefits from Iowa's school lunch dollars.
Listen on Substack or wherever you get your podsattheiowafarmtable.substack.com
Listen on Substack or wherever you get your podsattheiowafarmtable.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Iowa schools spend millions feeding kids — in effect, they’re the largest restaurants in the state. In this replay, we dig into the real economics of school lunch and who benefits from Iowa's school lunch dollars.
Listen on Substack or wherever you get your podsattheiowafarmtable.substack.com
Listen on Substack or wherever you get your podsattheiowafarmtable.substack.com
September 24 is Iowa Local Food Day, the official kick-off to Farm to School Month! See if your district is joining in, or learn how schools, early care sites, and colleges can celebrate by serving local foods this fall.
🔗iowafarmtoschoolearlycare.org/iowalocalfoodday
🔗iowafarmtoschoolearlycare.org/iowalocalfoodday
September 20, 2025 at 1:43 AM
September 24 is Iowa Local Food Day, the official kick-off to Farm to School Month! See if your district is joining in, or learn how schools, early care sites, and colleges can celebrate by serving local foods this fall.
🔗iowafarmtoschoolearlycare.org/iowalocalfoodday
🔗iowafarmtoschoolearlycare.org/iowalocalfoodday
The status quo isn’t the only path. Iowa agriculture has choices. Emily Deakyne with the Diverse Corn Belt Project joined us on our most recent podcast on At the Iowa Farm Table to talk about the future of farming in Iowa. Find it wherever you get your podcasts.
atttheiowafarmtable.substack.com
atttheiowafarmtable.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 11:04 PM
The status quo isn’t the only path. Iowa agriculture has choices. Emily Deakyne with the Diverse Corn Belt Project joined us on our most recent podcast on At the Iowa Farm Table to talk about the future of farming in Iowa. Find it wherever you get your podcasts.
atttheiowafarmtable.substack.com
atttheiowafarmtable.substack.com
For decades, conversations about agriculture in Iowa have centered on what’s broken: water quality, consolidation, chemicals, ultra-processed food. But rarely do they lead to the bigger question: what would a better system actually look like?
Food Grows Iowa: A Vision for a Diverse Midwest
Listen now | Iowa’s food system has been engineered into sameness. This episode explores how diversification—of crops, markets, and farmers—could reshape the Corn Belt.
attheiowafarmtable.substack.com
September 9, 2025 at 7:42 PM
For decades, conversations about agriculture in Iowa have centered on what’s broken: water quality, consolidation, chemicals, ultra-processed food. But rarely do they lead to the bigger question: what would a better system actually look like?
🍎 Join us Sept 10 for the UNI Local Food Festival (hosted by our partners at UNI CEEE)! We’ll have free local apples + enjoy free local burgers & sliders starting at 10:30.
UNI Local Food Festival
Event in Cedar Falls, IA by Cedar Valley Regional Food and Farm Network and UNI Center for Energy and Environmental Education on Wednesday, September 10 2025 with 217 people interested.13 posts in...
www.facebook.com
September 6, 2025 at 2:44 PM
🍎 Join us Sept 10 for the UNI Local Food Festival (hosted by our partners at UNI CEEE)! We’ll have free local apples + enjoy free local burgers & sliders starting at 10:30.
Join us for our quarterly gathering where food leaders from across Iowa come together to exchange ideas, share stories, and build momentum for a stronger food system. This session will also focus on one of the most pressing issues facing our state: water quality. Sept 11, Zoom, 9am.
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Regional Food Systems Working Group + Iowa Food System Coalition Meeting - September. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining...
Join us for the September meeting for the Regional Food Systems Working Group + Iowa Food System Coalition. More information to come!
us06web.zoom.us
September 2, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Join us for our quarterly gathering where food leaders from across Iowa come together to exchange ideas, share stories, and build momentum for a stronger food system. This session will also focus on one of the most pressing issues facing our state: water quality. Sept 11, Zoom, 9am.
🚨 We’ve surpassed $400k in pledged support for Iowa’s local food system! We’re extending the Local Food Promise to keep the momentum going.
Make your promise and help show what’s possible when Iowans commit to fresh, fair, and community-rooted food. 💪 IowaFoodSystemCoalition.org/Promise
Make your promise and help show what’s possible when Iowans commit to fresh, fair, and community-rooted food. 💪 IowaFoodSystemCoalition.org/Promise
August 31, 2025 at 10:45 PM
🚨 We’ve surpassed $400k in pledged support for Iowa’s local food system! We’re extending the Local Food Promise to keep the momentum going.
Make your promise and help show what’s possible when Iowans commit to fresh, fair, and community-rooted food. 💪 IowaFoodSystemCoalition.org/Promise
Make your promise and help show what’s possible when Iowans commit to fresh, fair, and community-rooted food. 💪 IowaFoodSystemCoalition.org/Promise
Iowa’s nitrate levels hit historic highs, forcing lawn watering bans, swim advisories, and costly cleanups. A new report confirms what many Iowans already know: agriculture is driving the problem, and solutions can’t wait.
So what can you do about a challenge this big?
So what can you do about a challenge this big?
4 IDEAs to Help Our Nitrate Problem
From testing your tap to shifting what we grow, here’s how Iowans can start making change.
attheiowafarmtable.substack.com
August 31, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Iowa’s nitrate levels hit historic highs, forcing lawn watering bans, swim advisories, and costly cleanups. A new report confirms what many Iowans already know: agriculture is driving the problem, and solutions can’t wait.
So what can you do about a challenge this big?
So what can you do about a challenge this big?
🎧 New episode drop! We head to the Iowa Quality Dairy Products Competition at the Iowa State Fair, where the stakes (and the squeaks) are high. From small-batch creameries to big-name dairies, we dig into how Iowa’s milk game is changing.
Substack // wherever you get your pods
Substack // wherever you get your pods
Iowa State Fair Showdown: Small, Squeaky, and Delicious
Dairy is often overlooked in Iowa, but is an industry on the rise in the state
attheiowafarmtable.substack.com
August 11, 2025 at 5:10 PM
🎧 New episode drop! We head to the Iowa Quality Dairy Products Competition at the Iowa State Fair, where the stakes (and the squeaks) are high. From small-batch creameries to big-name dairies, we dig into how Iowa’s milk game is changing.
Substack // wherever you get your pods
Substack // wherever you get your pods
Our newest episode, “What Sweet Corn Tells Us About Iowa’s Appetite for Change” we dig into the cultural layers of Iowa’s sweet corn obsession and what its enduring popularity reveals about what eaters are willing to do (and spend) for food they believe in.
What Sweet Corn Tells Us About Iowa’s Appetite for Change
People don’t hustle for kale like this.
attheiowafarmtable.substack.com
August 7, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Our newest episode, “What Sweet Corn Tells Us About Iowa’s Appetite for Change” we dig into the cultural layers of Iowa’s sweet corn obsession and what its enduring popularity reveals about what eaters are willing to do (and spend) for food they believe in.
Reposted by Iowa Food System Coalition
When the researchers onstage at Monday's event were asked if the state has “reached a point” where “regulation is necessary," all four — and the crowd of roughly 500 — proclaimed "yes."
The 200-page CISWRA report found nearly 80% of nitrate contamination in Iowa rivers comes from ag sources.
The 200-page CISWRA report found nearly 80% of nitrate contamination in Iowa rivers comes from ag sources.
Hundreds gather for presentation on Polk County water quality report; researchers, crowd call for regulation - Little Village
More than 500 individuals gathered Monday to hear what comes next following the release of an in-depth water quality report commissioned by Polk County. Another 500 watched online to hear […]
littlevillagemag.com
August 5, 2025 at 5:02 PM
When the researchers onstage at Monday's event were asked if the state has “reached a point” where “regulation is necessary," all four — and the crowd of roughly 500 — proclaimed "yes."
The 200-page CISWRA report found nearly 80% of nitrate contamination in Iowa rivers comes from ag sources.
The 200-page CISWRA report found nearly 80% of nitrate contamination in Iowa rivers comes from ag sources.
From water quality to food hubs to hunger, At the Iowa Farm Table explores what’s working—and what’s not—in Iowa’s food system. Hosted by farmer, author, and journalist Beth Hoffman. New episodes every other Monday. 🎧 Listen wherever you get podcasts.
At the Iowa Farm Table Podcast | Beth Hoffman | Substack
The At the Iowa Farm Table Podcast takes a deep dive into food and farming in Iowa. Brought to you by the Iowa Food System Coalition. Click to read At the Iowa Farm Table Podcast, a Substack publicati...
attheiowafarmtable.substack.com
August 4, 2025 at 1:52 PM
From water quality to food hubs to hunger, At the Iowa Farm Table explores what’s working—and what’s not—in Iowa’s food system. Hosted by farmer, author, and journalist Beth Hoffman. New episodes every other Monday. 🎧 Listen wherever you get podcasts.
🌽 Sweet corn season is here, but local food shouldn’t be a once-a-year treat. Take the #LocalFoodPromise and help build a food system that feeds us all, all year long. IowaFoodSystemCoalition.org/Promise
August 2, 2025 at 4:48 PM
🌽 Sweet corn season is here, but local food shouldn’t be a once-a-year treat. Take the #LocalFoodPromise and help build a food system that feeds us all, all year long. IowaFoodSystemCoalition.org/Promise
Reposted by Iowa Food System Coalition
Bayer—which has spent more than $10 billion settling lawsuits from customers claiming the product Roundup gave them cancer—has substantially increased its lobbying budget.
Pesticide manufacturer Bayer spent more than $200K lobbying in Iowa - Little Village
Bayer, the biotech company and manufacturer of Roundup, has substantially increased its spending on lobbying in Iowa since the introduction of a pesticide labeling bill in 2024. In 2025, according […...
littlevillagemag.com
August 1, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Bayer—which has spent more than $10 billion settling lawsuits from customers claiming the product Roundup gave them cancer—has substantially increased its lobbying budget.
This week’s episode of At the Iowa Farm Table dug into it: sweet corn, culture, and Iowa’s appetite for change. Episode sponsor, Healthy Harvest of North Iowa, has a collection of sweet corn recipes to help you savor the season.
healthyharvestni.com/consumers/recipes/?_sft_wprm_ingredient=sweet-corn
healthyharvestni.com/consumers/recipes/?_sft_wprm_ingredient=sweet-corn
August 1, 2025 at 11:20 PM
This week’s episode of At the Iowa Farm Table dug into it: sweet corn, culture, and Iowa’s appetite for change. Episode sponsor, Healthy Harvest of North Iowa, has a collection of sweet corn recipes to help you savor the season.
healthyharvestni.com/consumers/recipes/?_sft_wprm_ingredient=sweet-corn
healthyharvestni.com/consumers/recipes/?_sft_wprm_ingredient=sweet-corn
Reposted by Iowa Food System Coalition
Bayer, the biotech company and manufacturer of Round Up, has substantially increased its spending on lobbying in Iowa since the introduction of a pesticide labeling bill in 2024, Cami Koons reports.
Pesticide manufacturer spent more than $200K lobbying in Iowa • Iowa Capital Dispatch
Bayer has substantially increased its spending on lobbying in Iowa since the introduction of a pesticide labeling bill in 2024.
iowacapitaldispatch.com
July 31, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Bayer, the biotech company and manufacturer of Round Up, has substantially increased its spending on lobbying in Iowa since the introduction of a pesticide labeling bill in 2024, Cami Koons reports.
New podcast episode! 🌽 We dig into Iowa’s sweet corn obsession...from its Indigenous roots to canning plants, farm crisis survival, and what it reveals about the food we’re willing to go the extra mile for.
🎧 Listen: attheiowafarmtable.substack.com #IowaFoodVoices #SweetCornSeason #ifsc
🎧 Listen: attheiowafarmtable.substack.com #IowaFoodVoices #SweetCornSeason #ifsc
July 28, 2025 at 1:01 PM
New podcast episode! 🌽 We dig into Iowa’s sweet corn obsession...from its Indigenous roots to canning plants, farm crisis survival, and what it reveals about the food we’re willing to go the extra mile for.
🎧 Listen: attheiowafarmtable.substack.com #IowaFoodVoices #SweetCornSeason #ifsc
🎧 Listen: attheiowafarmtable.substack.com #IowaFoodVoices #SweetCornSeason #ifsc
We sat down with Ilsa Dewald, Johnson County Food and Farm Manager, to talk about local food policy councils and what's happening in Johnson County on our Side Dish episode. Check it out! #attheiowfarmtable #iowafoodsystemcoalition #ifscpartner
July 22, 2025 at 12:53 PM
We sat down with Ilsa Dewald, Johnson County Food and Farm Manager, to talk about local food policy councils and what's happening in Johnson County on our Side Dish episode. Check it out! #attheiowfarmtable #iowafoodsystemcoalition #ifscpartner
Gov. Reynolds rejected $29M in federal funds for Summer EBT, replacing it with Iowa’s own model: Healthy Kids Iowa. We unpack what the new program looks like on the ground—and ask: is it really working for families, pantries, and kids?
What's in the Box? The "Health" of Healthy Kids Iowa
Listen now | In this episode, we unpack what Healthy Kids Iowa looks like on the ground. We speak with pantry leaders, parents, and advocates to understand how this new model is playing out across Iow...
attheiowafarmtable.substack.com
July 19, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Gov. Reynolds rejected $29M in federal funds for Summer EBT, replacing it with Iowa’s own model: Healthy Kids Iowa. We unpack what the new program looks like on the ground—and ask: is it really working for families, pantries, and kids?