At a time when nearly two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, and one-third of children born in 2000 are expected to get diabetes in their lifetimes, the importance of fresh and nutritious food cannot be overstated. Processed convenience food loaded with calories, fat, and sodium is cheap, readily available, and consumed by Americans across all income levels. Access to fresh and healthy food and the knowledge and confidence to prepare delicious meals with it are essential to scaling back our ballooning weight and health problems. Local Foods Connection strives to provide such opportunities to disadvantaged people and families in our community.

For 12 years, Local Foods Connection has been helping low-income families have access to fresh, locally produced vegetables, eggs, bread, and meat. A nonprofit organization based in Iowa City, the organization also serves Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. The group started when two local farmers and a volunteer farmworker came together in their desire to make locally grown food available to low-income families in their community. Farmers Susan Jutz and Simone Delaty wanted to have their Community Supported Agriculture shares accessible to people of all income classes. A membership in such a group is a promise of a box full of fresh produce from a local farm every week for around 20 weeks. A box is filled with a mixture of vegetables ready for harvest, from greens, turnips, and radishes in the spring to squash, eggplant, and potatoes in the fall. In order to make a living at being such a farmer, the farmers needed to price their shares at a level unreachable for most low-income families. With the help of volunteer Laura Dowd, the farmers sought to raise enough money from their existing customer base to pay for a donated share, because they could not afford to give one away. In 1999, the trio raised enough funds to purchase a share for Iowa City’s Domestic Violence Intervention Program.

Today, Local Foods Connection, run by dozens of volunteers and activists, serves more than 30 low-income families and several social-service agencies that assist low-income and disabled individuals. While our core work is still to provide Community Supported Agriculture shares to families who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford them, over the years, we have worked to help connect our clients with the local-foods community and to educate them about the food they receive. We encourage our clients to establish a relationship with farmers and to visit the farms where their food is grown and produced. For some, this farm visit is the first time they have seen food growing. In addition, at the beginning of the growing season, we provide our clients with the cookbook Simply in Season, which includes not only recipes but a wealth of information about the vegetables themselves, including pictures and descriptions for easy identification, nutritional information as well as storage and handling tips. Furthermore, we prepare for our clients educational materials containing nutritional information and preparation tips for produce items. Because of these extra efforts, families who participate in Local Foods Connection are more likely to be successful in the program rather than to be overwhelmed by the new, and sometimes strange, vegetables that they receive each week.

Local Foods Connection is primarily funded by donations from businesses and individuals. Find out how to donate at www.localfoodsconnection.org. You can also read current news on our blog and Facebook page.