Iowa City-based non-profit is on a mission to provide increased access to healthy, local food for people in Johnson County and Eastern Iowa.
November 1st, 2023 – Nestled in Iowa City’s Southside Market alongside fellow non-profit leaders, Table to Table and CommUnity, sits Field to Family, a growing organization that is having an impact well beyond its understated office space.
It’s here where Executive Director Michelle Kenyon and her staff run a non-profit that is on a mission to increase access to and education around healthy and local food.
“Many people don’t realize it when they drive by, but we are operating a comprehensive regional food hub and online market,” Kenyon said. “It’s our passion, and we believe it’s a gamechanger for Johnson County and Eastern Iowa.”
Field to Family started as an organization in 2002, but its mission expanded significantly five years ago to include the creation of a comprehensive food hub. The inspiration, Kenyon said, was to ensure everyone across Johnson County and Eastern Iowa should be able to eat fresh food with the seasons.
“Accessibility is a big issue, and we want to ensure everyone has the same opportunity to eat foods grown locally,” Kenyon said. “We also believe it is imperative to partner with as many local growers as possible, including those who are considered underrepresented, to ensure the supply can meet the community’s needs for the long-term.”
Field to Family is an education-based non-profit that forges connections and partnerships between Iowa growers, food service professionals, and community collaborators and advocates. “Our growers and consumers all play a key role in making this food system work,” Kenyon said. “That’s why we believe in building strong, lasting relationships by connecting local producers with customers.”
The organization does this on many levels: at the consumer level through its online farmers market and community outreach, and at the wholesale level for institutional customers seeking a diverse selection of products from a variety of producers. Field to Family works with early care centers, K-12 schools, retirement communities, colleges, universities, and other institutions. This allows food procurement specialists to source fresh food locally year round from a streamlined ordering system.
Becky Risdon, Williamsburg Schools Food Service Manager, said she appreciates the fresh produce Field to Family provides along with the opportunities students have to try new items. “Our students have really enjoyed all the vegetables we have been able to prepare,” she said. “The variety and quality have been outstanding. Our ability to support local farmers has been an added bonus.”
Field to Family sources from local growers within a 100-mile radius of Johnson/Linn counties and from partner food hubs in Iowa. In the past year, the non-profit has purchased from over 70 local vendors and three partner food hubs. Ensuring local farmers have a way to get their food to the consumer, whether through marketing, procurement, or distribution, is critical.
Last year, Field to Family was awarded a USDA grant, which allowed the organization to work with Meld Marketing in Iowa City. “We knew we had a great story to tell; we just needed help telling it. It’s not always clear to the public what we do. Words like food hub can be confusing so we wanted to ensure our messaging and marketing are easy to understand,” Kenyon said.
Meld immersed itself in the organization, working to evolve the identity and messaging to better reflect what the Field to Family brand stands for today. The new logo features three lines that represent the organization’s core areas: a comprehensive regional food hub, an online farmers market, and a mission to expand access and education in the community and schools.
“So much of our work originates in the field, and the exciting part is to watch all of the places the food can go and the lives it can impact, including families, consumers, growers, the region, school children, and so much more,” Board Co-Chair Brian Morelli said. “The new logo represents that movement whether it’s from farm to family, to a school, to another food hub, or wherever the future leads us.”
In 2021, the organization moved to 1051 US HWY 6 in Iowa City, allowing the non-profit to grow its online farmers market with a convenient drive-through on the backside of the building. Here, growers drop off seasonal produce, meat, dairy, plant starts and value-added food and farm products almost daily. This is also where buyers pick up their orders. The online market, which also offers delivery, started during Covid, and has continued to grow.
Outside of the market, the biggest growth area has been the organization’s evolution into a regional food hub. In this capacity, Field to Family manages the purchase, aggregation, storage, marketing, and delivery of local, sustainably produced food.
The goals of Field to Family’s food hub include making it easier for community members to choose and access locally sourced foods, farmers to sell their food and make a living wage; increasing the amount of food procured from Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) growers and others the USDA considers underestimated; partnering with community food distributors that reach individuals who are structurally excluded from our current food system; and educating food service providers on how to implement local into their cafeterias.
Five years in, Board Co-Chair Katy Meyer who is also Chef and Owner of Trumpet Blossom restaurant in Iowa City, said the organization is excited about its future. “We can see the impact we’re having, and the community we’re building. ”The idea is to educate the next generation about local food production and sustainability and why it matters.”
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Media Contact:
Field to Family Executive Director Michelle Kenyon | 319.855.8847 | e: [email protected]
Photos: Link. Photo captions: 1. Field to family’s new logo. 2. Field to Family Executive Director Michelle Kenyon
Field to Family is an Iowa City-based nonprofit food hub and market powered by dedicated growers and community members who want to increase access to and education around healthy and local food. Cultivating connections and partnerships across Johnson County and Eastern Iowa, Field to Family partners with regional growers and producers so all people can eat local and eat well.