The Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition
Mission: Increase access to locally-grown food and food education for children and families by building cross-sector partnerships to advance programs and policies in schools, early care settings, and the food system.
Vision: Farm to school and early care programs in Iowa are rooted in just and strong local and regional food systems, ensuring the health and wellness of all children and families, the strength of family farms, and the resilience of our communities.
Our Core Values
Coalition Structure and Goals
Reporting and Evaluation
We support and uphold the following values:
Education: We value the voice and leadership of youth and educators; we support a comprehensive sequence of nutrition and food literacy from birth through 12th grade.
Equity: We acknowledge and understand historical systems of oppression and inequity that exist in food systems and education; we support culturally responsive and reflective resources and practices.
Access: We support policies and programs that increase equitable access to and awareness of local food, food education, and all farm to school and early care initiatives.
Transparency: We value authentic and respectful communication and feedback with partners and community members; we maintain clear, coordinated communication systems with partners and communities about who we are and what we work to accomplish.
Relationships and Collaboration: We center opportunities to build meaningful relationships with communities and stakeholders, developing shared understanding, language, and goals.
Respect: We identify diversity as strength; we acknowledge and celebrate that we come together with personal experience, perspective, culture, and community.
The Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition convenes a dedicated group of stakeholders who collaboratively work toward shared goals. Horizontal leadership within the coalition embeds sustainability, cross-organizational partnership, and statewide reach into the coalition’s structure.
Co-chairs coordinate general support, facilitate meetings and lead evaluation of activities and projects. Three strategy teams bring the coalition’s goals to life by providing focused space for work on key issues and projects. Strategy teams meet monthly and the coalition meets bi-monthly.
The Coalition serves a broad network of stakeholders - schools, early care sites, local farmers and food hubs, nonprofits, and community organizations - and generates movement statewide.
Join the Coalition!
We want to continue to grow a diverse and committed coalition who supports kids and communities in Iowa. New partners make that possible! If you are interested in joining, review the following orientation instructions.
Orientation Instructions
After watching the video, email F2SEC@gmail.com: the Coalition co-chairs will set-up a meeting with you to answer questions, walk through expectations of coalition membership, and clarify the current priorities and needs of the coalition.
Annual Reports
Members of the Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition track and share consistent data related to the projects, programs, purchase of local foods, and progress of farm to school and early care initiatives across Iowa on an annual basis. The information and stories are analyzed and compiled in the coalition’s Annual Report, linked below.
Iowa Local Food Day Impact Reports
Iowa Local Food Day, 2019
Iowa Local Food Day, 2020
Iowa Local Food Day, 2021
Iowa Local Food Day, 2022
Iowa Local Food Day, 2023
Iowa Local Food Day, 2024
Great Apple Crunch, 2022
Great Apple Crunch, 2023
Great Apple Crunch, 2024
