Practical farmers of iowa will expand the capacity of iowas existing food hubs and dramatically increase farmtoinstitution sales across the state

This initiative will focus on bolstering food hub operations to capture more institutional purchases onboard a wider range of iowa farmers and ranchers as vendors and strategically grow their sales territories. The project anticipates a transformative effect on the states local food system leveraging upcoming institutional purchasing incentives to permanently convert new institutions into loyal local food customers. Farmers processors and other stakeholders will benefit from this expansion with the goal of increasing the volume of locally sourced products reaching institutions. Practical farmers of iowa will play a crucial role by providing key outreach and education to farmers including facilitating collaborative opportunities among the food hubs providing specialized support optimizing food hub key performance indicators and offering business management coaching.