March 29, 2023

Grant Writing 101

Golden Hills is co-hosting an online Grant Writing 101 class, led by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach staff, on Wednesday, April 5 from 1-4pm.

Representatives of nonprofits, governmental entities and school districts are encouraged to register. The class will provide hands-on training in seeking and writing successful grant applications.

Registration fee for the workshop is $25, with registration required by April 3.

Learn more and register at

https://www.goldenhillsrcd.org/grantwriting101.html

Farm to School

The Center for Rural Affairs and Golden Hills RC&D will be partnering to grow Farm to School in southwest Iowa. Schools in 12 southwest Iowa counties: Monona, Crawford, Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie, Cass, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont, Carroll, Audubon and Page, are encouraged to apply to participate in a new farm to school agriculture education program.

The goals are to increase the access to agriculture, build gardening skills for food production and to promote access to healthy, fresh, locally grown produce for students and their families.

Selected schools will receive technical assistance and support on food production and agriculture education through December 2023. Also included are Farm to School curriculum resources, a $2,000 mini grant for food production, garden, greenhouse or aqua/hydroponics. Selected schools will also receive a stipend for garden tools, a stipend to attend the Iowa Farm to School Conference in June, a stipend for one teacher to attend the Southwest Iowa Local Foods Summit, and a stipend for one farmer speaker to visit the school and deliver a presentation on what they grow. Assistance with accessing Iowa local foods procurement programs and grant writing assistance pertaining to school gardens and greenhouse grants are also part of the award.

Please share with any principals or teachers that

work in eligible counties.

The deadline to apply for this opportunity is:

5pm on Friday, April 14.

Follow this link for more information and to apply.

Other local food happenings in the upcoming week:

• Join southwest Iowa food growers, Gardens on Glen, 3 Bees Farm, and Stephens Family Gardens for a panel discussion covering community and small space gardening, seed sharing and more. This event will be held at the Council Bluffs Library March 30, from 6:30-8pm in Meeting Room B. Visit the Council Bluffs Library website for more information.

• The Produce in the Park Spring Celebration Market is Thursday, April 6, from 4-7pm at the Cass County Community Center, 805 W. 10th Street, Atlantic. This will be a fun event with many vendors bringing in local produce, meats, eggs, goodies and more. Pre-ordering goodies, ahead of the event, is an option from March 30-April 4. Visit www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com to pre-order or for more information.

• Eligible Iowa farm owners should apply for the 2023 Century and Heritage Farm Program now through June 1. The program was created by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Farrm Bureau Federation to recognize families who have owned their farms for 100 years and 150 years, respectively. To apply download the application here.

• Produce in the Park, a non-profit organization in Atlantic, is hiring a paid Market Manager. If you are interested in celebrating local food and community, and you live in the Atlantic area, check out the job listing for details.

Funding Opportunities

• The USDA has announced $133 million available in competitive grant funding through the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) to support local and regional food system projects. This funding is available to develop, coordinate, and expand producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets, and local food enterprises. The Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP), Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) and the Regional Food System Partnership (RFSP) are administered as three separate programs and require separate Request for Applications (RFA). Follow this link for in depth explanation of each program and details on how to apply. The deadline for application is Monday, May 2nd.

• The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) uses non-competitive cooperative agreements to purchase food produced within the state or within 400 miles of the delivery destination to help support local, regional and underserved producers. If you are a local producer in Iowa and are interested in getting involved, fill out the Producer Registration Form here. Value added producers that are using 51% of local goods in their products can also register. For more information about the LFPA, please follow this link.

Contact: Jamie Fowler | Golden Hills RC&D | jamie.fowler@goldenhillsrcd.org