Johnson County Food Policy Council
SWOT Analysis - Local Food in Johnson County
DRAFT updated June 16, 2012
Compiled by: Laura Dowd, Local Foods Connection
Table of Contents
Strengths pg 2-7
Weaknesses pg 8
Opportunities pg 9-12
Threats pg 13
Attachments pg 14
Distributors
® UNFI, United Natural Foods
-Purchases food from Farmers Hen House, Kalona Supernatural Organics
Documents
® Crossroads Resource Center, Ken Meter
Iowa Valley Region Local Farm & Food Economy
http://www.crcworks.org/?submit=fffc
® Food Access & Health Working Group:
Cultivating Resilience: A Food System Blueprint that Advances the Health of Iowans, Farms and Communities
http://www.iowafoodsystemscouncil.org/food-access-health/
® Iowa Corridor Food & Agriculture Coalition
A Healthy Seasonal Local Food System Plan
http://www.farmlandinfo.org/farmland_preservation_literature/index.cfm?function=article_view&articleID=39000
® Iowa State University - Johnson County Extension
A. Yard and Garden Publications
https://store.extension.iastate.edu/ProductArea.aspx?TopicID=10
B. Poverty & Food Needs - Johnson County Iowa
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/hunger/existingdata.htm
C. Food Insecurity in Iowa
https://store.extension.iastate.edu/ProductList.aspx?Keyword=insecurity
® Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture:
A. Iowa Local Food and Farm Plan
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs-and-papers/iowa-local-food-and-farm-plan
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/content/local-food-and-farm-program
B. Johnson County Food System Atlas: Exploring Community Food System
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs-and-papers/2002-09-community-food-systems-johnson
C. Learning about Local: A Resource Guide to Iowa Organizations and Programs Supporting Local and Regional Food Systems
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs?page=1
D. Credit, Crop Insurance and Sustainable Agriculture in Iowa
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/09-19-2011/sustainable-farming-perceptions
E. Local Foods in Iowa: Increased Opportunities for Economic Growth
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs?page=2
F. What Retail Foodservices Should Know When Purchasing Local Produce Directly from Farmers
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs?page=3
G. What Producers Should Know About Selling to Local Foodservice Markets
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs?page=4
H. Is Local Food More Expensive? A Consumer Price Perspective on Local and Non-local Foods Purchased in Iowa
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/news/12-14-2009/leopold-center-study-compares-local-non-local-food-prices
® Local Foods Connection
Top Barriers to Local Food Access for Low-Income Individuals
http://www.localfoodsconnection.org/faq/
Under Question #5
Educational Institutions
® Iowa City Community School District
-see Farm-to-School
-see Compost Happens: school food waste diversion
(see also: Events, Places)
® Iowa State University - Johnson County Extension
A. Master Gardeners
http://www.mastergardener.iastate.edu/
(see also: Events, Opportunities)
B. Pick A Better Snack Nutrition Education Program
http://www.idph.state.ia.us/pickabettersnack/
® University of Iowa
Simply Food
Student Environmental Coalition
Student Garden
see also: Opportunities
Events
® Backyard Abundance Garden Tours
® Farmers Markets
-Coralville
-Iowa City
A. Downtown Association Second Saturdays
B. East Side Iowa City Farmers Market
C. Grantwood Elementary Winters Farmers Market
D. Iowa City Parks & Recreation Chauncey Swan Farmers Market
i. Chef at the Market by ICP&R Farmers Market
E. Sycamore Mall Farmers Market
-Lone Tree
-North Liberty
® Field to Family Fall Festival
® Hy-Vee Cooking Classes
-Make Your Own Pizza in collaboration with Family Farm
® Iowa City CSA Fair (Local Foods Connection & Kurt Friese)
® Iowa City Farm-to-School
A. Growing School Gardens Training Workshop
B. School Farmer Fairs
C. Cooking & Nutrition Classes
D. School Produce Booth during Kids Day at the Iowa City Farmers Market (Sept 2012)
® Iowa State University - Johnson County Extension
A. Summer Webinar Series “Garden Goodness”
http://www.mastergardener.iastate.edu/info/summerwebinar2012.html
B. Preserve the Taste of Summer Program
http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/preservation/home.html
® Iowa Valley RC&D Workshop and Classes
® New Pioneer
A. Cooking Classes
B. Gardening Classes
® Practical Farmers of Iowa
-Field Days (Johnson County overlap)
http://www.practicalfarmers.org/events/field-days.html
-Farminars
http://www.practicalfarmers.org/farminar/
® SoilMates
A. Commercial Organics Collection for Composting Workshop (June 24, 2012)
B. K-12 Classes: Gardening 101, Let’s Grow It Here, and Where the Soil Meets the Root
C. Soil Pioneers Partnership with United Action for Youth Community Youth Leadership Program.
Farms and Farmers
Agricultural land in general
Beuter Farm / Family Farm / Cedar Ridge VineyardsFae Ridge Farm / Hotz Produce / Friendly Farm
Honey Creek Acres / Jordan Creek Bison Farm / Hue Hill Farm
Gooseberry Hill Farm / Plum Grove Historic Farm (Iowa City) / Kessler Farm (?still exits)
Pavelka’s Point Meats / The Golden Egg? / Pure Prairie Gardens
Salt Fork Farms / ZJ Farm / Wild Woods Farm
Wilson’s Apple Orchard
Food Businesses
Community Supported Agriculture, in general
Local Burrito
Rosie’s Best
Non Profit Organizations
® Backyard Abundance
(see also: Events)
® Crossroads Resource Center
http://www.crcworks.org
® Farm Bureau of Johnson County
® Field to Family
(see also: Events, Publications)
® Iowa Farmers Union
® Iowa Valley RC&D
(see also: Events, Documents)
® Local Foods Connection
(see also: Events, Documents, Publications)
® Practical Farmers of Iowa
(see also: Events, Services)
® Proteus: Job Training, Health Care, Assistance
http://www.proteusinc.net/
® Regional Food System Working Group
® SoilMates
(see also: Events)
® Table to Table
-Farmers market gleaning
® Women, Food & Agriculture Network
® Government Organizations
A. Iowa City Landfill & Recycling Center
-Compost, mulch
-Rain barrels, compost bins
B. Iowa Department of Natural Resources
I. HUSH (Help Us Stop Hunger): donation of deer meat
~Tiffin Meat Locker
~Ruzicka’s Meat Processing
II. Wild Edibles Hunt at Kent Park
C. JC Food Policy Council
D. Johnson County Social Services, ‘Youth Empowered to Serve’ Program
-Provides Job Training Skills
-Dirty Face Creek Farm, site location this summer (2012)
E. JC Soil & Water Conservation District
® Johnson County overlap with these organizations
A. Food Access & Health Working Group (see also: Documents)
B. Food and Water Watch
C. Iowa Food Systems Council (see also: Documents)
D. Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture (see also: Documents)
® Hunger Relief
A. Johnson County Crisis Center Food Bank
B. North Liberty Food Pantry
Places
® Community Gardens - Iowa City
A. Iowa City Parks & Recreation
-Children’s Discovery Garden
-Wetherby Park
~Community Garden
~Edible Forest Maze
B. Miller Orchard
C. New Pi Earth Source Garden
® F.W. Kent Park
Lake for fishing
®. Iowa City Community School District School Gardens
City High: in planning stages / Northwest Junior HighCoralville Central Elementary / Penn Elementary: garden at North Liberty Recreation Center & Greenhouse Project
Grantwood Elementary: garden at Fairmeadows Park / Tate High
Garner Elementary / Twain: they won’t have a garden until Spring 2012, but they are part of the USDA Peoples Garden Initiative, a research project that ISU Ext. is coordinating
Hills Elementary / West High
Kirkwood Elementary / Roosevelt Elementary: will close this year
Lemme Elementary / Shimek Elementary
Mann Elementary / Weber Elementary
® Other School Gardens
-Willowwind School
Publications
® Edible Iowa River Valley Magazine
® Field to Family
-Buy Fresh, Buy Local (yearly)
® Local Foods Connection
-Guide to CSAs that Serve Iowa City and Cedar Rapids (yearly)
® Radish Magazine
Restaurants and Chefs
® Iowa City
Atlas / Motley Cow CaféBurt, Chef Dave / Oasis Falafel
Chef’s Table / One Twenty Six & Hearth
Devotay / Share
El Banditos / Tulip Blossom
Givannis / Wedge
Her Kitchen / Vesta
Leaf Kitchen / Java House Salad Bar
® Mt. Vernon
Lincoln Café
® Oxford
Augusta
Services
®Practical Farmers of Iowa
-Find a Farmer, Find a Farm
http://www.practicalfarmers.org/findafarmer/
Stores
®Iowa City
-Bread Garden (see also: Opportunities)
-New Pioneer (see also: Events, Places)
-Hy Vee (see also: Events, Opportunities)
Educational Institutions
® Lack of consumer knowledge of food processing
Events
® Farms & Farmers Market
A. Public transportation directly to farmers markets
Farms & Farmers
® Access to Land
-Availability of land
-Cost of land
Food Businesses
® Lack of meat processing facilities for small-to-medium sized farms
Nonprofit Organizations
® Government Organizations
- Johnson County
A. The difficult relationship between Johnson County Planning and Zoning and some farmers.
B. Time, expense and difficulty in applying for special event and conditional use permits. (relating to agriculture)
C. Definition of a farm in ordinances and policies does not encompass the new types of farms, including, small, specialty, organic, and customer driven (direct sales to customers)
D. Zoning and restrictions on alternative living situations, such as building structures.
Places
® Lack of community space for CSA farmers to distribute food. Refrigeration necessary.
® Lack of community kitchen
® Lack of community certified kitchen
Distributors
® Hawkeye Foods/Local Harvest Supply
-Could reevaluate/restart Local Harvest Supply
® Iowa Valley Food Co-op
-Could take wholesale orders
® United Natural Foods Inc. / UNFI
-Could purchase more local food
Educational Institutions
® Farm-to-Preschool: newly formed national school program
-County could provide funding and publicity
® Iowa City Community School District
-Healthy Kids Community Care Clinic has Nutrition Programming as part of its strategic plan. Local food might be able to be incorporated
® Clear Creek-Amana School District
® Highland Community School
® Lone Tree School District
® Solon School District
School Districts as a whole:
-Could purchase more local food
-Examine possibility of school kitchens being used a community kitchens
-Have more schools equipped with kitchens for making meals for children
-Incorporate more food, agriculture and nutrition with existing Core Curriculum
-Produce food at school gardens that can be used for school lunches and snacks
® Iowa State University - Johnson County Extension
-Could offer more canning classes at local office
-Johnson County could partner with Johnson County 4-H
-teach 4H participants about local food systems and economies
-4H participants could teach other youth about gardening
-Create categories for exhibits at the 4-H fair that promote and reward fresh, seasonal food (Currently, only cupcakes, biscuits, breads, cookies, etc.. are allowed at the Johnson County and state levels).
® University of Iowa
-Could purchase more local food
-Johnson County could apply for volunteers and interns for local food projects
Events
® Johnson County Fair
-Opportunities to promote local food
® Farmers Market
-Increase farmer acceptance of EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer), WIC coupons (Women, Infant, Children), and Senior Coupons.
-Increase user redemption of EBT, WIC and Senior.
® Summer of the Arts Eco-Education
-Opportunities to promote local food
Farms & Farmers
® Johnson County Poor Farm
-Could donate land for growing local food
Nonprofit Organizations
® 1105 Gilbert Court Project
-Could make certified kitchen available for community use
® Americorps: VITSA, NCCC, FoodCorps
-Johnson County could apply for worker
® Blue Zones Wellness Community Initiative
-http://www.iowacityarea.com/News/Detail/Iowa_City_Area_Blue_Zones_Project.aspx
-Rebecca Neades (Chamber) and Hodge Carter (Mercy of Iowa City)
-Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty area with a potential for all of Johnson County
-Partnership on local food and/or gardening project
® Iowa Valley Coop
-Could open a Johnson County branch
® Proteus: Job Training, Health Care, Assistance
http://www.proteusinc.net/
-County could promote to small farmers
® Hunger Relief
A. Agape Café, Free Lunch, Share Iowa
-Could purchase/use local food
® Government Organizations
A. Iowa Public Health Association
http://www.iowapha.org/
-Dissemination of Information
-Potential partner on projects
B. Johnson County
-Could implement local food purchasing policies and practices for its institutions
Examples of articles on topic:
“Local Food for Local Government” by Change Lab Solutions
http://changelabsolutions.org/publications/local-food-local-government
Multiple articles at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) website
http://www.cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/foodstandards.html
-Could implement methods for promoting rural and urban businesses to build regional demand for locally produced foods and food products
~cover the production and printing costs of the Guide to CSAs that Serve Iowa City & Cedar Rapids (approx. $1,000)
~increase the scope of the Guide to CSAs to include other types of farms (increase cost by $200-$500)
~cover the event costs for the Iowa City CSA fair (approx. $100-$200)
~increase the scope of the Iowa City CSA fair to include other types of farms
-Could update local land use policies and rules related to local food production and distribution (for small, alternative, organic farms)
In Attachments, see letter written to Johnson County Planning & Zoning from Local Foods Connection, dated December 17, 2010.
-Administrative offices could recognize some of the main differences between how large, industrial agriculture farms are run and small, sustainable farms.
~Sustainable farmers need to live where they work because of the labor-intensive nature of this type of farming. This is one of the reasons that small farms need different types of regulations.
C. Johnson County Obesity Task Force (in process of changing name)
-Place to disseminate information about local food activities
-Potential partner in local food projects
Stores
® Iowa City
A. Bread Garden
-Could purchase more local food
-Could donate more to local food causes
-Could implement a sales system at the register that recognizes local food purchases
B. Hy-Vee
-Could purchase more local food
-Could donate more to local food causes
-Could implement a sales system at the register that recognizes local food purchases
These are not necessarily specific to/isolated in Johnson County, Iowa
Educational Institutions
® Lack of education about local food
-people looking for careers
Farms & Farmers
® Urban sprawl onto farmland
® Pesticide application drift from pesticide users onto land that is managed organically
® Soil Erosion
® Percentage of farmers retiring
® Availability of Insurance
-Crop for fruit and vegetable crops
-Medical for farmers and farm workers
Attachments
Local Foods Connection
PO Box 2821 (319) 338-2010
Iowa City, IA 52244
www.localfoodsconnection.org
Johnson County Planning and Zoning Commission
Johnson County Board of Supervisors
913 S Dubuque Street, Suite 204
Iowa City, IA 52240
December 17, 2010
Dear Rick Dvorak,
Thank you for meeting with Rebecca Raab and me this summer to discuss our interest in amending the 2008 Johnson County Land Use Plan to incorporate language that recognizes the importance of local food to county farmers and the local economy. We appreciate your willingness to listen to our concerns and to be receptive to our ideas. While conducting research for our action plan, we were pleased to discover that, in its 2009 Annual Report, the Johnson County Planning and Zoning Department stated that it wished to become “…more actively involved in the local food initiative.” To assist your office in becoming more involved and to meet our goals, we decided to offer Johnson County suggestions for wording that can be incorporated into its planning documents. The suggested wording would show support for sustainable and value-added agricultural initiatives.