Cedar Valley Regional Food & Farm Network Coalition
UNI CEEE is the leader of the Cedar Valley Regional Food & Farm Network.
Cedar Valley Regional Food & Farm Network is a coalition of individuals, food and farm businesses, the UNI Local Food Program, Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Iowa State University Extension & Outreach, Black Hawk County Health Department, and other community organizations & leaders working together to positively impact the local food system.
Check out our resources and upcoming events!
Get involved!
Whether you’re looking to build connections, share resources, or give back, there’s a place for everyone to get involved. Coalitions bridge relationships, for a sustainable local food system - health, economic, and environmental gains. We welcome any individual, organization, or business that wants to attend our CVRFFN Coalition meetings. We meet approximately four times/year usually in February, May, September, and November. Each meeting revolves around a specific topic, each meeting starts with introductions, followed by the panel or speaker with a Q/A session, and we wrap up with networking time to create connections. Check the list below to see upcoming meeting dates and topics.
| Date | Topic |
| February 19th | Nutrition Assistance Programs |
| May 14th | Finding Local Foods in the Cedar Valley |
| September 17th | Community Gardens |
| November 19th | Local Producer Panel |
Local Food Resources
Cedar Valley Regional Food & Farm Network launches new local food campaign!
Cedar Valley Regional Food & Farm Network is excited to announce the launch of the Grow. Eat. Play. on their new website and social media.
“Local food is at the heart of so many of our favorite seasonal memories, from going to an apple orchard with our family to buying local honey for baking and visiting the local farmer’s market or a local farm like Hansen’s Dairy. We want people to Grow.Eat.Play with local food and make memories while supporting local producers” said Jodie Huegerich, UNI Local Food Program Manager.
The website and social media will have seasonal recommendations for experiencing local food in our region, including a searchable Local Food Guide with local farms, farmers markets, and businesses supporting local food. Search Grow for local producers, Eat for restaurants purchasing local food, Play for U-pick farms, farmers markets, apple orchards, and pumpkin patches.
“Our region offers many treasures of local food and farm enterprises: fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, dairy products, eggs, locally raised meat, honey, as well as coffee, beer and wine. Our local farms are a great source of healthy food and community vitality. We’re so excited to share this resource with area residents” said Kamyar Enshayan, Director of the Center for Energy & Environmental Education.
Check out the website cvfoodfarmnetwork.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram (@newcvrffn, @cv_rffn and @cvrffm). For questions, please contact Jodie Huegerich at jodie.huegerich@uni.edu or 319-273-7883.