Southwest Iowa Food and Farm Initiative

Our Vision

Our vision is a sustainable regional food system for Southwest Iowa linking production, processing, distribution, and consumption for better health, food security, and community and economic development.

Regional Food Systems

The Southwest Iowa Food and Farm Initiative (SWIFFI) is a multi-county coalition of individuals and organizations that are working to build a regional food system in Southwest Iowa. SWIFFI is currently involved in strategic planning thanks to the generous support of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Iowa West Foundation. 

What is a Regional Food System? A regional food system supports long-term connections between farmers and consumers while meeting the economic, social, health, and environmental needs of the communities within the region. Producers and markets are linked via infrastructures that are efficient, promote environmental health, provide competitive advantage to producers, processors, and retailers, encourage identification with the region's culture, history, and ecology, and equitably share risks and rewards among all partners in the system.

What is a region? The initial definition of a Southwest Iowa region is based on a community landscape, history, and culture, and includes these counties: Adams, Adair, Cass, Guthrie, Audubon, Shelby, Pottawattamie, and Montgomery. However, a regional food system is complex and dynamic. It will change and/or grow determined by community leaders, infrastructure, food policy, and all partners in the food system.

 Facts supporting the value of a regional food system:

• Local food purchases by institutional food buyers in Black Hawk and surrounding counties increased from $110,773 by three institutions in 1998 to $465,361 by 23 institutions in 2004. (Kamyar Enshayan, Director, University of Northern Iowa Local Foods Project.)
• If Iowans ate five servings of fruits and vegetables every day and bought that produce (apples, carrots, spinach, squash and tomatoes) for just three months of the year from local growers the economic impact would net $302 million in total economic output, $112 million in total labor income, and 4,094 jobs in Iowa. Production would require 31,800 acres of cropland or an average of 321 acres per county. (The Economic Impacts of Increased Fruit and Vegetable Production and Consumption in Iowa: Phase II. Swenson, David, et. al. Report to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University. 2006.)
• A diet rich in fruits and vegetables would maximize good health and substantially decrease the rate of diet-related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes and could prevent at least 20 percent of all cancer incidence. (Food, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective. American Institute for Cancer Research, 1997.)
• A local food purchasing policy and county tax incentives for organic production resulted in several new businesses interested in locating in Woodbury County, Iowa. (Rob Marqusee, Woodbury County Economic Development Director.

News and Events

BUY FRESH BUY LOCAL MEMBERSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE!

Mini-Grants Awarded 

SWIFFI LOGO CONTEST:

If you are 18 or younger and live in one of the eight SWIFFI counties, design a logo for SWIFFI! That person will receive $250.  Deadline June 15.

Logo contest info for students

Logo contest info for teachers/parents