NE Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative receives $95,600 grant from USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a $95,600 grant to the NE Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative.

The grant will help the program to collaborate with farmers in six Northeast Iowa counties to build a new food hub that will be used to aggregate farm produce in order to meet the needs of area school district.

It will also be used to help four school districts in Northeast Iowa to double their local food purchases.

A coordinator at the food hub will help partner school districts to determine and implement strategies that will increase the amount of regionally grown foods in the meals of over 4,000 students.