Local Producer & Buyer Networking Event
2024-01-24 08:30 - 10:30 UTC | Diamond Event Center, 5307 Caraway Ln., Cedar Falls, IA, 50613, United States
This annual event gives local food producers and local food buyers the opportunity to meet and start conversations about products, growing practices, etc. There is no cost to attend and any producer/buyer is welcome. RSVP’s required. Send an email to jodie.huegerich@uni.edu.

Producer Networking
2024-01-24 11:00 - 13:00 | Diamond Event Center, 5307 Caraway Ln., Cedar Falls, IA, 50613, United States
This is an opportunity for local producers to network. Lunch will be provided. RSVP’s required.

CVRFFN Coalition Meeting
2024-01-24 15:00 - 16:00, 2024-05-22 15:00 - 16:00 | Northeast Iowa Food Bank, 1605 Lafayette St., Waterloo, Iowa, 50703
Anyone is welcome to attend! The coalition is a group of individuals, food and farm businesses, UNI Local Food Program, Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Iowa State University Extension & Outreach, and other community organizations & leaders working together to positively impact the local food system.

Farmers Market Workshop
2024-01-27 09:00 - 12:00 | TBD
This event is for current farmers market vendors and those interested in becoming a farmers market vendor. More details to come soon.

Farm to Fork Dinner
2024-02-07 17:30 - 20:00 | Diamond Event Center, 5307 Caraway Ln., Cedar Falls, IA, 50613, United States
This event brings together members of our community to share a table, a story, and a meal, while supporting our local food system. This incredible four-course meal will be prepared by local chefs utilizing local ingredients.
February 7th 6:30-8pm at the Diamond Events Center (5307 Caraway Ln, Cedar Falls). Social Hour 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Tickets are required for this event. Tickets go on sale in December. Check out our social media and website for how to purchase tickets.
Facebook @cedarvalleyrffn, Instagram @cv_rffn, Twitter @cvrffn
Website: cvfoodfarmnetwork.org (sign up for monthly newsletter)
Check out our 2023 event.
2023 Farm to Fork Dinner was a success!

Getting Started with eCommerce with Mallory DeVries
2024-02-17 12:00 - 13:00 | IA
📅 Date: Feb 21
🕒 Time: noon
Location: Zoom
Instructor: Mallory DeVries from TinyPlot Communications
Ready to take your farm or food business online but not sure where to start? Setting up eCommerce can feel daunting, but it’s an incredible opportunity to grow your reach and meet customers where they are—online. In this session, Mallory DeVries will walk you through choosing the best platform for your business, understanding if you’re ready for online sales, and making eCommerce work for you. Whether you’re completely new to selling online or looking for guidance on how to improve, this class will give you the confidence to get started. See registration below.
About the Instructor
Mallory DeVries is a local poultry farmer and owner of TinyPlot Communications, a marketing consulting firm that specializes in making complex topics easy to understand for mission-driven organizations. She works with Healthy Harvest of North Iowa, farmers across Northeast Iowa, and the Iowa Food System Coalition. With a background in corporate web design and a degree in graphic design, Mallory brings both technical expertise and years of experience as a food system practitioner to her work, empowering local producers to grow their businesses online.

Food Access Collective Action Subcommittee
2024-03-20 14:00 - 15:00 | Black Hawk County Public Health, 1407 Independence Ave, Waterloo, IA, United States
The Food Access Collective Action Subcommittee will be action oriented and function as a working group to bring collaboration and partnership to systems level work for larger scale grants, policy, and built environment change in the Cedar Valley around access to food. For the intent of this group, food access refers to the stable availability of nourishing, affordable, and culturally relevant foods. Key projects will be worked on through first evaluating local food systems with data and research, secondly collaborating solutions to system problems by partnering with organizations and businesses, and thirdly increase coordination of food system resources within the community.

CVRFFN Coalition Meeting
2024-03-20 15:00 - 16:00 | Black Hawk County Public Health, 1407 Independence Ave, Waterloo, IA, United States
This month’s topic is Community Gardens! There will be a community green spaces panel to speak about gardening, trees and food donation.
Anyone is welcome to attend! The coalition is a group of individuals, food and farm businesses, UNI Local Food Program, Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Iowa State University Extension & Outreach, and other community organizations & leaders working together to positively impact the local food system.

2024 Empty Bowls
2024-03-22 18:00 - 21:00 | IA
The annual NEIFB Empty Bowls event will be held on Friday, March 22nd, 2024, from 6-9pm at the Hilton Garden Inn.
Throughout the event attendees will join us in learning about our mission of providing meals to those in need which includes awareness to all the empty bowls in our community, while having the opportunity to bid on both live and silent auctions. All participants will receive a handcrafted soup bowl, symbolizing all the empty bowls in our community.
Working together we can strive to eliminating food insecurity it by collaborating, educating and advocating.
All proceeds directly fund our eight programs that assist the food insecure across northeast Iowa. Join us for a meal and an opportunity to purchase raffle tickets and bid on items from the Green Bay Packers, Iowa Cubs, local businesses, experience destinations and even a chance to bid on NCAA Men’s Final four basketball tickets.
Mark your calendars, you won’t want to miss this great event! Early bird discount on tickets now through February 16th
All funds raised directly support the vision of ensuring Every Meal. Every Day. For Everyone!
If you have any questions or have items or skills to donate for our auction prizes this year, please reach out to Jared, our Community Engagement Manager.
Email: jfeigenbaum@neifb.org
Direct line: 319.304.9147

Iowa Eats Festival
2024-04-06 11:00 - 17:00 | Waterloo Convention Center
The Iowa Eats Food & Drink Festival is the first and only event in Eastern Iowa to feature all Iowa foods, products, chefs, authors and agriculture-related products. Taking place April 6, 2024, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., at Waterloo Convention Center, attendees will enjoy a one-day celebration of food and beverage tasting, cooking and product demonstrations, live entertainment and more.

Food Access Collective Action Subcommittee
2024-05-22 14:00 - 15:00 | Northeast Iowa Food Bank, 1605 Lafayette St., Waterloo, Iowa, 50703

Cedar Valley Farm Crawl
2024-08-11 13:00 - 17:00 | TBD
This is a family-friendly event for all ages and gives the public an opportunity to meet local producers and learn more about what locally grown or produced food is available.
Register HERE for the event. Registration closes August 5th. There are a limited number of tickets available (25 vehicles and 25 bike riders) so register soon! $20/vehicle and $10/adult bike rider (18 years and older). All ages welcome but there is only a fee for adults.
New in 2024! There will be local food tastings at each location and a guided route for both vehicles and bike riders!
The event starts and ends at Cunningham Elementary in Waterloo, 1224 Mobile St, Waterloo, IA 50703
Vehicle Route and participating locations
Cook’s Fruits and Vegetables, Fitkin Popcorn, Litteaur’s Garden Produce, Varda Farms & Apiary, and We Arose Demonstration Garden.
Bike Route and participating locations
We Arose demonstration garden, Jesse Cosby Neighborhood Center garden, Litteaur’s Garden Produce, Northeast Iowa Food Bank garden, and Peoples Community Health Clinic garden. The bike route is approximately 15 miles.
Contact: Jodie Huegerich at jodie.huegerich@uni.edu

Cedar Valley Farm Crawl After-Party
2024-08-11 17:00 - 19:00 | 300 Peek St. Waterloo
Everyone is invited to the Farm Crawl After-Party!
The party will begin with a tour of the We Arose Demonstration Garden and high tunnel at 5 pm.
Food will be available for purchase from Concept Kitchen! They use local, fresh ingredients. They cater and serve food at Second State Brewery.
Learn more about Rooted Carrot Co-op Market, Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), and SILT (Sustainable Iowa Land Trust)!
No registration required. The After-Party is open to the public and all farm crawl participants.

CVRFFN Coalition Meeting/Tour Gardens in Vinton
2024-08-28 09:00 - 14:00 | IA
8:45 am-9:00 am arrive at ISU Extension
9 am Leave ISU Extension for Vinton (We will carpool and each put in a few dollars for gas.)
10 am-noon Tour gardens in Vinton
noon-1 pm lunch (each person pays for their own)
2 pm arrive at ISU Extension

We Arose Bike Ride Series
2024-09-08 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-10-13 10:00 - 12:00 | 300 Peek St. Waterloo
The We Ride Bike Series is here to encourage beginners and casual riders to get active and be included in organized rides. Join the crew and experience themed routes designed to highlight our local community in Waterloo and surrounding areas.

Register for this season’s series at bit.ly/2024weride

The We Ride Series happens on the 2nd Sunday of each month (May through October) and start at 10:00 AM at the We Arose Demonstration Garden located at 300 Peek St in Waterloo.

Additional details will be announced on the We Arose and Waterloo Bicycle Works Facebook and Instagram pages. Participants are encouraged to join our We Ride Bike Community group on Facebook.

This ride series happens through a partnership between We Arose and Waterloo Bicycle Works.

Iowa Food System Coalition/RFSWG Meeting
2024-09-12 09:00 - 11:30 | IA
Join us for a quarterly coalition meeting. We will have a guest speaker. We will also have information about the plan, Setting the Table for All Iowans and updates from each priority team. Register HERE for this Zoom meeting!

Coalition Cookout with the Iowa Food System Coalition
2024-09-14 15:00 - 19:00 | IA
Calling all coalition members, partners, supporters and your families. You are all invited to the attend first annual IFSC Coalition Cookout to be held on Saturday September 14th, 3-7pm at the home of our Executive Director Chris Schwartz, located at 214 Highland blvd in Waterloo.
Iowa produced brats, hot dogs, and a vegetarian option will be provided as well as beverages. You are asked to bring a dish to share that features Iowa grown and produced products. There will be live music from Chris’s band The Harmony Electric as well as yard games. If the weather is nice you are welcome to take a dip in the pool.
This event will be rain or shine with the ability to move festivities indoors if need be.
Come and celebrate all that the coalition has accomplished this year as we strengthen the bonds that connect us.
RSVP using this link!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/coalition-cookout-ifsc-tickets-989115299487?aff=oddtdtcreator

Practical Farmers of Iowa Field Day at Paha Cider
2024-09-15 14:00 - 16:00 | Paha Cider
Paha Cider will host a Practical Farmers of Iowa field day on Sunday, September 15 at our farm in Waverly! #pfifieldday

They will be sharing info about operations at Solstice Farm and Paha Cider, including:

Rotationally grazing turkeys, broilers and layers with horticultural crops

Grazing broilers in contained tractors among an orchard

Establishing an apple orchard with around 30 varieties for cider and multipurpose use

Intercropping aronia berries, elderberries and honeyberries with apples, pears and cherries

A tour of the Paha Cider operations

Field days are free and open to everyone!

Register here:
https://practicalfarmers.org/.../diversifying-the-farm/

Farm to Table Dinner
2024-09-21 16:30 - 19:00 | Hansen’s Dairy
Hansen Dairy is excited to bring you another gourmet dinner experience against the scenic backdrop of our farm’s Tour Center pond.
Save the date for their annual Farm to Table Dinner on Sept. 21. You’ll enjoy an upscale, four-course meal featuring locally sourced foods prepared by Chef Zach Gardner of The Spire.
The sell-out event takes place from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $75 and seating is limited to 50 guests. Bring a date or make it an evening out with friends! Guests must be 21 or older.
Tickets go on sale Sept. 1 at hansendairy.com.

Rooted Carrot Fall Festival
2024-09-25 18:30 - 20:00 | Community Center Cedar Falls
Bring all of your friends to celebrate Iowa Local Food Day at the 2024 Fall Food Fest!
We are excited to be bringing back the Rooted Carrot Co-op Fall Food Fest this year! Past Fall Food Fests have attracted 250-300 people to learn about local foods & products, and meet the people who are working hard to grow and produce them.
The 2024 Fall Food Fest will be held on Iowa Local Food Day, Wednesday, September 25 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Cedar Falls Community Center, adjacent to the Cedar Falls Public Library.
It will be a free, family-friendly event open to the community.
There will be:

Children’s activities!
Live music! Addison Payne and Mathew Bancroft Smithe will play from their repertoire of American string band music
Door prizes!
Photo booth!

Oh La La Crepes! will have sweet crepes with Fall fillings & GF options starting at 6:00.
Vendors will have samples and items available for purchase, including:

Country View Dairy with chocolate milk and frozen yogurt
Iowa Miso with miso on veggies
Hockey’s Smokehouse with seasoning blends
La Petit with pain au chocolat, mini fruit tarts, mini lemon tarts, & sourdough
Thinkwell Coffee
UNI Local Food Program with an informational table

And more surprises are being planned and more vendors being added! Stay tuned to the Fall Festival event page for updated information.

Down on the Farm Breakfast
2024-09-28 | Hansen’s Dairy
Plan to join their cows for breakfast on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Hansen’s Dairy Tour Center in Hudson. You’ll enjoy a bounty of local food and farm activities during this family-friendly and traditionally sold-out event.
Tickets go on sale Sept. 1 at hansendairy.com.

Cultivating Community, The Role of Community Gardens
2024-10-28 18:00 - 19:00 | Cedar Falls Public Library
6 pm at the Cedar Falls Public Library
Sarah Steinmeyer from the UNI Local Foods Program will present Cultivating Community, The Role of Community Gardens
Doors open at 5:30. The classes is free and open to the public.

Fall Garden Symposium Black Hawk County
2024-11-02 09:00 - 15:30 | IA
The annual event is Saturday, Nov 2 from 9am to 3:30pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Waterloo (1301 Kimball Ave). The $40 per person fee includes a light breakfast, coffee, a catered lunch, and all programs. You must pre-register by emailing seilers@iastate.edu or call (319) 234-6811.
Speakers:

Jill Weber: Human Sciences Specialist, Food and Health – Cooking with Herbs

Aaron Steil: Statewide Consumer Horticulture Extension Specialist at Iowa State University
Editors from Garden Gate Magazine
Josh Spece from In The Country Grden and Gifts
Seed Historian Sara Straate from Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah

Linking your Food Story to the Bigger Picture with Beth Hoffman (Virtual Workshop)
2024-12-13 12:00 - 13:00 | IA
Join us for this impactful virtual workshop led by journalist, farmer, and author Beth Hoffman, on behalf of the Iowa Food System Coalition. In this workshop, Beth will show you how to be a more impactful storyteller by linking your personal story to the broader issues within our food system. The workshop will consist of instruction, writing time, and discussion, so bring along a notebook and pen! Registration Required(Free for HHNI/Grow. Eat. Play. Members | $20 for non-members). See below.
Beth Hoffman has written about food and agriculture for much of her adult life and was a faculty member in the Media Studies at the University of San Francisco. She and her husband John moved in 2019 from San Francisco to rural Iowa where they farm John’s family’s 570 acres, also known as Whippoorwill Creek Farm. She wrote the book Bet the Farm: The Dollars and Sense of Growing Food in America about their journey, and makes regular updates on her Substack, In the Dirt. The couple raises pasture-raised beef, goats, and vegetables, and also forage for mushrooms.
Registration (Free for Grow. Eat. Play. Members | $20 for non-members).

Small Business Social Media Marketing with Amanda Severson (Virtual Workshop)
2025-01-17 12:00 - 13:30 | IA
So you have the social media accounts set up, but now what? Posting on social media can be an overwhelming and time consuming addition to the already full plate of a small business owner. What platforms should you be on? How often should you post? What do you post? Join Amanda with Grand View Beef as she answers these questions and more during this presentation that will help you align your social media strategy with your business goals.
About the Instructor
Amanda owns Grand View Beef with her husband, Knute, in Clarion. She has a BA in strategic communication from Washington State University and 10+ years of marketing experience. Since its inception in 2017, Amanda has grown the Grand View Beef customer base from one farmer’s market to now more than 1,000 annual customers across the nation. She serves as the ‘voice’ for the Grand View Beef Instagram (@grandviewbeef) where she shares daily to an audience of more than 41,000 followers.

Local Food Producer/Buyer Networking Event
2025-01-22 08:30 - 10:30 | Diamond Event Center, 5307 Caraway Ln., Cedar Falls, IA, 50613, United States
Free but registration required by January 15th.
REGISTER: https://forms.gle/x7oAbUgARahvrvbD8
This annual event gives buyers and producers the opportunity to meet in person to make connections and learn about products available. Every buyer talks to every producer during the event.
If you have questions, please contact Jodie at jodie.huegerich@uni.edu.

Farmers Market Workshop
2025-01-25 09:00 - 13:30 | Waterloo Center for the Arts, 225 Commercial Street, Waterloo, IA, 50701, United States
FREE but registration required by January 15, 2025. A light lunch will be provided.
REGISTER: https://forms.gle/P23RzanPWiTEbjDo7
This is an opportunity for experienced vendors and new vendors to network with each other and gain knowledge about farmers markets in the Cedar Valley region. Topics with guest speakers will include the Cottage Law, SNAP/EBT, Double Up Food Bucks, Veggie Vouchers, FMNP, marketing, vendor booth set up, and more.
If you have questions, please contact Jodie at jodie.huegerich@uni.edu.

Farm to Fork Dinner
2025-02-05 17:30 - 20:00 | IA
This event brings together members of our community to share a table, a story, and a meal, while supporting our local food system. This incredible meal will be prepared by local chefs utilizing local ingredients.
The event will be held at Diamond Events Center (5307 Caraway Ln, Cedar Falls).
The speaker this year is Daquan Campbell, We Arose.
Tickets are required for this event. You can find more information about ticket options and prices on our blog.
2025 Farm to Fork Dinner
