22 January 2025 – Diamond Event Center, Cedar Falls, IA

Visitors of the Diamond Event Center might have been surprised to hear a cow bell ringing the morning of January 22, 2025. No, a stray cow wasn’t roaming the halls–the sound came from UNI Local Food Program’s annual Producer/ Buyer Networking Event. Event coordinator, Jodie Huegerich, has found that the cow bell is the best way to indicate to attendees that they need to wrap up their conversations before moving to the next table. Even with the addition of the cowbell, producers and buyers have a tendency to fall behind schedule during the event. It’s a good problem to have, because the purpose of the event is to build new connections between local growers and producers and local buyers, people who represent small businesses or larger institutions with an interest in sourcing food locally.

The event began with hot coffee and mingling during check-in. Then, producers and buyers were shown to tables, where each producer sat with a buyer. The cowbell rang out, and the buzz of conversation quickly filled the space. For the next two hours, the cowbell clanged every ten minutes, indicating that it was time for buyers to rotate to the next table to meet a new producer. It’s impressive how loud nearly 30 people can be when animated conversation is taking place! 

Local Food Program Coordinator Jodie Huegerich addresses the producers and buyers just before the event begins.

Both producers and buyers were pleased with the outcome of the event–producers enjoyed sharing new products and discovering what buyers were looking for, while buyers enjoyed making connections with local producers and learning more about which products they can source locally.  Are you a local producer? Are you a buyer trying to source locally? Follow us on social media to keep up to date and join us at next year’s iteration of this event! In the meantime, check out the CVRFFN Local Food Directory for ideas about where to eat, grow, and play in the Cedar Valley.

Carina Collet contributed to this article.