As the afternoon sun poured over the corner of Main and Sixth streets, live music filled the air while volunteers piled plates full for neighbors at Grinnell Farm to Table’s Barbecue Party.
In partnership with Craig Store, as well as Grinnell College’s Global Kitchen, the Saturday fundraiser was set up to support local food access in the region.
Farm to Table is a non-profit organization that works to connect those in need with local produce through weekly home deliveries, free food stands at the farmers market and donations to local food banks.
“One of our core missions is to get people together around local food,” said Tommy Hexter `21, director of Grinnell Farm to Table. “Every dollar that’s raised goes to purchasing food from local producers and then donating it to people in our community who can’t afford local food.”
The funds, he added, then go directly to food pantries, as well as individuals and families that can’t afford local produce.
Christina Sporer, owner of Golden Pear Kitchen in Grinnell, said she’s sold her produce and baked goods through Grinnell Farm to Table for three years.
“Grinnell Farm to Table does a fantastic job of helping local producers get their products out there and strengthening the local food economy,” Sporer said. “And events like this are great to raise community awareness as well, giving people something to do on a Saturday afternoon.”
The organization, though, is now operating on a tighter budget.
In early March 2025, federal cuts at the United States Agricultural Department led to the cancellation of Local Food Purchasing Assistance and Local Food for Schools programs across the country, including more than $11 million of promised funding in Iowa.
Those initiatives had been providing funds for the purchase of food from local and regional producers to stock pantries and school kitchens.
For local food hub Grinnell Farm to Table, those cuts have meant a loss of around $80,000 annually, according to Hexter.
“That’s really part of the reason why we’re doing a more focused fundraising for our food access side, because all of that money was for food access, and that’s been gone,” Hexter said. “We want to be able to keep that growth going, even though the federal funding is gone.”