Iowa has farmland in abundance, but astonishingly little of that land is used to grow food for humans — especially not food for Iowans. It’s too bad, because the state is full of folks with the skills and desire to nourish their community, and support their family in the process. Many of these would-be farmers […]
urban farming
Posted inCommunity/News
Nestled in a Dubuque neighborhood, Convivium grows, cooks and shares a wealth of fresh food every week
Contributing a casserole to the potluck is basic Midwest manners. Casseroles are simple to heat, freeze, share and fill up on, not to mention a great vehicle for both healthy and tasty ingredients. Finding a neighbor at the door holding their famous tater-tot casserole can provide much-needed comfort during a time of grief or struggle. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City relaxes (some) rules around keeping yard chickens
Eleven years after first allowing Iowa City homeowners to keep a few chickens in their backyard, the Iowa City Council has approved several major changes to the city’s urban chicken ordinance. The changes approved on Tuesday included increasing the number of yardbirds allowed in a yard — from four hens to six — and whose […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
A beekeeper is born: Kara Kelso harvests honey and explains why Des Moines has ‘some of the healthiest bees around’
“Look at this pollen pocket! Look at this girl!” Kara Kelso, co-owner of The Slow Down Coffee Co., excitedly directs my attention to one of her 210,000 bees who is crawling across the frame with big (relative to her size, of course) yellow pockets bursting with pollen. We are in Kelso’s backyard in the Highland […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Forced to downsize, Sweet Tooth Farm focuses on self-care: ‘We can come back stronger’
In the summer of 2021, Monika Owczarski was informed by the City of Des Moines that the land she was leasing for her urban farm, Sweet Tooth Farm, would no longer be rented to her. Owczarski was devastated. On these two plots of land, she had been able to grow a little over an acre […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa’s first urban farm is opening its own farmers market
On Tuesday, Cultivate Hope Urban Farm in Cedar Rapids will open its own farmers market. Cultivate Hope, the state’s first farm founded inside a city, and its new Cultivate Hope Market are projects of Matthew 25.
