(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture says it will continue a special program that directs state funds to six food banks across the state so they can buy fresh food from local producers. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says there is growing demand statewide for local foods.  “Survey after survey tells us that consumers are interested more and more in buying local, and of course, what we love from a business development, or a market development side, is we have tremendous opportunity. Our farmers, our food businesses in the state have a tremendous opportunity to meet that growing demand.” The Choose Iowa Food Bank Program sent funding to food banks in 55 counties in the first year, allowing them to buy nearly half a million dollars’ worth of local food.

The director of the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program food bank, Kim Guardado, says the program has helped stock the food bank’s shelves with good, healthy, colorful foods that will help feed some of the 344-thousand Iowans who don’t have enough to eat. “It’s one in nine Iowans, or up to one in six children that are facing food insecurity on a daily basis,” she says. Her organization purchased more than 300-thousand dollars of local food in the program’s first year.  “We’re so thankful that the legislature, the Department of Ag, has come together to really say, ‘hey, we agree that this is really worthy cause’, and also that food banks – we’re able to support that,” she says.

The Choose Iowa Farms to Food Banks program will direct another 200-thousand dollars to six food banks across the state.