Northwest Iowa — Buy locally-grown food or grow it yourself. That’s the advice being given by some experts — and some people are following that advice.
Recognizing the growing interest in fresh, locally-produced food, Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach county offices in Northwest Iowa launched Flavors of Northwest Iowa, a regional food project to build a network of support for growers and consumers.
Extension experts have created the Local Food Road Show to meet local growers and learn how people are working together to supply the region with locally-grown food.
Several events are planned during the road show. One of them is tonight, July 19th. Extension Consumer Horticulture specialist Margaret Murphy tells us about the ISU Research and Demonstration Garden Tour and Local Food Tasting going on tonight during the Lyon County Fair at the Lyon County Fairgrounds.
The tour is free and open to the public, she says. Murphy and some other master gardeners will be available if you have questions. It starts at 6, but at 5:30, some socializing and local food treats will be available, such as salad on a stick.
Murphy says the next event on the Local Food Road Show will be this coming Monday, July 25th at the O’Brien County Fair in Primghar. She says it’s called “Gardening with Herbs”.
Then, on August 9, Extension is hosting “Cooking with Garden Vegetables” at the Forster Community Center in Rock Rapids from 6 to 8 PM.
If you’d like to attend that workshop, it is free, but they ask that you register by August 5th by calling the Lyon County Extension Office.
That will be followed by the “Cooking with Herbs” class to be held at the Sutherland Fire Rescue and Ambulance building on Thursday, August 11th.
She says you need to register for that by August 9th by calling the O’Brien County Extension Office.
There are other tour events going on in the wider northwest Iowa area as well. She says you can learn more at www.flavorsofnorthwestiowa.orgg or find all the details on Facebook. Look for “Flavors of Northwest Iowa”.
