Grinnell Farm to Table connecting customers with locally grown fresh foods

       Tommy Hexter, middle, executive director of Grinnell Farm to Table, is joined by 2023 summer interns Tristan Davis, left, and Julianna Vajda, right, at the businesses located at 1032 Main St. in Grinnell. Grinnell Farm to Table is an on-line marketplace were area residents can purchase locally raised fresh, healthy foods once a month. The business serves about 80 customers a month and with the help of the USDA, provided $95,000 in locally grown foods to food pantries in Grinnell, Brooklyn, Malcom and Montezuma. Furnished photo.

By J.O. Parker

       Grinnell Farm to Table is an on-line marketplace were area residents can purchase locally raised fresh, healthy foods once a month.
        The non-profit business currently has 36 mostly local farmer producers who offer everything from fresh vegetables to all kinds of meat including beef, pork, bison, goat, lamb, poultry, grains, dairy, eggs, honey, jams, salsa, popcorn, berries, herbs and spices, fruits, various types of flour, nuts, breads, cakes and more.
      There are also bath and body products, goat milk soap, fresh tofu, cheese, garlic, live plants, flower bouquets and home and garden supplies.
        The majority of the food products sold at the business are raised, prepared and packaged within 25 miles of Grinnell.
       The business is under the direction of executive director Tommy Hexter and a 12-member board.
      According to Hexter, the farmer producers and market managers who participate in the Grinnell Farm to Table outreach believe that local food is good for the land, for farm animals, for the environment and biodiversity, for the local economy and for the health and well-being of all the customers.
     The Grinnell Farm to Market was originally founded in 2011 as an LLC (limited liability corporation) by Grinnell College students.
     “The idea was to collectively purchase food from local farmers (and offer to the students and community),” said Hexter.
      The business has gone through a handful of changes in ownership with Hexter being the fourth person to take over the business in September 2020.
     In 2020, the business had 14 farmer producers and generated $20,000 in sales. In 2023, the business generated $60,000 in sales from 36 farmer producers.
       Currently, the business is serving 80 families a month.
     In addition, with the help from a USDA Grant called the Local Food Purchasing Assistance program, Grinnell Farm to Table was able to donate $95,000 worth of free food in 2023 to food pantries in Grinnell, Brooklyn, Montezuma and Malcom.
       “We pay the farmers for all the food we sell and give away,” said Hexter.
      In January 2023, Grinnell Farm to Table merged with the Local Food Connection, an organization founded in 1999, and the two entities now operate as a non-profit business.
    Local Foods Connection used donations to purchase weekly produce boxes called CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares from local farmers and delivered them directly to families with limited financial means in Iowa.
      “They provided food and recipes to the families to help them prepare delicious and nutritious meals with local produce,” noted Hexter.
      Hexter said the benefit of being a non-profit allows the business to receive more support from community foundations like the GreenState Foundation and United Way of Grinnell, and also to receive government grants from the USDA to allow the business to purchase food from local farmers to donate to schools and pantries.
       In June 2023, the business moved into a building at 1032 Main St., just north of McNally’s Foods. Prior to that, the business operated through the Drake Community Library with a local pickup location.
Hexter said the idea is to provide customers with locally grown foods in one location without them having to drive to each farm.
       “The goal is giving access to good Iowa-grown food to everybody,” said Hexter.
       Hexter is a native of Crozet, Virg., a small community near Charlottesville.
      He grew up wanting to be a farmer. After visiting the ‘Field of Dreams’ site in Dyersville at age 12, Hexter said he fell in love with Iowa. He followed in the footsteps of his mother and attended Grinnell College, graduating in 2021 with a degree in food systems.
       He was a junior at Grinnell College when he purchased the Farm to Table business.
      When asked about his future plans, Hexter said he would like to expand the business hours and to offer food items for walk-in customers.
       In addition to serving as executive director of Grinnell Farm to Table, Hexter works with the Iowa Farmers Union as a Rural Organizer for farmers’ issues.
        Hexter said there is no fee to become a member, and no requirement to buy.
      “Just check out our local food offerings each month and order what you want, when you want,” said Hexter. “If you want a small quantity of something – one pound of corn meal, say, or one bag of greens – that’s all you order.”
     He said the business is part of a larger movement of Iowans growing food for their families and neighbors.
       “When you see a family start to make a living by growing their own food it gives us hope in the future of small town Iowa,” said Hexter. “It’s small farms making a difference.”
         Visit grinnellfarmtotable.locallygrown.net to create an account and start ordering foods.