Local Food Production

It's at the heart of the Historic Poor Farm.

Onsite Growers

Land Access Program

The Land Access Program is a project of Johnson County meant to connect local farmers to land, as land access is the foremost issue for farmers without inherited land.

Land Access Program participants sell their produce wholesale to grocery stores, through CSAs, to food access organizations, and to restaurants in the community. There are currently six growers on plots of varying sizes, beginning at one-eighth of an acre.

Global Food Project

Global Food Project is a program of IC Compassion meant to provide land access and farmer education to new Iowans. Many GFP growers have farmed in different climates, so they are learning to adapt to cultivating their harvest in Iowa soils. Support staff exists to provide education and mentorship opportunities, and works to connect new Iowans to established community members.

GFP growers produce a variety of crops for their families and communities or to sell, with the most sought-after being culturally-relevant foods like lenga lenga, sweet potato leaves, and white african eggplant. At present, the organization supports nearly 100 plots on 2.5 acres of land. The organization has expanded from the first growing season in the summer of 2017 with 20 families participating.

GROW: Johnson County

Grow: Johnson County, a program of Iowa Valley RC&D, is a food access and farmer training initiative cultivating six acres at the Historic Poor Farm. Grow partners with 11 food access organizations to distribute fresh, locally grown produce to food pantries, school lunch programs, early care centers, and elder care facilities throughout Johnson County. Since its inception, the program has donated over 250,000 pounds of fresh local produce.

In addition to food production, Grow collaborates with farmers from other onsite organizations to build technical skills, share knowledge, and support small-scale farming operations. Grow: Johnson County also engages the community by providing volunteer and educational experiences to deepen understanding of sustainable farming and local food systems.

Food Production Supports

Growing food requires a variety of skills. The HPF creates space for growers to learn in-field skills, business and marketing techniques, and science to support land stewardship. These less-visible elements of the farm play a role in supporting onsite growers.

Farmer Education

Educating and equipping new farmers is the goal of the New Century Farm, based in the southwest corner of the Historic Poor Farm property. Because this section of the farm is outside of the historic district, there are fewer restrictions on how the land can be used. Plans for the New Century Farm area include additional land access fields for farmers, shared-use farm infrastructure and equipment, beginning farmer education training facility, pasture-raised livestock, and affordable housing.

Onsite Research

Our partnership with the University of Iowa Hydroscience and Engineering department allows students to do hands-on learning while providing us with robust information on our watershed. Research on real-time water and groundwater quality at the site is ongoing; there are 12 groundwater wells and one hydrologic monitoring station at the farm to collect rainfall, wind speed and direction, soil temp and moisture at two, four, six, eight, and 20 inches of depth.

HPF Kitchen

The HPF Kitchen will act as a shared-use commercial kitchen space for food and farm businesses. Farm businesses may use the kitchen to create value-added products from their harvest, such as chopped salads, salsas, and jams. The space will not only support these uses, but a variety of other things:

catering support for events
dry/cooler/freezer storage space
flexible space for demonstration and educational events
low sensory room
Restrooms for public access and trail users