Make Des Moines the Local Food Capital of the US

Iowa's largest city has made great progress, but has a ways to go

Dear Friends,

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE PROGRAM, AS CHARLES, KATHY, AND ED DISCUSS:

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(20:55) Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill might not be so pretty - LISTEN
(39:06) Diving into troubled waters with RFK, Jr. - LISTEN
(55:49) Make Des Moines the Local Food Capital of the US - LISTEN

Earlier this month, Kathy and I spoke at a Des Moines City Council meeting to recommend that Des Moines become the Local Food Capital of the US. Here's a link to our brief presentation.

When it comes to food, Des Moines is most prominently known for the World Food Prize. It's also home to the second largest farmers market in the country, and we have more and more grocery stores and restaurants sourcing locally grown food.

Furthermore, Des Moines has grower-friendly ordinances that allow residents to keep chickens, bees, rabbits, and even a couple pygmy goats and potbelly pigs. We're also able to raise food in our front yards and, with some restrictions, on the parking strip between the sidewalk and the street.

Five years ago, working through our non-profit, Birds & Bees Urban Farm, Kathy and I proposed that the City establish the Food Security Task Force to create greater opportunities for urban agriculture. (Thanks to Carl Voss and Connie Boesen for cosponsoring the resolution establishing the Task Force, and to the Council for its unanimous vote in support.)

One of the Task Force's accomplishments is FEED DSM -- a website to help home gardeners raise food in their yards. It's an excellent resource, but the City could do a better job at keeping it updated.

Two years ago, Kathy and I encouraged City Council members and staff to establish a pilot urban orchard. That's now coming to fruition Drake Park, with the planned planting of 40 fruit trees this fall. We hope this is the first of many such food forests throughout the city. (Our original proposal was called Eat the Triangles, and was intended for a nearby site that didn't pan out.)

Beyond maintaining a friendly environment for home gardeners and planting public orchards, Des Moines needs to permanently commit to larger-scale food production. For apartment dwellers, community gardens in more neighborhoods would give them and others with less access to land the opportunity to reap the benefits of homegrown foods. It's also important for City leaders to build relationships with metro-area farmers to raise food that can't be grown in the city.

Des Moines is heading in the right direction. We thank our current City Council, past council leaders (including former Mayor Frank Cownie), City staff, and the hundreds of residents who are passionate about local foods for the progress made so far.

If you don't live in Des Moines, Kathy and I would love to hear what your city and county are doing to advance local food self-reliance -- or what obstacles they've put in the way to make it difficult or impossible for residents to feed themselves and their families. Email us at ed@fallonforum.com and kathy@birdsbeesurbanfarm.org.

If you live in Des Moines, let's keep the momentum going! Let's work toward making Des Moines the Local Food Capital of the US.

Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action.

-- Ed Fallon

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