Osage students plant the seeds for community food items | Group

Marie Boyd believes that educating students in high educational facilities these as Osage will aid raise work opportunities in farming functions targeted on area foods. 

“Mitchell County is a single of our favorites, simply because we have a ton of wonderful actions going on [there],” explained Boyd, govt director of Balanced Harvest of North Iowa, which serves 9 counties.

Healthy Harvest occasions include things like the approaching Distant Produce Protection Alliance (PSA) Coaching on Feb. 2, facts for which is offered at the Nutritious Harvest website. The web page also boasts in excess of 110 recipes.

“Obviously across the board, COVID has impacted several industries,” Boyd explained. “But neighborhood foods truly experienced a really superb 12 months owing to the rising aid of our farmers.

“Our area food stuff farmers have been growing our capability for new yrs so that when provide chain difficulties strike, individuals will look to their nearby farmers for different foodstuff sources that fortunately they have been equipped to accrue. Our farmers have been reporting increased product sales in 2020. They hope to proceed that likely into 2021.”

As effectively, due to the fact of COVID-19, CARES Act funding of $3,100 was out there to educational facilities for community sourcing, according to Boyd. They have partnered with districts such as Osage Local community Schools.

“We also labored fairly a bit with Steve Strasheim above in Mitchell,” Boyd stated. “He’s with Twisted River Farm.”