Choose Iowa Farms to Food Banks Program

Available Funds

Of the allocated $200,000 in funding, funds will be divided between the six Iowa Food Banks based upon the size of the population served as well as the TEFAP percentages. This is the distribution plan for available funding.

Food banks must provide a minimum of a one-to-one (1:1) financial match from private sources such as cash, financing or other grant funds for the program award. In-kind contributions are not accepted. For example, a food bank receiving $5,000 must provide at least $5,000 from other sources for a total of $10,000 spent on local food.

Eligible Producers

To be eligible for funding, food must be purchased from a Choose Iowa member. A current list of members can be found on the website (chooseiowa.com/find-local). If food banks wish to purchase from specific Iowa producers, please encourage them to apply to become a Choose Iowa member as soon as possible to avoid reimbursement delays. Members enjoy a variety of benefits beyond being eligible to participate in this Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Program for Food Banks. If producers need help enrolling in the program or have any questions, please direct them to chooseiowa@iowaagriculture.gov. The team would be happy to help producers.

Food hubs that are Choose Iowa members are also eligible for food purchases within the program. Please make sure to communicate that products purchased through food hubs must come from Iowa producers as some food hubs source from outside the state. The food hubs must be Choose Iowa members, but the producers they source from do not necessarily need to be (although they are encouraged to join the Choose Iowa program).

A qualified food product must be capable of use as a food item at the time of purchase by the Grantee. Thus, the grant funds cannot be used to cover processing fees.

Application Process

Ahead of purchasing within the current year of funding, each participating organization will need to submit (1) a signed agreement and (2) a copy of their W-9 so their organization can be properly set up for reimbursement. You may not submit any purchases for reimbursement that were made before these two steps are completed.

Reimbursement

To request a reimbursement, please complete and submit the reimbursement form provided by Choose Iowa. Reimbursement can be requested on a quarterly basis. List the producer(s) purchased from, what was purchased, quantity of purchases, the date of each purchase, the cost and then the half eligible for reimbursement. Please also submit proof of purchase for every item purchased. This can be in the form of receipts, invoices marked paid, etc. There must be proof of payment for each item submitted.

Example: For a reimbursement request of $5,000, purchases totaling $10,000 or more must be included on the invoice.

Reporting Information

Participating organizations will need to provide information about the counties served, farms used, and the categories of items purchased (i.e. milk, eggs, beef, etc.) after the distribution of the products is complete. Please use the reporting/reimbursement form created and provided by Choose Iowa/IDALS.

Submitting Information

Submit reimbursement requests and requested reporting information to ChooseIowaGrant@IowaAgriculture.gov

Timeline

September 4, 2025: Announcement at HACAP with Secretary Naig
September 4, 2025: Food banks may begin making purchases and submitting expenses for reimbursement after new agreement has been signed by both the food bank and IDALS and a W-9 has been submitted by the food bank to IDALS.
December 15, 2025: Preliminary food purchasing reports due to IDALS from food banks on local food purchases made between Sept. 4 and Dec. 15, 2025.
January 15, 2026: Report due to the Iowa Legislature from IDALS on the Food Purchasing Program including data from reimbursement requests received thus far.
July 31, 2026: Food Purchasing, Reporting and Reimbursement Deadline for the cycle of funding. Any remaining reimbursement requests must be submitted by food banks to IDALS.

Questions?

Please reach out to Choose Iowa at chooseiowagrant@iowaagriculture.gov. We would be happy to answer your questions about the Program.