Growing number of local food businesses close to 1,500 in Iowa, report shows

( Iowa Capital Dispatch ) - A new report from the Iowa Food System Coalition shows that Iowa has 1,461 local food businesses spread across the state.

Coalition staff said the report shows the economic viability of local food businesses across the levels of the food system.

Bob Ferguson, who serves on the Farm and Food Business priority team with the coalition, said the report showed an increase in the number of on-farm stores, farm stands and local food businesses from previous estimations.

“There’s more there than one would suspect,” he said. “There needs to be a lot more, but there’s already robust local infrastructure that interacts with itself to provide local goods and services.”

The businesses, which include food farmers, processors, food hubs and more, are spread across the st