Ag secretary candidate Chris Jones wants 50% of school meals to be sourced locally

As part of his bid to be Iowa’s next secretary of agriculture, Democratic candidate Chris Jones unveiled policy framework with a 10-year goal of requiring schools to source half of their food from local farms. 

Jones, whose platform focuses largely on improving water quality in Iowa, said building the infrastructure to support locally grown food in Iowa will in turn, lead to “healthier people, cleaner water, more perennial vegetation, and more pasture-based systems on the land.” 

The Food, Agriculture, Infrastructure, and Resilience, or F.A.I.R. Farm Deal, as the campaign calls it, suggests a $10 million investment into Iowa’s local food and farm program fund, investment into the local food supply chain, prioritization of education around local food preparation and farming and “zealously” enforced pesticide laws. 

“My plan is simple: let’s make it easier for schools to buy fresh food grown right here in Iowa,” Jones said in a news release. “That means healthier meals for our kids, reliable markets for local farmers and more food dollars staying in our communities. If we can feed Iowa’s kids with Iowa-grown food, we can build a stronger farm economy from the ground up, and make meaningful improvements to our water quality.”

Jones is running against current Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, a Republican who has held the role since 2018. While secretary, Naig initiated a local food marketing program, known as Choose Iowa, that has since expanded to include investments for schools and nonprofit organizations purchasing Iowa-raised food. 

A spokesperson for Naig’s campaign said through Choose Iowa and “other local food initiatives” he has secured more than $12 million to “support small farms and young and beginning farmers.” 

“These programs expand markets into schools, restaurants and food banks, invest in processing and value-added infrastructure, and grow Iowa’s rural communities,” the spokesperson said in a statement. 

Naig’s Iowa Farm Act, which was enacted this year, made the Choose Iowa purchasing programs permanent, rather than pilot programs, and the state’s budget for the agriculture department allocated $200,000 for the Choose Iowa school purchasing program. 

Jones has criticized the industrial agriculture system that prioritizes corn and soybean crops. In his brief about the F.A.I.R. Farm Deal proposal, Jones said it would build the markets to help farmers sell more food within the state, which would give farmers more opportunities to grow specialty crops instead of corn and soybeans. 

“Across Iowa, many young people are interested in growing food for their communities, starting farm businesses, using land for food production, and connecting agriculture with health, conservation, and local economies,” the policy brief said. “They need real pathways to do that.”

According to the Iowa Food System Coalition, Iowans spend $12.6 billion on food annually, a large share of which is imported from out of state. 

Jones said schools, which serve nearly 80 million meals in Iowa annually, are the “best place to start” building a local food demand. The overall goal is to “grow more Iowa food, create more Iowa markets, and build a stronger, more resilient food system for the state.”