Iowa State Dining Services teamed up from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday with two local farmers through the Farm to ISU initiative in an effort to teach students about where their food comes from and the value of eating local.

Courtney Long, ISU Dining sustainability coordinator, said the goal behind Farm to ISU is to help boost the local economy while simultaneously connecting Iowa State to its rural communities.

Long recruited both TableTop Farm from Nevada and Wilber’s Northside Market from Boone to stand in front of Union Drive Marketplace and speak with students in an event called Meet Your Farmer.

Both farm representatives came prepared with brochures about their farming practices and an eagerness to interact with the students. As students mulled through the food lines, Sally Gran, farmer at TableTop, greeted them and urged them to ask questions.

TableTop has a contract with ISU dining to supply 3,000 pounds of carrots this fall. Gran said they are currently undergoing a transition to achieve organic certification, which entails using only naturally derived products on crops. They have also been utilizing cover crops such a rye grass, which grows over the plot in the winter, holding in soil and building up plant-nutritious organic matter for the next growing season.

“It’s important that food is coming from sustainable sources. It’s better for the local economy and community,” Gran said.

Wilber’s Northside Market was tabled next to a life-sized cardboard figure of a tomato farmer with her face cut out. Students were encouraged to take pictures with the figure and engage in conversation with representatives while doing so.

Wilber’s Northside Market provides much of the watermelon as well as other produce to the Iowa State Dining Centers. Julie Wilber, farmer for Wilber’s Northside Market, said they try to minimize environmental impact by using very small amounts of herbicides, as well as hand-weeding and using plastic mulching to cut down on water waste. In plastic mulching, plastic sheets are stretched over the crops, locking in moisture, and therefore cutting down the need for additional water use.

“It’s very important that students know where their food is coming from, especially with the food-borne illness outbreaks from factory farms,” Wilber said.

A meal featuring food completely sourced from within Iowa was served the entire dinner shift at both Union Drive Marketplace and Seasons Marketplace. The local meal consisted of roast pork loin, red garlic mashed potatoes, stuffed portabella mushrooms, honey-glazed carrots and apple dumplings.

ISU Dining has been working hard to incorporate even more sustainable dining events into the dining centers’ futures.