ISU Extension and Outreach is hosting a local food festival on central campus to provide students with resources about nutrition and access to fresh foods. The four-hour event will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, offering access to local breakfast and lunch options.
Megan Kemp, an education extension specialist and the primary coordinator for the ISU Local Food Festival, discussed the event details. Making its debut this year is the produce pass program, a collaboration between Student Health and Wellness and SHOP, which will allow students to pick from a selection of free, fresh produce to take home.
“This is our pilot year of having an educational opportunity that combines education with a free produce voucher,” Kemp said.
ISU students will have the opportunity to learn from community organizations, complete a punch card and redeem it for a free produce item from one of the participating vendors.
“We have two participating vendors that are going to accept the produce passes. One is Leafy Dreams, I believe that they’ll be offering a salad mix, and then the other one is Slim’s Country Market,” Kemp said.
However, Kemp said only 200 produce passes will be available and will only be offered to Iowa State students.
“It is for only ISU students. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough funding to give everyone free produce, but we do have 200 vouchers,” Kemp said.
Mia Nichols, owner of C’est la Crêpe, will be one of the vendors at the festival on Wednesday. She said she chose a food trailer over a permanent location because of the flexibility and the chance to go to local events.
“That’s why I chose a food trailer over doing, like, a brick and mortar. It’s a lot more flexible, and it allows me to go to different events,” Nichols said.
Nichols said she first brought C’est la Crêpe to the food festival two years ago, in 2023.
“We got a lot of publicity there, and a lot of people stopped by our food tent and grabbed some food, so we are excited to be a part of it again this year,” Nichols said.
The 2024 event saw large crowds, and Kemp said that led some food vendors to sell out of their offerings.
“Last year, our estimates were at 3,500, so we’ve been growing slowly but steadily,” Kemp said. “This year, I’m hoping we can at least reach 3,500 people walking through the festival again.”
Kemp explained that the food festival allows vendors to be accessible to students.
“I believe last year, when we brought food vendors on, most of them had sold out of their food, which was great news,” Kemp said. “We love having our vendors have this low-cost, low-barrier opportunity to connect with ISU students.”
Nichols is a recent Iowa State alum, having graduated in December with a bachelor’s in hospitality management and a master’s in entrepreneurship. Kemp graduated in 2019 with majors in agronomy and global resource systems, which led her to her current position in Farm, Food and Enterprise Development.
“I’ve really come to hone in on what I’m passionate about, and that’s local foods. Sharing that love for local foods and being connected to where our food comes from is really important, and I like to share that with students,” Kemp said.
