CONCERN for COMMUNITY
Central to our commitment to "Doing Good, Works" is the idea that we can start right here at home, in partnership with our neighbors in Iowa. For decades, Frontier Co-op has cultivated relationships with local partners and given more than a million dollars to social and environmental organizations to support the little piece of planet our co-op calls home. In FY23 and FY24, we contributed a total of $385,000 to the following recipients. • FEED IOWA FIRST EQUITABLE LAND ACCESS PROGRAM is a regenerative farming project building back the soil and expanding land access to margin- alized farmers. Learn more below. • MATTHEW 25’S CULTIVATE HOPE CORNER STORE is a small non-profit grocery store that provides fresh, local, reduced-priced produce as well as other dry goods and food staples. • BENTON COUNTY CONSERVATION WILDCAT BLUFF EXTENSION, which will more than double the size of this conservation space near our Norway Iowa headquarters. • WILLIS DADY HOMELESS SERVICES responds to two significant needs in our community: 1) for permanent supportive housing for individuals and families; and 2) for more low-barrier entry-level job positions for people experiencing or coming out of homelessness. • INDIAN CREEK NATURE CENTER ETZEL SUGAR GROVE FARM is an operational organic and regenerative organic farm in America’s agriculture heartland. Learn more on the next page.
FEED IOWA FIRST EQUITABLE LAND ACCESS PROGRAM In 2021, Feed Iowa First and Frontier Co-op partnered to secure 11 acres of land for the Equitable Land Access Program aimed to support refu- gees and immigrants in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, facing barriers to operating their own farms. The program responds to barriers faced by these aspiring farmers – from access to land, lack of farming equipment, and hunger for knowledge about how to farm in the Iowa climate and how to navigate the agriculture system. With an affordable startup deposit and sliding scale cost not due until the end of the season, the program provides access to land, water, irrigation on timers so farmers can continue to work their full-time jobs, up to $500 for seed purchases, and $500 for marketing materials. Over a three-year period, the goal is for farmers to become self-sufficient, and at the end of their training, they are encouraged to apply for federally subsidized farm loans to start their own operations.
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