Beginning the Journey of Creating Iowa Eats Well

I began the journey of creating Iowa Eats Well in 2019. I have always been a maker and creator with many different hobbies and interests. I began to think about starting a food business to combine my love of growing my own food with my passion for baking and cooking. While I love doing public relations, I felt the pull to start my own business. 

I began attending seminars for entrepreneurs and along the way I found out about a program through the Iowa Center for Economic Success and the Women’s Business Network called the Dream Builder Program. I received a scholarship from Drake University to help pay for much of the cost of the program. It was an eight week intensive course designed to help you go through all of the steps of launching a business including creating a business plan, pitching your idea, doing all the market research and outlining the financials for the business. I took the class with a small group of other amazing women looking to start businesses of their own. I learned a wealth of knowledge from this program. During this time, I came up with my business name, designed my own logo and brand. Each week, we heard from experts and people who provided resources to small businesses.  

I walked away with my certificate ready to take the steps of setting up my business. I filed for my tax ID and trade name with the state. In December, I studied for and completed my ServeSafe Food Safety Certification Program so I could run my own kitchen safely. I began talking to people in the community to try to rent a commercial kitchen. 

By February 2020, finding an affordable commercial kitchen in my small town soon proved a challenge. Right as I was having trouble finding a kitchen, COVID hit which closed the majority of the eating establishments and halted my plans for signing a lease for a food business. I knew I needed to conserve my financial resources and hunker down to see where the Pandemic went.

By April 2020, Governor Reynolds signed an order opening up farmers markets to the public. It was then I started to think about starting a farmers market business under the same name: it would bring in income, I could move forward on much of what I wanted to do to start a business, it would give me experience and I didn’t need a commercial kitchen. I started reaching out to farmers markets and selling my produce, baked goods and crafts locally there. This proved to be one of the best choices I have made. 

I learned so much about marketing and pricing my products. My customers at the farmers’ markets rock! They are so supportive and I love seeing my regular customers. I owe a lot to one farmers market in particular, the Maxwell Market in the Park in Maxwell, Iowa. They opened for the first time this year. As a newcomer to the farmers’ market scene, I have found this to be one of the best farmers markets to sell my products. They are open every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. until October 25th.  Come check out my booth! 

A big thank you to Samy Hamad at IKROM who created my website at iowaeatswell.com that I launched last month. Go to https://ikorm.com to learn more about his company.

I also want to thank Food at First in Nevada and Barb Mittman who allowed me to volunteer and use my ServeSafe certification to be one of your head cooks this summer. I gained experience cooking meals for 80-100 people on deadline. 

I am still doing the farmers markets this fall, but I have not let go of my goal of opening my own meal delivery service. My mission is to open a community centric business dedicated to providing hot, nutritious homemade meals to customers’ doorsteps in Story County, Iowa. While I still plan to grow some of my own food, I would love to also support the many other small business food vendors I have met during the farmers markets and the farmers I know through my previous career by featuring their products in my meals. I want to give individuals and families more time in their nights while doing something I love. 

I am still looking for a commercial kitchen in Story County to rent for Iowa Eats Well. I don’t need a storefront, although I need a space that already has a kitchen in place. I need to get the word out and I am hoping someone in my network may know someone who can help me. 

If you have advice or would like to partner with me on my venture, please send me a message. Also, I am still continuing to do freelance public relations, writing and photography work so please keep me in mind for any opportunities that may fit my background and experience. 

I learned having a plan means you have direction, but being adaptable means you can learn to thrive with whatever life throws at you. Let’s finish out this crazy year strong and look forward to a bright future in 2021.