Iowa schools spend millions feeding kids — in effect, they’re the largest restaurants in the state. But here’s the catch: most of those tax dollars don’t stay in Iowa. When food is trucked in from across the country and contracts go only to national corporations, local farms and rural communities lose out.

In this replay of our very first episode, we dig into the real economics of school lunch. You’ll hear how the now-defunded Local Food for Schools program changed what ended up on kids’ trays, why school districts’ purchasing power shapes what farmers grow, and what’s at stake in bills like HF 851 and SF 525.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit attheiowafarmtable.substack.com