Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced 33 schools or school districts have received grants to participate in the Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Program for Schools. The one-year pilot program aims to connect Iowa schools with Choose Iowa members to encourage school food service programs to purchase and serve more ingredients and products sourced from local farmers and small businesses. The pilot program has a total budget of $70,000, and each school was eligible to apply for up to $1,000 per school building. The schools are required to provide a minimum one-to-one financial match from other sources to spend on local foods. “As Choose Iowa continues to expand, we will work to open even more opportunities to connect local producers and school food programs. Choose Iowa’s membership is growing quickly and is already demonstrating how it can be a powerful tool for strengthening and growing our rural communities,” Naig said in a prepared statement.