The Food Bank of Iowa and the Wallace Centers of Iowa have a recipe for helping food-insecure Iowans. 

The two nonprofits have partnered up to grow and distribute sweet potatoes this year on land at the Wallace Country Living Center near Orient. “We are great at growing stuff. Sweet potatoes, we have the right growing conditions for that particular crop,” explained Ann Taylor, the Wallace Centers’ vice president for marketing and development. “Food Bank of Iowa is terrific at the distribution, right? And so we think that’s going to be a great partnership. And so this is what we hope is just the first venture into something that we can continue to expand.

Why the sweet potato? The tuber grows well here, it stores well — “which is important,” Taylor said — and it is easy to prepare. “People who maybe don’t have a lot of culinary skills can still easily turn them into a dish. Culturally, they’re widely accepted.”

The goal: 10,000 pounds this year.