House approves meat locker grant program

by | Apr 15, 2021 | 5 Ag Stories, News

Small Iowa meat lockers looking to expand have grant money available thanks to a bill approved by the Iowa House.

The House unanimously passed a bill that creates a Butchery Innovation and Revitalization fund to be administered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority. A separate funding bill appropriated $750,000 for the first year of the program. Republican Representative Phil Thompson of Jefferson says the pandemic highlighted Iowans? desire for locally-sourced meat.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, many of us remember walking into our grocery stores only to find empty meat cases and barren toilet paper shelves,” said Thompson. “We saw outbreaks and closures at some of our larger meatpacking plants and a supply chain that struggled to keep up with demand for essential items.”

Grant funds will be available to meat processing facilities that employ less than 50 people. Democratic Representative Chris Hall of Sioux City says his family typically buys a half or whole hog and that he purchased steaks directly from farmers this winter to use as Christmas gifts.

“I think that it speaks to a greater interest in our state and many other places where people are looking to find a connection to local agriculture and know where their food comes from,” said Hall.

Republican Representative Chad Ingels of Randalia is a local farmer who helped craft the legislation. He spoke with numerous producers who wanted increased opportunities to sell their livestock locally and with consumers who wanted more chances to purchase directly from a farm.

“I think that this is a great bill for the entrepreneurs that operate our small and medium-sized lockers,” said Ingels. “It provides a lot of great opportunities for farmers that want to do some additional value-added things for their livestock operations. It provides consumers with a whole lot more choice locally. And I think it provides a lot of opportunities for main street businesses to keep money in the community.”

The bill now heads to the Senate for further consideration.