Last week, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced the recipients of their Choose Iowa cost-share grants. Organic Greens, LLC in Kalona was awarded one such grant in the amount of $25,000. 

Organic Greens is a farm that specializes in a variety of microgreens ranging from sandwich and salad greens to wheatgrass to garnishes for high-end restaurants. Organic Greens is also involved in the Local Food For Schools Program, which works to get more locally-sourced products into Iowa’s K-12 schools.   

Owner, James Nisly, started Organic Greens in March of 1998. Nisly explained to KCII that the funds received from the grant will allow them to begin preserving their products for longer periods of time. “It’ll help with the processing equipment, but most of that is going to help with some expanded cold storage like a walk-in refrigerator and also a walk-in freezer.” 

This year, twenty-eight grants, totaling $463,000, were awarded to various farms, businesses, and non-profits through Choose Iowa. Since the program was established last year, it has provided over $700,000 to agricultural organizations across the state.