FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mustard Seed Farm Team
Email outreach.mustardseed@gmail.com
June 22, 2026

Mustard Seed Community Farm breaks ground on construction of community food processing kitchen and hospitality space

Ames, IA – Mustard Seed Community Farm, a volunteer-run, non-profit community farm located 15 miles northwest of Ames, has begun a major construction project to enable the expansion of its food processing, hospitality and education efforts.

“Building a food processing kitchen will enable us to extend our harvest season and provide high-quality preserved farm products to our community partners and neighbors – like jams, jellies, teas, soup mixes, and more,” said farm team member Alice McGary. “This new space will also allow us to offer new community workshops and increase our capacity to host events and guests throughout our season, whether for a day, a weekend, or longer.”

The processing kitchen will include a walk-in cooler, freezer, food preparation tables, sinks, dehydrator, food processor and more, to preserve fresh produce by transforming it into ready-to-use products. Examples include turning bruised berries into jam, canning excess tomatoes or dehydrating excess peppers during times of abundance. This will enable Mustard Seed to contribute to the nutritional needs, wellness and resilience of central Iowa communities all year long, not just during the harvest season.

Mustard Seed also plans to expand its educational programming, offering hands-on workshops and classes on food preservation to community members who want to provide for their households or start micro-enterprises.

The $150,000+ project is supported by the United Way of Story County, Choose Iowa, The Franciscan Sisters of Dubuque, The Dorothy Day Foundation, and many generous individual donors. Fundraising is ongoing, and supporters can contribute online at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-our-mustard-seed-grow.

Mustard Seed Community Farm is an 11-acre farm dedicated to simple living, love of neighbor, and cultivating a place where everyone can participate in growing and eating delicious, healthy, locally-produced food. Mustard Seed operates a small CSA and also donates more than half of the food grown on the farm to community partners, including Food at First, The Romero House, Primary Health Care, Martha’s House of Hope, Salvation Army, The Bridge Home, Bethesda Food Pantry, Wings of Refuge, Matthew 25, The SHOP at Iowa State University, Mid-Iowa Community Action, and Anchored in Hope. Mustard Seed is located at 366 W Ave, Ames, IA 50014.

Fundraising Update: Help us raise $20,000 in June!

We are currently fundraising to install a new building on the farm which will include a processing kitchen, bathroom, and hospitality space for our summer interns and guests. This space will help us increase our capacity to support our community with local, sustainably grown food year round and allow us to provide new educational opportunities for the community! Once our kitchen is up and running, we will be offering classes, workshops, and kitchen space for community members who want to create and market their own products!

We are SO EXCITED to announce that we've been selected as a recipient of United Way of Story County's 2026 Financial Empowerment Major Grant. United Way has generously awarded us $50,000 in funding for the equipment expenses and personnel costs necessary to furnish our processing kitchen, offer food preservation classes, and enable financial empowerment for our neighbors. With this crucial support from United Way, we will be able to direct the majority of our fundraising efforts to construction costs.

We are VERY fortunate to have received grant funding from the Franciscan Sisters of Dubuque and the Choose Iowa Program to begin construction, but with a total project estimation of $150,000 and construction scheduled for this month, additional financial support is needed! Now that the septic, plumbing, foundation, and floor are in, help us raise the walls and roof!

We need YOUR SUPPORT to complete construction! Please consider making a donation today.

Donate Online
VENMO
(OR www.venmo.com/Mustard-Seed-Community-Farm)

Donate by Check
Mustard Seed Community Farm
366 W Ave.
Ames, IA 50014

Donate to Our GoFundMe Campaign
GoFundMe

Tax-Deductible Donation
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, you can donate to our 501c3 partner, The Dorothy Day Foundation: https://www.dorothydayfoundation.org/donate. EIN #88-189586

100% of your donation will be remitted to Mustard Seed Community Farm within 48 hours. For questions, please contact Michael Doyle: mdoyle@dorothydayfoundation.org.