Iowa Place Based Foods, Iowa Arts Council

Tasty Iowa pork tenderloins, creamy Maytag blue cheese, sweet and crispy Dutch letters, a juicy Muscatine melon ~ these are just a few of the foods that evoke a taste of place that transport you to Iowa’s rolling green hills, scenic rivers, and friendly small towns. We seek out these foods ~ to eat locally when we visit, purchase as souvenirs or gifts, or hunt down in specialty shops. They nourish not only our bodies but our spirit.

Place-based foods have a unique taste related to the soil, water, air, and climate of a region as well as with the ethnic or regional heritage of their producers. Explore these web pages and learn the “stories” about a variety of Iowa place-based foods.