Ep. 402 Why Walmart Will Never Tell You Where Your Food's From And Why Food Hubs Fail or Succeed

Tommy Hexter bought a tiny local food market at 20 and grew it to nearly seventy Iowa producers. We talk food hubs, pay-what-you-can groceries, why Walmart can’t tell you where your eggs came from, running for the statehouse at 24, and why Iowa’s soil should make it America’s food capital.

hokseynativeseeds.com (for all your native seed, backyard prairie, hunting mixes, CRP mixes, native pasture mixes, and more)

iowacovercrop.com (for all your cover crop mixes, waterway mixes, forage mixes, small grains, and more)

MckayInsAgency.com (for all your financial planning and insurance needs)

Chapters 0:00:00 Introducing Tommy Hexter 0:04:00 Iowa Trust and California Stereotypes 0:08:00 Summers Working and Being From Iowa 0:12:00 Grinnell College Pig Roast 0:16:00 What a Food Hub Is 0:20:00 Pay What You Can Groceries 0:24:00 Iowa Food Hub Scale Without Walmart 0:28:00 Soil and Water Conservation Race 0:32:00 Learning Iowa Ag From Outside 0:36:00 Running for Office With Curiosity 0:42:00 Debating Like Gentlemen 0:46:00 Leading With Values Not Fear 0:52:00 Why Food Hubs Fail on Scale 0:56:00 Healthy Food That Actually Tastes Good 1:00:00 Future Grocery Carts Versus Oreos 1:06:00 Farm Work Dirty Hands and Blue Collar 1:20:00 Radiance Dairy and Ascribing Value 1:24:00 Wrap Up and Where to Find Tommy