Mayor Highlights Success of Inaugural Local Food Challenge

Published on November 20, 2025

21 organizations spent nearly $600,000 on local food in 2025 program

Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird today thanked community organizations for contributing to the success of the inaugural Mayor’s Local Food Challenge, which encouraged businesses, schools, restaurants and institutions to source food from local producers.

Twenty-one organizations placed 289 orders with 38 regional farmers and suppliers, spending $595,009 on local food products in the program that ran from July through October.

“When we eat local food, we not only taste the difference, we make a real difference. The Mayor’s Local Food Challenge helps build a vibrant food future that benefits our environment and economy, while embracing the proud Nebraska tradition of knowing and celebrating where our food comes from,” Mayor Gaylor Baird said.

The City worked with Lone Tree Foods of Lincoln and Robinette Farms of Martell to connect challenge participants with high-quality food produced within a 250-mile radius of Lincoln. Participants chose program options that suited their needs, and earned recognition based on the number of local food orders placed during the 18-week program. Organizations placing two orders or more received a Mayor’s Local Food Challenge window cling to display their participation.

Joining Mayor Gaylor Baird at Hudl, were Kim Morrow, Chief Sustainability Officer; Mark Ketcham, HUDL Chief of Staff; Heather Loughman, Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties Chief Executive Officer; Justin Jones, Lone Tree Foods Co-Owner and General Manager, and Chloe Diegel, Robinette Farms Co-Owner and Farm Manager.

Morrow said that despite being located in one of the nation’s top agricultural states, Lincoln imports 90% of its food – the equivalent of about 1.6 million pounds daily – resulting in more than $1.1 billion leaving the region annually. If every Lincoln resident spent $5 a week on food produced locally, it would generate $91 million annually for regional farms and food businesses, Morrow said.

“The food challenge program proves that investing in a local food economy is, quite literally, no small beans, and it shows the incredible potential when our community works together,” Morrow said. “We’re thrilled that the first year of the Mayor’s Local Food Challenge has been such a success, and we’re grateful to every organization that stepped up to incorporate fresh, delicious local food into their operations.”

Ketcham said Hudl arranged for Robinette Farms to make weekly deliveries of fresh food for its employees – and worked with Lone Tree Foods to incorporate local produce into the daily meals provided to staff.

“Supporting local farms and producers strengthens our local economy, ensures Lincoln’s food system is resilient and sustainable, and, frankly, it just tastes better,” Ketcham said.

Loughman said the Community Action Partnership purchased food to be used in its Gathering Place program, which provides free evening meals seven nights a week in Lincoln’s Near South neighborhood. The organization also used the program to provide fresh produce for the 57 toddlers and preschool children in its Head Start programs.

“By participating in the Mayor’s Local Food Challenge, we enhance our ability to harness our thriving local food system to help our community members live well,” Loughman said. “Community Action is committed to supporting a thriving local food system as it is one of the most impactful ways we can address food insecurity at the systems-level and create greater access to healthy food for all.”

Jones said the food challenge program helped Lone Tree Foods begin relationships with businesses it previously had difficulty reaching by opening people’s eyes “to the value of using local food.”

“The Challenge demonstrates to everyone that the City of Lincoln supports a farm-centric food system that circulates money in our state and our communities,” Jones said.

Diegel said that the challenge participants strengthen producers’ businesses by helping farmers earn a fair price, keep land in production, hire more people, and reinvest in practices that improve soil, water, and the resilience of the regional food system.

“When our community chooses local, it tells farmers and ranchers that the long hours, the risks, and the care we put into growing food are seen and supported. That encouragement keeps family farms going, and it keeps more of our acres in healthy, working grasslands and fields that benefit the climate and our communities,” Diegel said.

Registration for the 2026 Mayor’s Local Food Challenge will be in late spring, with the program scheduled to run from July through October. For more information, visit lincoln.ne.gov/foodchallenge.

The participants and results of the Mayor’s Local Food Challenge are as follows:

Platinum – 18 orders:

Hudl

Hub Cafe

Dish Restaurant

Bryan Health

Open Harvest Co-op Grocery

Duncan Aviation

Lincoln Public Schools

Gold – 13 to 17 orders:

Immanuel: The Landing

University of Nebraska-Lincoln, HealtheirU

Silver – 7 to 12 orders:

Lazlo's Brewery & Grill

Community Action's Gathering Place

Bronze – 2 to 6 orders:

Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach

Doane University: Fresh Ideas Food Service

Zipline Tap and Grill

Stepping Stones Child Academy

Community Action's Headstart

Kanga Kare Child Development Center

Kawasaki

Educare Lincoln

Trinity Child Care at Village Gardens

Belmont Community Center