Lincoln businesses, organizations spend nearly $600,000 in Mayor’s inaugural food challenge

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Twenty-one organizations spent nearly $600,000 on Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird’s 2025 Local Food Challenge.

Gaylor Baird on Thursday thanked those organizations for contributing to the success of the inaugural food challenge, which encouraged businesses, schools, restaurants and institutions to source food from local producers.

The 21 organizations placed 289 orders with 38 regional farmers and suppliers, spending $595,009 on local food products during the program, which ran from July through October.

“When we eat local food, we not only taste the difference, we make a real difference,” Gaylor Baird said in a press release. “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.”

The city worked with Lone Tree Foods and Robinette Farms 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 window cling to display their participation.

Kim Morrow, the city of Lincoln’s chief sustainability officer, said that despite being located in one of the nation’s top agricultural states, Lincoln imports 90% of its food.

According to Morrow, that’s about the equivalent of 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.”

Justin Jones, co-owner and general manager at Lone Tree Foods, said the food challenge program helped them start 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.

Chloe Diegel, co-owner and farm manager of Robinette Farms, 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,” she said. “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.”

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, HealthierU
• 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