The Convergence of our Beliefs: Edible Garden’s Expansion Project
How Incentives Help Rural Communities Compete
When a rural community has an idle industrial facility, a ready workforce, and a company looking to expand, incentives can do more than bridge a financing gap. They can help connect the right resources, reduce barriers, and create the momentum needed to move a project from possibility to execution. The Edible Garden project in Webster City, Iowa, is a powerful example of this in action.
Reviving a Rural Manufacturing Legacy
Webster City is a community shaped by generations of manufacturing strength. For decades, a major home appliances producer was the community’s beacon of local pride, skills, and economic growth. When production stopped, the community was left with a familiar Rust Belt challenge: a massive, purpose-built industrial asset standing idle, and a workforce eager for opportunity but uncertain about what could come next.
Local and state leaders saw an opportunity to reimagine what the facility, and the community around it, could become. Strategic incentive programs helped position the site for new investment by reducing redevelopment barriers, preserving its manufacturing heritage, and signaling to the market that Webster City was prepared to compete for modern production.
Edible Garden AG Incorporated, a national leader in controlled environment agriculture and sustainable food production, saw more than an empty building. They saw an experienced workforce, a strong manufacturing tradition, and the opportunity to bring new life to a facility that had long been part of the community's identity. Their vision was to transform the facility into a high‑capacity, technology‑driven, ready‑to‑drink (RTD) protein beverage production plant, capable of producing more than 100 million units annually for a major global retailer. This isn't simply a renovation. It's a complete reinvention - bringing together advanced manufacturing, automation, food science, and sustainability under one roof. By pairing adaptive reuse with forward-looking incentives, Webster City is positioning a former manufacturing site for a new chapter of economic growth, illustrating how the right incentives can help communities attract investment and build future momentum.
Where Incentives Create Real Impact
The collaboration between Edible Garden, the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), Webster City, Ames Alliance, and Steadfast City, demonstrates what happens when public and private partners work toward a shared goal. Together, we structured an incentive strategy that supports:
Redevelopment of a major industrial asset creating a value-added agricultural hub in Iowa
Job creation - 42 new jobs within three years
More than $1 billion in projected economic output during its first five years
Sustainable production aligned with Edible Garden’s Zero-Waste Inspired® model
Edible Garden partnered with Steadfast City to evaluate the location, structure the incentive strategy, and ultimately secure $9.27M in state and local incentives to support the project’s development. As the project continues to advance, there may also be opportunities to evaluate additional community development financing tools, such as New Markets Tax Credits, where the project’s job creation, reuse, rural location, and broader community impact align with program priorities.
As Margaret Riter, Managing Principal at Steadfast City, shared, “This initiative represents an opportunity to align sustainable food production with regional economic growth. Our focus is on ensuring the platform is positioned for long-term scalability while delivering meaningful impact at the local level.”
This project reflects something we believe strongly at Steadfast City: sustainable industry, strong communities, and thoughtful incentives are not separate goals. They work together to create lasting economic impact.
The Power of Partnership
The success of this project is a testament to the strength of collaboration across Iowa:
Iowa Economic Development Authority for its strategic investment and commitment to rural competitiveness
Webster City for its vision, leadership, and readiness to embrace new industry
Ames Alliance for its coordination of the groups and deep knowledge of the community, incentives, and stakeholders
Edible Garden for its innovation and sustainability-driven growth
Steadfast City for aligning incentives, strategy, and community impact
When partners share a common vision, and incentives are thoughtfully used, the results can be transformational.
Steadfast City’s Commitment
We are proud to support Edible Garden, Iowa EDA, Webster City, and Ames Alliance in bringing this transformative project to life. For us, this project represents the very best of economic development: investing in people, strengthening places, and creating opportunities with long-term purpose.
Because the strongest communities aren't built by looking backward, they're built by finding new ways to build on what already makes them great.
CONNECT!
Connect with the team today to learn more about incentives programs for development and expansion in rural communities.
