Exhibitors

Deborah Bunka

Membership and Fundraising Director, Iowa Farmers Union

Deborah comes to Iowa via Canada, where she worked for various non-profits including serving as Executive Director of the Tamarack Foundation for learning disabled children in Saskatchewan and editing an arts newspaper in Hamilton, Ontario. Relocating to Ames in 1996 with her family, she wrote a monthly column on food history and the availability of seasonal local foods for the Ames Tribune, while also writing a regular food column for the regional Facets magazine.

For five years, Deborah ran a farmers market in Ames, opening Iowa’s first year-round indoor market and launching a CSA. Coinciding with her life-long interest in social, political and economic justice, she traveled Iowa for several months talking with people about clean water issues and volunteered for two years with Iowa CCI as a citizen-lobbyist. These experiences have made Deborah a strong fit for her work with Iowa Farmers Union.