The Johnson County Food Policy Council (FPC) will host a Happy Hour event from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, at The Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company, 113 N Devoe St, Lone Tree. This free event aims to facilitate new connections across the community food system and raise awareness of the FPC as a community resource.

At 5:30 p.m. FPC members will serve free street food from The Lone Ox. At 6 p.m., Zee and Tony Brown, owners of The Lone Ox will speak, along with other Lone Tree community representatives.

The Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company specializes in vintage-style barbeque and custom cocktails focusing on locally sourced ingredients and is the latest food venture by Zee and Tony Brown, who also own Da Flava Unit Xpress in the Iowa City Marketplace, 1608 Sycamore St, Iowa City.

The event is free and open to the public. More information is available on the Facebook event page at https://facebook.com/events/s/johnson-county-food-policy-cou/510842128413117/ and Johnson County’s website at https://www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/localfoods. Registration is not required.

The Johnson County Food Policy Council was created in 2012 by the Board of Supervisors to provide guidance on food and agriculture issues. The council is charged with providing annual recommendations on improving our local food system, holding public forums to obtain feedback on food system issues, and educating County residents on the value of supporting a strong community food system.