The premiere of the feature film, Ivy League Farmer, about modern agriculture and food security issues raised more than $250,000 for a volunteer-driven program in Iowa that provides weekend meals for kindergarten through six grade school-age children in need.

The Ivy League Farmer premiere showings, June 5-7 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, raised money through agricultural and local business sponsorships and public ticket donations. One hundred percent of all sponsorship funding and donations were targeted for the volunteer-driven Operation BackPack project, administered by the non-profit Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) active in six eastern Iowa counties.

Through Operation BackPack, school children identified by their teachers and school nurses as “food insecure” receive a backpack on Friday that contains quality food items for the weekend. With better nutrition over the weekend, kids returning to school on Monday are better able to concentrate on learning.

In order to increase public awareness of food security issues and improve knowledge of modern agriculture, Diamond V became a founding member of Farming to Fight Hunger™, the non-profit organization that planned and funded the movie. The Ivy League Farmer is the group’s first project.

The movie tells the story of a father and son in conflict over the family dairy operation and the part modern farming technology can play in determining the future of the farm. It’s also a love story played out against the backdrop of a small community that comes together to grow a thoughtful idea into a sustainable solution for local kids who are not getting enough to eat.

Diamond V organized the Operation BackPack Benefit, which exceeded its fundraising goal by more than 25 percent. Cannon presented a check to HACAP at the celebratory event, which featured one of the country music’s most admired groups, Sawyer Brown. The benefit concert entertained more than 2,000 guests on June 5 in Cedar Rapids. Sawyer Brown lead vocalist Mark Miller wrote and co-produced The Ivy League Farmer.

The Ivy League Farmer, directed by Tom Weber and co-produced by Mark Miller and brother Frank Miller, stars Randy Wayne, Janine Turner, Terry Serpico, Ashley Nicole Anderson, Christopher Knight, and Christopher Douglas Reed as “Lester.”