DES MOINES — Two individuals with strong area ties and roots — La Carreta Mexican Grill owner Alfonso Medina and Johnston High School Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) teacher Claire Anderson, a Conrad native and BCLUW graduate, were recently honored with special recognitions at the annual Iowa Hospitality Showcase & Celebrating Excellence Awards Ceremony on Monday in Des Moines.

Medina, who graduated from Marshalltown High School in 2008, was born into the restaurant business as his father opened Mexican eateries around Iowa during his childhood before eventually settling in Marshalltown, where he owned and operated both El Portal and La Carreta.

“Both became special gathering spots in the community. When La Carreta eventually permanently closed, people never stopped asking about it or hoping it would someday return. Reopening it was not just a business decision for me. It was personal. It was about continuing my family’s legacy and restoring something meaningful to both our family and the town,” Medina said. “Today, I continue that legacy with new ideas, new energy, and the same heart my parents built it with.”

In 2018, Alfonso reopened La Carreta at 308 Iowa Ave. E., and his “No Love, No Tacos” slogan garnered nationwide attention just two years later. Medina has given back to the Marshalltown community in numerous ways including paying off school lunch debt, donating a bike repair station to the Parks and Recreation Department along a city trail, providing scholarships to students who attend Marshalltown Community College (MCC) and, most recently, serving a free meal no questions asked at the House of Compassion on Nov. 11. Thus, he was a perfect fit for the Iowa Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Neighbor Philanthropist of the Year Award.

“Giving back has become a core value in my life because of the opportunities I’ve been given. This community supported our family from the beginning, and that is something I’ve never taken for granted. Once my parents decided to settle in Marshalltown, this town became our home, and I’ve always felt a responsibility to give that same support back. I have a saying that guides everything I do. If you have the opportunity, you have the responsibility,” he said. “To me, that means if life puts you in a position where you can help others, you should. At La Carreta, we try to give back in creative and unique ways, whether it is helping students, surprising families with free meals or stepping up during difficult moments. We do not follow a standard path. We look at what the community needs at that time and find meaningful ways to respond, and the impact is real. Sometimes it is a thank you message, sometimes it is a smile, and sometimes it is a family telling us how much a simple gesture meant to them. Those moments remind me that even small acts of kindness can make a big difference. Marshalltown has done a lot for my family. Giving back consistently, creatively and from the heart is my way of honoring that support.”

He also hopes that his actions will create a “ripple effect,” inspiring others to do the same, and helping business owners realize that they don’t need to be affiliated with a large corporation to make a difference.

“Marshalltown is full of generous, hard-working people, and when local businesses get involved, it strengthens the whole town,” he said. “You do not have to do everything. Just do something. Start where you are, use what you have and let your actions speak for you.”

And the story of La Carreta and its far-reaching philanthropic efforts are far from over as Medina intends to keep pushing his mission forward one freshly cooked meal at a time.

“La Carreta is not just a business to me. It is part of our family history, and I want its future to reflect the same heart and values it was built on,” he said. “Marshalltown has some of the most big-hearted people you will ever meet. People here will take the shirt off their back for anyone. That spirit is what inspires me every day to give back, to think creatively and to look for ways to make a positive impact.”

He continues to find inspiration both in the people of Marshalltown and through national and international figures like World Central Kitchen Chef Jose Andres and the late Martin Luther King Jr.

“(King) spoke powerfully about world hunger, poverty and our responsibility to uplift one another. Their work and their words remind me that helping others is not a hobby. It is a calling. And if one day I am no longer here, my hope is simple. I want to leave this town better than how I found it. That is something we should all strive for. Less complaining, more stepping up and more taking action when we have the chance to help someone,” Medina said. “So when I received this recognition, my first thought was that this award deserves to be in Marshalltown. It reflects the heart of this community. If there is one message I want to share, it is this. If you have the opportunity, you have the responsibility.”

Anderson, a Class of 2011 BCLUW High School graduate who started her teaching career in Cedar Falls before accepting her current position in Johnston in 2018, was recognized as the 2025 Iowa ProStart® Educator of Excellence. According to its website, ProStart ® is a “nationwide, career-building program for high school students created by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and implemented in Iowa by the Iowa Restaurant Association Education Foundation (IRAEF)” that “blends classroom learning with industry experiences, giving students a platform to discover new interests and talents to open doors for fulfilling careers in the hospitality industry.”

About 40 Iowa school districts participate in ProStart ®, and Anderson said the goal is to have students prepared to join the workforce upon graduation and make an immediate impact in restaurants and foodservice. As part of the program, they have to complete 400 hours of work experience and 52 of the 75 competencies on a checklist to receive the ProStart ® certificate of achievement.

In addition to restaurants, Anderson has worked closely with Des Moines Area Community College’s (DMACC’s) culinary institute to help students explore career opportunities.

“I really try to take them there, show them the program and get them to think (about) beginning with the end in mind. Where can this take you?” she asked.

Anthony Nace, the executive chef at the downtown Des Moines Hilton who was recognized as the Restaurant Association’s 2024 Chef of the Year, serves as a mentor and works with Johnston High School (JHS) once a month on various projects while also fostering a partnership with Loffredo Fresh Foods.

Like her longtime friend Medina, Anderson is a graduate of Iowa State University (ISU), and she said a student teaching stint at Hampton-Dumont with Jane Hoegh, who received the same award from ProStart ® in 2019, helped her find her niche as an educator and discover her passion for FCS.

“She just really mentored me. She helped me when I was in Cedar Falls. I really knew when I got done with college, I wanted to teach ProStart ® at some point. At Cedar Falls, that was not gonna happen, and she encouraged me to go see where else there were jobs, where other opportunities are, and I’m so glad she did because I have worked really hard to build the program we have at Johnston,” she said.

Her classes, she added, aren’t solely for those who want to become chefs or open their own restaurants someday: they’re also for youngsters who hope to improve their cooking skills and life skills.

“A huge part of the ProStart ® program is management. I don’t know a single job that someone is going into where they won’t be managing others, so the skills they learn in working with others are critical for success in the future whether it’s in the restaurant and hospitality industry or something way different,” Anderson said. “These skills are very transferable, and that is key.”

To top it all off, she noted that El Portal and La Carreta were some of her favorite restaurants in the area when she was growing up, and her late grandmother Berniece, who passed away in 2024, “adored” Medina, a feeling he reciprocated.

“When we realized we both won, we had to take a little moment and be like ‘This is totally Grandma sending us a message’ because she would have been there loud and proud and cheering for both of us,” Anderson said. “(Medina) gives back so much. He encourages this path for young people… What he just did at the House of Compassion, I shared that video with my students when it was on the news and the social media posts that La Carreta had because I just want to encourage them that, even in this industry, you can still give back, and the creative ways you can do it are huge.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com