All posts by Gary Huber

IFC Distribution Today; Lucky George Farm to Sample!

October 6, 2016
by Gary Huber

This is being sent via email to everyone who ordered this cycle. Today is distribution at our Osceola, Albia, Indianola, Ottumwa, and Des Moines area sites, and tomorrow is distribution in Ames. Our alternative pick up time is Saturday from 10:30 am to noon at our Franklin Plaza site. No need to give us a heads up if you want to come Saturday.

Also, Lucky George Farm will be sampling cookies made with lard from their Large Black herd at our Franklin Avenue site, so make sure to partake.

We continue to have we’ve lots of produce coming in. We try to make sure the quality is good, but the volume make examining it all closely a challenge. Be sure to let us know if something you get isn’t of acceptable quality with an email to problems@iowafood.coop.

IFC Pick-up is Thursday; Lucky George Farm to Sample Products!

October 4, 2016
by Gary Huber

If you are getting this message as an email, YOU ORDERED SOMETHING that needs to be picked up. Thank you very much. We had 209 members order 2,003 different items with total purchases at $12,933, which is about $2,000 more that two weeks ago.

Below is instructions concerning distribution. PLEASE NOTE: Lucky George Farm will be sampling some fresh baked goods made with the lard that they had on sale this cycle at our Franklin Avenue location during pick up Thursday. Make sure you say hi. They were profiled last weekend on IPTV’s Market to Market show (click here to see).

Instructions:

1. If you are picking up at Franklin Plaza, be sure to check out products available for purchase in our Retail Center. There are lots of good stuff you can add to your online orders.

2. Specifics on times and locations for all our sites are available with this link.

NOTE: IF YOU ARRIVE BEFORE THE SCHEDULED START TIME, OUR VOLUNTEERS WON’T BE READY. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY AND BE PATIENT.

3. Our alternative pick up time will be from 10:30 to noon on Saturday, Oct. 8. If we don’t see you Thursday, we’ll assume you are coming Saturday.

4. We accept EBT cards for payment ONLY AT OUR Franklin Plaza site. If you are an EBT member and are picking up at another location, please send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop so we can arrange for processing your payment

Final note: It’s a good idea to check to be sure your pick-up site is correct. You can access your invoice by logging in, going to the shopping tab, and click “view in-process invoice”. If it’s not right, send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop.

Producer Updates: Huber Family Carrots, Dogpatch Wins, Sales

September 28, 2016
by Gary Huber

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Congratulations!

Dogpatch Urban Gardens won the Partner of the Year award at the Urban Ambassadors FriendRaiser.The award is presented to a business, organization, or government that showed strong support for community-driven sustainability projects.

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Sales

Yoke S Ranch has stew meat on sale for $6 a pound. Order here.

Lucky George Farm has a big sale on their lard this cycle. It’s 50% their quarts, which are normally $24. Learn more about their lard and how to cook with it here.

Not Listing

Huber Family Farm will not be selling their beloved carrots this fall. They’ve sold their farm to another producer, Wilted Leaf Farm. They encourage us all to use this opportunity to support other producers and sell out their carrots! We are actively encouraging more producers to list carrots, but right now they are available in limited amounts here.

Zaza’s Pastas is not listing this cycle because their building in Cedar Rapids has been evacuated due to flooding. She is not sure when they will be able to list again. Please keep all of our eastern Iowa producers and friends in your thoughts as they experience intense rainfall.

SALE: Lard from Lucky George Farm

September 28, 2016
by Gary Huber

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If you’ve never tried cooking with lard–this cycle would be a great time to give it a shot! Lucky George Farm has their quarts of Large Black Lard priced 50% off! Normally they are $24, which means this cycle they’re only $12! This is an amazing deal for a local, delicious cooking oil. Their popular leaf lard is not on sale this cycle.

Ready to place your order? Click here!

 

Testimonials

Not sure about cooking with lard?Ā Isn’t that the stuff my mom was always telling me to avoid? Our consumers have tried it and love it! Read a few of their testimonials below:

I used the lard for Thanksgiving turkey and gravy and it was wonderful.

-Sam Kurth

From my use, your leaf lard is far superior than regular lard. Your leaf lard doesn’t give food a porkish flavor or smell, unlike other lards I have used. I find it gives veggies more flavor, satisfying the “umami” taste buds. I sautee our breakfast veggies every time with you leaf lard, and bake with it whenever a recipe calls for butter/oil/coconut oil. Since I know how well you raise your pigs (both in life and death), I can confidentially cook with your lard all the time without fear of exposing my body to harmful components.

I bake potatoes, sweet potatoes, and every squash with your lard, and even my father, a smoker all his life who has nearly no smell, comments on how good my cooking smells (and tastes).

-Jess Mimick

Lucky George Farm is my go to supplier for the leaf lard that I use in my pie crusts. As leaf lard is not easy to come by due to processing regulations, I love being able to get this product from an Iowa family farm. I am very anxious to try some of their other products as well.

-Joan Warren,Ā Cooking by J,Ā Personal Chef Service
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Lard is a versatile cooking medium and we know you’ll get a lot of use out of it! In case you’re still a little nervous, here are a few tips:

Tips and TricksĀ for Cooking with Lard from Jess Mimick

 

Keep lard in the fridge, so whenever a recipe calls for liquid oil, I microwave the lard for 45 seconds, enough to soften it so it blends easily (both for liquids and solid mixing).

For sauteeing/frying I scoop 1-2 spoon full, and let the oil melt before adding the food. I find it cooks/browns food faster, so lower temperature and more stirring is important (for sauteeing/frying) especially for garlic and onions.

With sauteed veggies, (I like them hot with bit of crunch and only slight softness) I cook the veggies to 75-80% cooked & then turn the heat down to the lowest option. I think the lard keeps the heat longer, so it continues to cook even after the heat is turned down.

Ready to place your order? Click here!

Save the Date: Annual Meeting and Potluck Cooking Contest

September 24, 2016
by Gary Huber

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Save the date for the annual Iowa Food Cooperative Member Annual Meeting AND Potluck Cooking Contest!

When: Saturday, December 3, Time 4:30-8:00 PM
Where: Grace United Methodist Church, 3700 Cottage Grove, Des Moines

NEW THIS YEAR, we are hosting a cooking contest. Start thinking about what dish you would like to make for a chance to win in one of the following categories.

Most Iowa Ingredients
Crowd Favorite

Keep checking back at this post for more information or RSVP on Facebook!

A Message From Our President

Hi Everyone,

Wow – what a great year the Iowa Food Coop is having! Our membership is thriving, enabled by our amazing volunteers and our dedicated staff. Producers continue to keep our mouths and tummies happy with their amazing food, and consumer members remain committed to our ongoing success. Thank you for whatever role you play in this wonderful organization.
There are so many things that I want to share with you – ideas that our energetic staff, board members, and other volunteers have for how we can keep growing the IFC so that we can get all that we need to eat in one place, and producer members can provide food in a sustainable way – environmentally, socially, and financially. Instead of writing a novel here – I would like to invite you to attend our annual meeting! We are working to make it a great event where we can talk about the IFC today and in the future, sharing our ideas with you and collecting your input for how to shape the IFC. And of course there is the potluck — and if you’ve been to one of our potlucks, you know that the food will not disappoint. We are even planning a little competition this year – with prizes for dishes:
  • Using most number of IFC ingredients
  • With IFC ingredient best used in unusual way
  • Crowd Favorite

 

Please let us know if you’ll be able to join, and feel free to invite a friend! One of the best ways you can help the IFC succeed is to tell others about us – and this annual meeting would be a great way for someone to kick off a 6-month trial membership right before the holidays! (You can even give a trial membership as a gift – we won’t tell anyone that is free.) Bring a dish big enough to share, invite them along, and we’ll make sure they are thanking you for introducing them to the IFC.

Well, there are so many more things that I’d like to say – but need to go decide what’s for dinner (and what needs to go in my IFC basket this week!). Hope to see you on December 5th, if not before.

Always growing,
Tony

Leadership needed!

Interested in joining our board?Ā This is a fun, challenging, and rewarding position that allows you to have a larger voice in the future of IFC. We have two spots for producer members and one for consumer members.Ā Please let me (Tony Thompson) know if you are interested in applying (or if you have questions) by sending me anĀ emailĀ or callingĀ 515-367-0110.

 

Volunteers needed

If you think joining the board might be too much of a commitment right now, but would be willing to volunteer during our distribution cycles, contact Lisa Bean (lbean1006@gmail.com)Ā or Mary Mathiasen (mkmathiasen@icloud.com) to find out about volunteer opportunities.

 

Driver needed

We are looking for a dependable person to drive the IFC van between distribution sites on alternate Thursday afternoons. This is a paid position. If you or someone you know could help out for a few hours by driving between our Franklin, West Des Moines, and Ankeny sites and loading / unloading products that are being delivered to those distribution sites, please contact Gary – 515-450-6812orĀ gary@iowafood.coop.

 

IFC Distribution Today!

September 22, 2016
by Gary Huber

This is being sent via email to everyone who ordered this cycle. Today is distribution at our Osceola, Albia, Indianola, Ottumwa, and Des Moines area sites, and tomorrow is distribution in Ames. Our alternative pick up time is Saturday from 10:30 am to noon at our Franklin Plaza site. No need to give us a heads up if you want to come Saturday.

We continue to have we’ve lots of produce coming in. We try to make sure the quality is good, but the volume make examining it all closely a challenge. Be sure to let us know if something you get isn’t of acceptable quality with an email to problems@iowafood.coop.

IFC Pick-up is this Thursday!

September 19, 2016
by Gary Huber

If you are getting this message as an email, YOU ORDERED SOMETHING that needs to be picked up.

Thank you very much for your purchases. We had 187 members order 1,853 different items this cycle. Total purchases were $11,247, which is less than same cycle sales last year. Not sure what’s going on. One factor is we don’t have a WDM pickup this week because the road by the church there will be blocked off because of the Valley High School homecoming parade.

Anyway, some quick info on distribution:

1. If you are picking up at Franklin Plaza, be sure to check out products available for purchase in our Retail Center. There are lots of good stuff you can add to your online orders.

2. Specifics on times and locations for all our sites are available with this link.

NOTE: IF YOU ARRIVE BEFORE THE SCHEDULED START TIME, OUR VOLUNTEERS WON’T BE READY. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY AND BE PATIENT.

3. Our alternative pick up time will be from 10:30 to noon on Saturday, Sept. 24. If we don’t see you Thursday, we’ll assume you are coming Saturday.

4. We accept EBT cards for payment ONLY AT OUR Franklin Plaza site. If you are an EBT member and are picking up at another location, please send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop so we can arrange for processing your payment

Final note: It’s a good idea to check to be sure your pick-up site is correct. You can access your invoice by logging in, going to the shopping tab, and click “view in-process invoice”. If it’s not right, send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop.

Seasonal Shopping List – September 13, 2016

September 13, 2016
by Gary Huber

With changing seasons come changing tastes in the kitchen–and changing availability of seasonal products.

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Tastes of Summer

Personal Pie, Sweet to Eat Bakery and Cake Shop
While pies are typically available year round, there’s nothing like a delicious fruit pie to ring out the end of summer. We’re lusting after the peach raspberry!

Kombucha, Agri-Cultured
Their amazing kombucha is available year round, but warm weather makes the cold drink taste even better! The Iowa Aronia Berry and Grape flavor is particularly tasty.

Watermelon, The Homestead and Jeremiah Conejo Farm
Watermelon season is winding down. Producers have them available in limited quantities.

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Stock Up and Store

Tomatoes
Don’t forget, you can freeze tomatoes. Learn more here.

Onions
Cured onions are just becoming available. Buy them now and store through December at least. Learn more about storing onions here.

Garlic
Bolder flavors than you’ll find in the grocery store, when properly stored garlic can last for several months. Learn more about storing garlic here.

Apples
Apple season will be here and gone before you know it. Buy your favorite varieties now and store or preserve them for later! Learn more about storing apples here.

IFC Distribution Today!

September 8, 2016
by Gary Huber

This is being sent via email to everyone who ordered this cycle. Today is distribution at our Osceola, Albia, Indianola, Ottumwa, and Des Moines area sites, and tomorrow is distribution in Ames. Our alternative pick up time is Saturday from 10:30 am to noon at our Franklin Plaza site. No need to give us a heads up if you want to come Saturday.

We continue to have we’ve lots of produce coming in. We try to make sure the quality is good, but the volume make examining it all closely a challenge. Be sure to let us know if something you get isn’t of acceptable quality with an email to problems@iowafood.coop.

IFC Pick-up is this Thursday!

September 6, 2016
by Gary Huber

If you are getting this message as an email, YOU ORDERED SOMETHING that needs to be picked up. Thank you very much for your purchases. We had 22o members order 2,230 different items this cycle; total purchases were right at $13,665, which is 14% more than same cycle sales last year.

It’s growth, which is great, although we’d like to see more because this time of year our producers have an abundance of products.

Anyway, some quick info on distribution:

1. If you are picking up at Franklin Plaza, be sure to check out products available for purchase in our Retail Center. There are lots of good stuff you can add to your online orders.

2. Specifics on times and locations for all our sites are available with this link.

NOTE: IF YOU ARRIVE BEFORE THE SCHEDULED START TIME, OUR VOLUNTEERS WON’T BE READY. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY AND BE PATIENT.

3. Our alternative pick up time will be from 10:30 to noon on Saturday, Sept. 10. If we don’t see you Thursday, we’ll assume you are coming Saturday.

4. We accept EBT cards for payment ONLY AT OUR Franklin Plaza site. If you are an EBT member and are picking up at another location, please send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop so we can arrange for processing your payment

Final note: It’s a good idea to check to be sure your pick-up site is correct. You can access your invoice by logging in, going to the shopping tab, and click “view in-process invoice”. If it’s not right, send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop.