All posts by Gary Huber

IFC Distribution Today (Tomorrow in Ames) – Note New Main Pick-Up Site!

May 22, 2014

This is being sent via email to everyone who ordered this cycle and has products to be picked up. Today is distribution at our Des Moines area sites and Osceola, and tomorrow in Ames. We have an alternative pick up time on Saturday from 10:30 am to noon at our Merle Hay Mall site. If you need to pick up on Saturday and haven’t told us already, please let us know with a call to 515-450-6812.

NOTE: We moved our main pick-up location from Merle Hay Mall to 4944 Franklin Avenue. We are in what’s known as Franklin Plaza, which is a small shopping center on the south side of Franklin just east of the Franklin Public Library. Look for a banner just outside our space.

Pick-up Thursday or Friday – Note New Main Pick-up Site!

May 19, 2014

by Gary Huber

We had 206 members order 2,285 items this cycle. Total purchases were about $12,700. That’s down about $2,500 from last cycle. Hopefully we can that number to grow with some additional promotions about our new main pick-up location.

We’ve been working hard to get our new space at 4944 Franklin Avenue in Des Moines ready. All the equipment was moved over from Merle Hay Mall last week. A new floor was installed late last week, and today the wiring was finished. Tomorrow we’ll place and plug in all the equipment, and at 3 pm the inspector comes so we can be licensed as a grocery store.

NOTE: If you got this message as an email, you’ve ordered something. Pick-up is on Thursday at our Des Moines-area sites and Osceola, and Friday is our pick-up in Ames. Specific times and locations are to the left of this email. If you need to use the 10:30 to noon Saturday alternative pick up time, send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop.

NOTE: You can access your invoice by logging in, going to the shopping tab, and click “view in-process invoice”.

Below are some additional instructions.

IFC Cart is Open – Got Milk? We Do!

May 13, 2014

by Gary Huber

1,159 Different Products Listed!

The online shopping opened last night at midnight. It’ll close on Sunday, May 18, at midnight with distribution on Thurs., May 22, at our Des Moines area and Osceola sites and Friday, May 23 in Ames. If you have a conflict, our alternative pickup is 10:30 am to noon on Sat., May 24 at our new Franklin Plaza location.

Yes, we have new home. The address is 4944 Franklin Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50310 (click here for a blog post that includes a link to a map). We will no longer have a Merle Hay Mall site, so if you usually pick up at the mall, you’ll need to choose a new location when you open your shopping cart. To shop go to https://iowafood.coop and log in. If you need help with your username or password, send an email to info@iowafood.coop.

We’ve got a huge selection of really incredible products, including for the first time MILK (so many reasons to be excited)! See below for new stuff.

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WW Homestead Dairy (from Waukon) added milk. This is their message about the products: “We’ve added our whole, 1%, skim & skim chocolate milk in 1/2 gallons & gallons. Our milk is antibiotic & hormone free. It is pasteurized, but it is not homogenized. Homogenization is when the fat globules in milk are forced through a screen, breaking them up into smaller particles and evenly distributing them in the milk. We believe this is an unnecessary step and our milk is cream-line, meaning the cream rises to the top and you have to shake it yourself to mix it up!”

Beaver Creek Collections (from Guthrie Center) is a new IFC producer. A “Mother-Daughter team with generations of background in farming and gardening”, they’ve listed Cheery Belle Radishes, Rhubarb, Loose Leaf Lettuce, and Spinach.From

Pickle Creek Herbal (from Brighton): “We have a whole new wave of seedlings ready to go, which means many of the heirloom tomato, pepper, eggplant, and herb varieties that sold out last cycle are back in stock. Also, we have several more basil varieties available, and we’ve listed new herbs as well as some brand new hot peppers. Thanks! Jocelyn (the Pickle Creek Girl)”

7 Pines Farm (from Maxwell) added eight new tomato transplant varieties (Beefsteak, Black Cherry, Blondkopfchen Cherry, Chadwick Cherry, Golden Nugget Cherry, Hillbilly Potato Leaf, Kellogg’s Breakfast, Snow White Cherry) to go along with their dip mixes, salsas, compound butters, and cream cheese spreads.From Lee’s Greens (from Nevada): “We have added lots of transplants (mainly tomatoes). We also have herbs, rhubarb, purple and white bicolor petunia hanging baskets, lettuce mix, swiss chard, and mixed turnips.”

SalAmander Farm (from Bondurant) added asparagus, rhubarb, and basil plants, and Panther Creek Asparagus (from Minburn) also added asparagus.

Broadhorn Farm (from Truro) has two beef products from their Belted Galloway herd on sale: Short Ribs (regularly $6.78/lb, now $5.59) and Round Steak (regularly $9.23/package, now $8.88). Julie writes: “We loved talking to our customers at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market last weekend and we’ll be there again on May 24th!!! Come out for a visit and pick up a Broadhorn Farm T-Shirt.”

Yoke S Ranch (from Russell) has their Corriente beef brisket on sale for $5.00/lb.

The Threshing Floor has unlisted their baked goods because of well-deserved vacation. They plan to relist the 2nd cycle of June.

IFC Distribution Today (Tomorrow in Ames) – Note Merle Hay Mall Access Issue!

May 8, 2014

by Gary Huber

NOTE: The entrance nearest our space at Merle Hay Mall is still open, but it is being heavily used for construction during the day. They typically are done by 3:30 pm, so there shouldn’t be much interference for your use of this entrance during our 4-7 pm pick-up.

Pick-up Thursday or Friday – Note Merle Hay Mall Access Issue!

May 5, 2014

by Gary Huber

We had 218 members order 2,728 items this cycle (a new record – must be all the transplants). Total purchases were almost $15,000.

NOTE: If you got this message as an email, you’ve ordered something. Pick-up is on Thursday at Des Moines-area sites and Osceola or Friday in Ames. Specific times and locations are to the left of this email. If you need to use the 10:30 to noon Saturday alternative pick up time, send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop.

NOTE: The entrance nearest our space is suppose to be open, but it’s being heavily used by the workers and machines. If for some reason use another entrance, find your way to the east-west portion of the mall that links the east Target/Sears side to the west Younkers side. They’ve created a sheltered walkway that links these two sides, and from this walkway, you turn south to get to our space. If you are lost, call 515-450-6812.

NOTE: You can access your invoice by logging in, going to the shopping tab, and click “view in-process invoice”.

Below are some additional instructions.

We found a new home!

May 2, 2014

by Gary Huber

We Are Moving to a New Home!

Lisa Bean, IFC Board President

We have big news for our members – we have a new home which is secure for the next three years! We have one more move to conquer and then we can relax and put our efforts where they will be of most benefit to our membership. Security feels really good.

As those of you that volunteer or pick up goods at Merle Hay Mall already know, our days there are numbered. As a matter of fact, this next week will be our last distribution from our new-old (original) site. We are most grateful to Merle Hay Mall for donating space to allow IFC to get started – we could not have done it with out their support.

Now, we are much bigger with great growth over the last year, and to continue this trend we needed a more permanent location. Pete Woltz of Timber Ridge Cattle Company, Gary Huber, and I have been looking at options close to Merle Hay Mall as we know we need to stay close to where most of our consumers live, plus we want to maintain a central location for our producers.

After weeks of searching we have found the perfect place in Franklin Plaza. It is the old Marino’s Restaurant at 4944 Franklin – just east of the Franklin Public Library. The board has looked carefully at the costs and our cash position to make sure we can afford the move. Everything looked good, so Monday we made the unanimous decision to go ahead. Yesterday (May 1) we signed the lease.

What next? We will have distribution this next week using our space at Merle Hay Mall. We will be calling for volunteers to help us remove some carpet and linoleum tile at 4944 Franklin.

The new floor will be put down May 13-16 and Tim Kruse of Green Light Renewables will install wiring for our equipment. We will be moving EVERYTHING – so please watch for volunteer requests. Our distribution on May 22 will take place from the new location.

The board knows that having a real home was the next step for IFC – we are excited and look forward to new adventures!

IFC Cart is Open – Get Your Transplants Ordered!

April 29, 2014

by Gary Huber

1,245 Different Products Listed!

We learned we can use our Merle Hay Mall location for distribution next week, so we opened the online shopping cart last night at midnight. It’ll close on Sunday, May 3, at midnight with distribution on Thurs., May 8, at our Des Moines area and Osceola sites and Friday, May 9 in Ames.

If you have a conflict, our alternative pickup is 10:30 am to noon on Sat., May 10 at our Merle Hay Mall location.

To shop go to https://iowafood.coop and log in. If you need help with your username or password, send an email to info@iowafood.coop.

We’ve got a huge selection of some really incredible products – baked goods, dairy, meats, eggs, veggies, etc. See below for new stuff and messages from producers.

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By the end of next week, it’ll be time to get your gardens going. Check out this new producer for your fertility needs, and then see the huge variety of transplants that listed.

Central Iowa Organic Fertilizer just joined. A small family-owned business from Indianola, they produce an worm casting fertilizer. No chemicals are used or added (making the product safe around children and pets) and the castings have no odor (perfect for indoor houseplant use). Other uses are flower and vegetable gardening and crops.

Wabi Sabi Farm (from near Granger) added 42 certified organic transplants, including 14 tomato varieties, 9 sweet/hot pepper varieties, and various herbs, onions, scallions, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli.

Lee’s Greens (from near Nevada) listed five kinds of tomato transplants and Victoria rhubarb transplants. They’ve also got potted herbs (sweet basil, chives, curled and plain leaf parsley) and several fresh produce items (mixed turnips, swiss chard, lettuce mix).

Pickle Creek Herbal (from near Brighton) listed certified organic Joe’s Long Cayanne hot pepper transplants and a bunch of certified organic herb transplants (basil, sage, thyme, mint, oregano, parsley, chives, and cutting celery). They also have herb-infused olive oils & vinegars, plus herbal soaps, salves & lip balms.

7 Pines Farm (from near Maxwell) listed five types of herbs plants to go along with their dip mixes, salsas, compound butters, and cream cheese spreads.

Red Barn Produce (from near dexter) listed four kinds of tomato transplants (Cherokee Purple, Dester Heirloom, Golden Jubilee, Wapsipinicon Peach), Sweet Yellow Banana Pepper transplants, and three types of herb transplants. Sue also listed several fresh produce items – arugula, spicy greens, spinach leaves, kale, and green onions.

Raccoon Forks Farm (from near Redfield) has listed bagged spinach, plus they’ve got eggs and their broiler special is still on ($10/chicken, and the normal prices is $3.50/lb, so this offer makes these 4 to 5 lb chickens a real bargain).

Griffieon Family Farm (from near Ankeny) added two new lamb products: Loin Frenched Rack (a single rack that includes 11 ribs) and Frenched Rib Chops ( added two lamb products: Loin Frenched Rack (three chops per package).

Heart of Iowa Soapworks (from Gilbert) added “Resin in the Woods” soap, which is a demo batch from one of Karla’s soapmaking classes. Frankincense & Myrrh with a touch of Sandalwood, it’s “very subtle, not overpowering, more like a light cologne fragrance.”

Broadhorn Farm (from near Truro) added a new product – Petite Shoulder Tenders – from their Belted Galloway herd.

Iowa Pet Adoptions has stopped making their pet treats. We know there are many of you who were loyal customers. Erich indicated that the treats were a fundraiser project that was never intended to last forever, and he says thank you to everyone who bought them.

IFC Distribution Today (Tomorrow in Ames) – Note Merle Hay Mall Access Issue!

April 17, 2014

by Gary Huber

This is being sent via email to everyone who ordered this cycle and has products to be picked up. Today is distribution at our DM area sites (excluding Ankeny) and Osceola, and tomorrow in Ames. We have an alternative pick up time on Saturday from 10:30 am to noon at our Merle Hay Mall site. If you need to pick up on Saturday and haven’t told us already, please let us know with a call to 515-450-6812.

NOTE: Merle Hay Mall officials have told us the entrance nearest our space is to be closed because of construction. Sorry. It was open yesterday, but if closed today the best entrance to use is on the south side west of our current entrance (with an MC Sports sign above). Enter here and turn right (east) near the inside entrance to Younkers. They’ve created a sheltered walkway that links the Younkers west side to the Target/Sears east side. Take this walkway and turn right (south) into the corridor that contains our space. If you are lost, call 515-450-6812.

Pick-up Thursday or Friday – Note Merle Hay Mall Access Issue!

April 15, 2014

by Gary Huber

We had 190 members order 1,667 items this cycle. Total purchases were just over $11,000.

NOTE: If you got this message as an email, you’ve ordered something. Pick-up is on Thursday at Osceola and Des Moines-area sites (excluding Ankeny) or Friday in Ames. Specific times and locations are to the left of this email.

NOTE: Merle Hay Mall officials have informed us that the entrance nearest our space is to be closed. Sorry, but you’ll need to use another entrance. They’ve created a sheltered walkway inside the mall that links its Target/Sears side to the Younkers side. From this walkway, you turn south to get to our space. If you are lost, call 515-450-6812.

Below are some additional instructions. You can access your invoice by logging in, going to the shopping tab, and click “view in-process invoice”.

Note: Our alternative pick-up is 10:30 am to noon on Saturday at our Merle Hay Mall site. Please send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop if need to use this option.

Annual Plant Sale Details!

April 10, 2014

by Gary Huber

The annual plant sale offers the community an opportunity to purchase naturally-grown vegetable, herbs and flower transplants from various vendors of the Iowa Food Cooperative. Lutheran Services in Iowa’s Global Greens Project will be offering information on their program and giving tours of their farm.

The plant sale will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Valley Community Center, located at 4444 Fuller Road in West Des Moines. The tours of Global Greens Farm will be held hourly starting at 10:30 a.m. This event is free and opened to the public.

RSVP here!