All posts by Gary Huber

IFC Shopping Cart is Open – Get Your Baby Chicks Now!

June 4, 2013
by Gary Huber

Time to Shop!

 

The shopping cart is open. It’ll close at midnight on Sunday, June 9th. Delivery is Thurs., June 13th at our Des Moines area locations and Friday, June 14th at our Ames location. See below for updates on new stuff.

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.

Also, LaVentosa Ranch is looking for homes for some extra baby chicks they got on Sunday. They are Araucana/American Bantam. Full grown they weigh 1.5#, which makes them great for small yards and first-time chicken farmers. They lay a bluish-green egg, for which they are treasured. The chicks are both male and female, and they’ll have many different color and feather patterns. Normally they cost $3.99 each plus shipping (with a minimum order of 15). Carrie will sell them for $1 each, but you’ll need to pick them up at her farm (near Marshalltown). She has 65 extra. If interested, call Carrie at 641-485-2251.
More fresh produce is becoming available. Here are some new products this cycle. (NOTE: growers sometimes add inventory late in the order period, so check back if something is sold out.)

  • Steak n’ Eggs Farm added collards, kale, red and white radish, and spinach. They also have lettuce and green onions listed.
  • From Lee at Berry Patch Farm: “We have fresh greenhouse tomatoes, zucchini, and summer squash along with potted chives, curled parsley, strawberry hanging baskets, and pink lemonade blueberry plants.”
  • SalAmander Farms added two new fresh herbs (sage and cilantro) to go along with several other types plus a wide selection of lamb meats.
  • Pickle Creek Herbal added several varieties of hot pepper seedlings to go along with their heirloom tomato and eggplant transplants. They also have an incredible selection of herb seedlings (as well as some amazing oils and soaps). Jocelyn writes: “Our herb seedling availability changes from week-to-week as we start seedlings every couple of weeks. So, if a particular herb isn’t available this cycle, it may very well be next time.

Threshing Floor and Gardner’s Harvest are taking this cycle off, but Valley View Poultry is back (they’ll participate the first cycle each month through October).

Paula from Twin Girls Gardens writes: “We’ve added a new jam – blueberry lime – a sweet specialty jam made with blueberries and limes.”

Des Moines Bacon Company added a new product – Hardwood Smoked Cured Bacon. It’s the bacon that won the 2013 Baconfest Grand Champion award.

Yoke S Ranch has hamburger from their Corriente beef herd on sale: $40/ten lb package (regularly $45) and single package price is $4.25 (regularly $4.75). Rick writes: “We are almost done calving, but this wet weather really set up back as far as hay baling. Everything is growing, but we can’t get in to harvest it. Oh well, that is life on the farm, I guess.”

Broadhorn Farm has several products from their Belted Galloway beef herd on sale: 20 lb ground beef bundle is $88 (regularly $100, only five available); Rolled Rump Roast is $4.45/lb (regularly $5.50); Stew Meat is $4.50/package (regularly $5.99).

Heart of Iowa Soapworks has a new product: Iris Soap (a nice light floral scent that smells just like a beautiful Iris flower. Back in stock are Gorgeous Gams Ladies Shaving soap, Pine Tar shampoo, and Allie’s Almond & Oats soap. 

Pick-up Thursday or Friday (Ames only)!

May 27, 2013
by Gary Huber

We had 154 members order 1,759 different items this cycle, with total purchases of almost $9,700, which is good considering we’ve started our every-other-week deliveries.

Pick-up is on Thursday at our Des Moines-area sites or Friday in Ames. Note: we have an alternative pick-up time of 10:30 am to noon on Saturday at our Merle Hay Mall location. Please send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop if you are coming on Saturday.

Also, if you want to see your invoice, log in and go to the shopping tab, and on the left hand side you’ll see a link titled “View In-Process Invoice”.

IFC Shopping Cart is Open – Yogurt Now Available!

May 21, 2013
by Gary Huber

Time to Shop – Three New Producers + Downtown Drop-Off Site!

 

After a bit of a glitch, the cart opened a bit ago at 10:30 this morning. It will close at midnight on Sunday, May 26th. Delivery is Thurs., May 30th at our Des Moines area locations and Friday, May 31st at our Ames location. See below for updates on new stuff. 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.

Also, we have a downtown pick-up option: the Mickle Neighborhood Resource Center in the Sherman Hill neighborhood. Just select Mickle Center from the drop down menu when you open your shopping cart.
CVD Yogurt_All_CroppedWe’ve been wanting to offer more dairy products, and so we are pleased to announce that Country View Dairy from near Hawkeye in NE Iowa has joined the IFC as a producer-owner. We’ve heard great things about their all-natural yogurt products. They make both original and Greek varieties right on their farm from their rBST-free dairy herd. Welcome aboard. 

We’ve also been working to recruit more fresh produce growers, so we are please to welcome Steak ‘n’ Eggs Farm (from Winterset) and Chef Connie’s Urban Farm (from Des Moines). Steak ‘n’ Eggs Farm listed some green onions (they may add more later this week, but they are playing it safe in terms on inventory for now). Chef Connie’s is starting her farming career with some fresh rhubarb.

Other fresh produce is available. (NOTE: growers sometimes add product to inventories late in the order period when it is easier to predict quantities available on distribution day, so please check back if something has sold out.)

  • SalAmander Farms, Panther Creek Asparagus, and Maxwell Farms have fresh asparagus liste.
  • SalAmander Farms also has various fresh herbs available as well as rhubarb and green garlic (plus a wide selection of lamb meats).
  • Pickle Creek Herbal has spring garlic available, plus an incredible selection of heirloom veggie transplants (tomato, pepper, herbs, eggplant).
  • 7 Pines Farm has two types of lettuce available, plus swiss chard.
  • The Berry Patch Farm has strawberry hanging baskets, pink lemonade blueberry bushes, curled parsley plants, zucchini, yellow summer squash, and salanova lettuce.
  • Iowa Orchard still has two kinds of apples left (Fuji and Jonathan) to go along with a wide selection of cider, pies, crisps, dried fruits, etc.

Becky from the Threshing Floor writes: “I just want to let people know that I will not be selling on the cycle with delivery date of June 13.  They may want to order extra this cycle and put it in the freezer.”

Matt from Holdeman ABF Poultry writes: “I’ve updated my listings. We’ve many of the same popular capon cuts with some great new ones added, such as Capon Roulade’s, which is a half capon rolled in the skin to create a perfect blend of white and dark meat.”

Yoke S Ranch has their beef stix from their Corriente beef herd on sale for $9/lb (regularly $13/lb).

Broadhorn Farm added Sirloin Tip and Pikes Peak roasts to products they are offering from their Belted Galloway beef herd, and they’ve put all their roasts and stew meat on sale (stew meat was $7.99/pkg and is now $4.99/pkg).

LaVentosa Ranch added grass-fed steak and Berkshire pork country style ribs, and their grass fed beef and pepper cheese sticks are on sale for $8/package!

IFC Transplant Sale Recap

May 14, 2013
by Gary Huber

 

More than just a plant sale, the annual Iowa Food Cooperative’s spring transplant sale was an opportunity to welcome spring and try a diverse variety of products available through the IFC. Producers set up tables outside the IFC space in Merle Hay Mall, some providing samples, all providing unique products, information, and friendly conversation.

  • Corazon Coffee gave away coffee samples and brought a few of their signature blends.
  • The Threshing Floor presented breads that featured Iowa ingredients, along with samples of their distinctive artisan and flavored breads.
  • Maasdam Sorghum products gave customers a chance to taste the difference between sorghum syrup and conventional molasses, the former proving far superior!
  • Gardner’s Harvest offered lavender flavored cupcakes, as well as handcrafted reusable Pyrex drinking straws.
  • Early Morning Harvest brought some of their locally grown and milled flours and grains, along with spring lettuce mixes.
  • Pickle Creek Herbal gifted Coop members with soap samples and sold rare herb transplants, along with their infused olive oils and vinegars.
  • Wabi Sabi Farm showcased a large number of Certified Organic vegetable transplants, including many heirloom tomato varieties.
  • Iowa Pet Adoptions gave pet-owners (and friends of pet-owners) samples of their Iowa-made pet treats, which are now available for sale to benefit the organization.
  • The Homestead exhibited naturally grown transplants, including vegetables and a wide assortment of flowers.
  • Wagner Enterprises hosted a selection of baked goods, along with samples of a new gluten-free bread in production.
  • Twin Girls Garden sampled jams and jellies, including novel varieties like wine and jalapeno jelly.
  • Raccoon Forks Farm sold herb transplants as well as brown eggs from pastured, hormone/antibiotic-free chickens.

 

The response echoed the same from producers and consumers alike; all would like to see more IFC events like this in the future, even on a regular basis. Stay tuned!

Downtown Drop-Off Site Secured!

May 13, 2013
by Gary Huber

Good News! We’ve secured a location for a downtown drop-off site in the Mickle DSCI0483 building frontNeighborhood Resource Center, which is at 1620 Pleasant Street in the Sherman Hill neighborhood. It’s a couple blocks west of the west entrance to the Methodist Medical Center complex. Our first distribution at this site will be from 4:30 t0 6 pm on Thursday, May 30th.

Adding this location should greatly increase the convenience for members who work downtown or who live nearby. We’ll use the kitchen area of the building, which is in its basement, but there’s easy access from a parking lot on the back side of the building.

Pick-up Thursday or Friday (Ames only); Alt. Pick-up on Sat. Available!

May 13, 2013
by Gary Huber

Hello. We had 160 members order 1,817 different items this cycle, with total purchases of just under $10,000. That’s a bit down from last cycle. Hopefully we’ll reverse that trend in the future.

Pick-up is on Thursday at our Des Moines-area sites or Friday in Ames. Note: we’ve added an alternative pick-up time of 10:30 am to noon on Saturday. Please send an email to distribution@iowafood.coop if you are coming on Saturday.

Also, if you want to see your invoice, log in and go to the shopping tab, and on the left hand side you’ll see a link titled “View In-Process Invoice”.

More New Products Added!

May 7, 2013
by Gary Huber
Some new products and other updates are below. Also, the cart will close this coming Sunday at midnight (the 12th) with delivery a week from Thursday (the 16th) for our Des Moines area sites and a week from Friday (the 17th) for Ames. To shop go to https://iowafood.coop and log in. If you need help with your username and password, please send an email to info@iowafood.coop.
 
Gardner’s Harvest has added their prezels back (folks have been missing these), plus grain-free chocolate chip Peanut butter cookies.  

7 Pines Farm listed some new certified organic vegetables: 6 oz bags of Arugula, 8 oz bags of Red Leaf Lettuce (Lolla Rossa variety), 8 oz bags of Spring Lettuce Mix, Rainbow Swiss Chard, Winter Density Lettuce (a specialty bibb-romaine mini-head lettuce), and Green Onions (6-8 onions per bunch).

Zaza’s Pasta listed two new products: Asparagus Fettuccine and Basil & Asiago Ravioli.

Wagner Enterprises added several new items: wheat-free bread plus four kinds of sugar-free pie (peach, apple, black raspberry, and cherry).

Ebersole Cattle Company listed lots of new inventory, including their Jalepeno & Cheddar Beef Sticks.

From Matt of Holdeman’s ABF Poultry: We have worked and waited a long time for this, but it has finally arrived – CAPON BREAKFAST SAUSAGE! We are excited to offer this to our customers. Enjoy and thanks for your business.

Pickle Creek Herbal updated their seedling descriptions so you can read more about their different herbs (especially the different types of mint). They’ve also added more herb seedlings, more heirloom tomato seedlings (including some gorgeous red beefsteaks), several varieties of heirloom eggplant seedlings, and spring garlic.  

Broadhorn Farm has sales on several of their grass-fed steaks. T-bones, Filet Mignon and Porterhouse Steaks are $13.60 per pound (regularly $16 per pound) and their KC Strip Steak is $12.75 per pound (regularly $15 per pound).

From Bryan of Iowa Orchard: We are getting low on apples, so this might be the last cycle for ordering them.  We may have some the following cycle, but we are running very low.  We still have lots of pies and bakery items.

Sunrise has listed six different sizes of potted Aloe Vera plants.

Meet Jennifer Miller, IFC’s New Communications Coordinator

May 3, 2013
by Gary Huber

Jennifer Miller 1We are pleased to announce that Jennifer Miller has agreed to help us with our marketing efforts.  She’s originally from Chicago where she was most recently a baker at a gluten-free bakery. She’s spent the last few years in Iowa where she’s pursued her interest in food. She’s designed and written food blogs (CinnamonQuill.com) that center around gluten-free and vegetarian eating, including a monthly column with Martha Stewart’s Whole Living website.

Her love for food has now ventured into a love for growing food as well. She’s spent time working on organic farms in Missouri, California, Iowa, Iceland, and Costa Rica. She’s currently starting a community market garden to grow vegetables and herbs in her small yard in Windsor Heights.

Jennifer will be updating our website, increasing our social media presence, and producing our e-newsletter. We greatly appreciate her enthusiasm and skills. She will be a wonderful addition to our team. Please welcome her aboard. You can contact her at wayofbaking@gmail.com.