Hello. We had 162 members order 1,941 different items this order cycle. That up a few members from last cycle, which is good. We very much appreciate your using the IFC for your family’s shopping needs.
Note: We are a bit short on volunteer help for the different parts of what happens Thursday (9am-noon producer check-in, 12:30-3 pm mid-day sort, and 4-7 consumer pick-up), so if you have time and can help (even for an hour or two), send an email volunteer@iowafood.coop.
Shopping cart still open!Shop until midnight on Sat., April 28th, with delivery on Thursday, May 3rd. Please check us out! 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 |
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Product Updates:The Iowa Food Cooperative added 16×20 limited-edition signed and numbered prints (product #3020) that were created as a fundraiser by IFC member Rick Vonholdt. Because of the age of the materials and press used by Rick, each print is unique. Twin Girls Garden is back with this message: Both rhubarb and dandelions are in season, so we are making our Rhubarb Butter and Dandelion Jelly. Both are an excellent tasting of all spring in Iowa has to offer. We also are listing our Jalapeno Jam, Chocolate Cherry Jelly, and Chocolate Raspberry Jelly. Valley View Poultry has started to process chickens again; they’ve listed boneless skinless breasts, leg quarters, thighs, and wings. Iowa Heritage Foods got their egg handlers license, so they’ve added eggs as well for the first time ever. Foxhollow Farm added eggs in recycled plastic cartons. |
Meet Lisa Bean:
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The shopping cart is now open!Shop until midnight on Sat., April 28th, with delivery on Thursday, May 3rd. Choose from over 900 different products from over 40 different producers (see below for updates from producers). Lots and lots of transplants for your home gardening dreams, plus fresh rhubarb. Please check us out! 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 |
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Product Updates:Two Rivers Honey: I’m about out of my last year’s honey, and this year’s crop isn’t quite ready. The bees are getting some comb filled, but nothing is really quite full and nothing is capped. Therefore, I’ve removed our honey. Sorry. Hopefully they’ll get some capped soon! The Berry Patch: We’ve updated by adding strawberry hanging baskets, plus more blueberry plant varieties (Rubel is an older type that is very high in anti-oxidants and flavor). We’ve also added zucchini and swiss chard. SalAmander Farms: My updates are done: in addition to the herb and heirloom veggie transplants I had already listed, I’ve added a new tomato variety (#2954) and a new eggplant variety (#2955). The Homestead: We added 4″ pots and 4-packs of a wide variety of Certified Naturally Grown tomato and pepper transplants, and we’ve also got a variety of veggie transplants for sale (and some butternut winter squash that we managed to keep since last fall’s harvest). Wagner Enterprises: We’ve added a couple of sizes of cheesecake – half and quarter pans. They went over really well at the open house, so we thought we give them a try online. |
Producer Updates:From Mabel Chupp with Country Lighthouse Bakery: We are moving to south of Atlantic, IA, so this will be my last cycle. All I’m listing is our fresh rhubarb. It has been wonderful to be part of the coop. Thanks to everyone. From Lorna Martin and Wildwood Farms: I have unlisted myself for this cycle. This spring and summer I will be participating in only the second ordering cycle each month, so I will have more time to spend on my garden, farmer’s markets and with my daughter. From Pam at Krieger Greenhouses: We have updated our product listing to none available for the next few cycles. The next couple months are our busy season. From Carrie Meyer at LaVentosa Ranch: We’ll be taking this cycle off because the first farmers market of the season will be on the following Saturday. The first one is always a challenge, so we need to be focused on getting ready. |
A quick reminder that distribution of ordered product is today, April 12th. Lots of good stuff – don’t forget or we’ll eat it!
Hello. We had 157 members order 1,881 different items this order cycle. That’s 30 members more who ordered product this time compared to last cycle. Thank you to everyone who is using the Iowa Food Coop to buy local foods from local farmers.
We remain short on volunteer help for the different parts of what happens Thursday (morning producer check-in, mid-day sort, and 4-7 consumer pick-up), so if you have time and can help (even for an hour or two), send an email volunteer@iowafood.coop.
Also, don’t forget our Spring Open House and Plant Sale this coming Saturday (April 14) from 9:30 am to noon at our Merle Hay Mall location.
The spring air is thick with anxiety. We are suspicious and uncomfortable b/c of the unseasonable weather. The robins are back, we’ve seen bumble bees, wasps, cabbage looper moths, June bugs; the daffodils and tulips have come and gone. Things are moving too fast and we feel behind. We’ve not done taxes or usual early spring projects, like repairs, vehicle maintenance, etc., because we are alreay in the fields weeding, watering, and planting. I harvested 2 pounds of asparagus yesterday and several green onions…unheard of in March. I feel like labor came early, the baby is about to arrive, yet we’re not ready. The mid-wife isn’t here and we haven’t a crib, a car seat, or any diapers.
Rick was very trepidatious 2 weeks back; I had to talk him into, no exhort him, into planting spinach and lettuce. Now that it’s been 80 degrees or close for 2 weeks he has come to terms with the early spring and planted peas and more lettuce last night. He worked until dark, something we usually don’t start doing until at least mid-May.
He worked until dark, something we usually don’t start doing until at least mid-May.
Our new employee starts today, a full month early. To assess his skills we are going to clean the chicken coop, the most unsavory tast at the farm in my opinion. This will test his committment and ablility to work as part of a team. He will work under my direction as we begin cleaning the packing shed, thus testing is abililty to follow insructions, multi-task, and attention to detail. We will have him dig a 6 foot deep hole to check his endurance and strength. We’ll train him on the use of the Japanese hoe and set him loose in the rhubarb. This task will show us if he is a fast learner and can master the most used tool at the farm. Finally, I’m making venison loin over kale for lunch to test his openness to a variety of foods.
Oh how I miss Brian. After working here for 3 years he knew what to do and how to do it. He needed little instruction and no supervision. Now we must retrain somone on everything: weeding, washing, harvesting, packaging…the list seems endless. Moroever, we must create a new relationship. With Brian and we had our inside jokes, we knew his idiosyncracies and he ours, he knew the protocals (shoes off at the door, tools back to the barn, check the chicken water on hot days, etc.). Brian being here made a very complex and arduous job bearble and even enjoyable on a daily basis. The thought of starting at zero with a new employee makes me weary. But so it is. As Buddha said: “Everything you cherish you shall lose.”
There is a woodpecker outside my window, a pheasant is calling along the fence line, and I can see a row of lettuce emerging. Life goes on, and I most go clean the chicken coop.
Choose from over 880 different products from over 40 different Iowa producers.
Highlights:
Fresh Salsa - Medium Hot
Soap - Spring Basket, Pastel Colors
Heritage chicks and fertilized eggs
To shop use https://iowafood.coop/shop/ and type in your username and password to log in. If you need help with your username and password, please send an email to info@iowafood.coop
About the cooperative – https://iowafood.coop/
If you haven’t visited the new location yet, come see it! Its bright and shiny and yes, we have a bathroom! (tears of joy were shed by the volunteers!) We are just inside the south entrance to Merle Hay Mall near Younkers (there’s a big Kohls sign and a smaller Aeropostale sign above the door. We are also going to a three week cycle when we are not in the summer two week cycle, which I think is fabulous, here is a link to the calendar, we also have hard copies available, be sure to pick one up the next time you pick up your order.
Details will be coming soon, but in case you missed it, we have an attractive Iowa Food Coop print available for purchase, and it is suitable for framing. This print is in handset type, printed on an old fashion hand cranked printing press! Deck the Halls is offering a 30% off coupon on framing and each print is signed and numbered. This really is an attractive print, Gary will be sending out pictures and more details soon, so keep an eye out. Why am I so enamored with this print? Because its the Coop of course! I remember being so envious of a friend who had an Iowa, P. Buckley Moss print, but guess what? I can have my OWN Iowa Food Coop print, which is even more meaningful and dear!
I recently purchased a great product from Rosebud Botanicals, it was #2612, Organic Anti-Aging Serum. I don’t know about you, but I have tried just about every anti-aging whatevers on the market, and have either been severly dispappointed in myself for wasting my money and breaking my face out in a rash, or disappointed in the product for lying! But, I am very pleased with this product! For me, it does just what it promises, with no rash or disappointment! And, compared to the other products on the market, this is very reasonably priced. No I am not a paid spokesperson, nor am I compensated for my testimonial. I am just a pleased consumer.
This last cycle, one of our regular consumer’s purchased Hedgeapple Farms dryer balls, and she reported they are fantastic! They really work as expected and will save you money in that you won’t have to purchase dryer sheets! I love hearing news like this! Just think of all the chemicals you will NOT be exposing to our lakes, streams and air and your family, when you use the laundry soap and dryer balls from our IFC producers! Not to mention, supporting our local and family businesses!
One more thing, Grandma’s Soap, offers a multi-purpose cleaner, and I mean its multi-purpose. I own a cat, or rather my cat owns me, and cats will always do one thing, puke on your carpet. I didn’t have any spot cleaner upstairs, so I grabbed my Grandma’s multi -purpose cleaner, and guess what? It cleaned the stain! I do have berber carpet, so maybe that helped, or not, I don’t know. Spot test before using, but, I am still amazed it took care of the stain, here is another example of a great product that does not add any unneccessary chemicals to your life! Grandma’s Soap also offers laundry soap, as does Heart of Iowa Soapworks. So when you start planning your spring cleaning, start out greener and cleaner with these great IFC products!
Shop until midnight on Sat., Feb. 25th, with delivery on Thursday, March 1st.
We’ve completed the move to our new space, which is just inside the south entrance to Merle Hay Mall near Younkers (there’s a big Kohls sign above the door). Note: we are going to a three-week delivery cycle until the growing season, and then delivery will be every other week until Thanksgiving. We’ll place a calendar with our new schedule on the website.
Also, to shop use https://iowafood.coop/shop/ and type in your username and password to log in. If you need help with your username and password, please send an email to info@iowafood.coop
