Category: Events

Iowa Food Coop Spring Open House and Transplant Sale!

April 10, 2013
by Gary Huber

Ben Saunders (Wabi Sabi Farm) at the 2012 IFC Spring Transplant Sale

Come to the IFC Spring Open House and Heirloom Transplant Sale!

Who: 13 different IFC producers

When:  9:30 am-noon, Sat. April 27

Where:  Merle Hay Mall (inside south entrance near Younkers)

What: Heirloom tomatoes, peppers, onions, cabbage, leeks, broccoli, brussel sprouts, swiss chard, herbs (basil, mint, thyme, oregano, sage, parsley, rosemary, lavender, chives) plus baked goods, jams/jellies, meats, olive oils, sorghum syrup, soaps and much more!

IFC Annual Potluck and Meeting Is Set For November 3rd!

October 18, 2012
by Gary Huber

IFC members and producers, MARK YOUR CALENDARS! We will be conducting our annual meeting on the 3rd of November, a Saturday, at the Mickle Neighborhood Resource Center in Sherman Hill from 5-7. All members and producers are encouraged to attend! There will also be a tour of the Mickle Center’s kitchen facilities beginning at 4, highlighting the kitchen’s progress to become a licensed facility.

At the meeting we will discuss our struggles and successes over the past year, and where we will go in the coming year. We will also elect new board members. This meeting will be fun and informal, and children are welcome to attend.

Please bring along a main or side dish for the potluck if you can. IFC will provide drinks. Table service is requested as well, we will need some people to bring silverware and plates.

The address of the Mickle Center is:

1620 Pleasant Street
Des Moines, IA  50314

Please contact us at info@iowafood.coop  if you have any questions regarding the meeting. We look forward to seeing you there!


Iowa Food Coop Spring Plant Sale and Open House!

April 6, 2012
by Gary Huber

Come join the Iowa Food Coop

  April 14,  9:30am to 12noon

 for our Spring Plant Sale and Open House! 

We will have lots

 of transplants for sale,

oodles of baked goods, honey and

many other terrific products for sale and to sample!

We are located in our new space in Merle Hay Mall,

on the south side,

just inside  the Kohls – Aeropostale entrance.

See you there!

 

 

 

Local Food Connections Workshop

February 16, 2012
by Gary Huber

News Release for Feb 27 Local Food Connections Workshop

Local Food Discussion Set for Feb 27

Taking the mystery out of the rules and regulations that govern buying and selling locally grown foods is the goal of a workshop featuring Scott Platt with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Platt, a field inspector with the department and spokesperson for the local food perspective will inform and clarify the regulations for both buyers and sellers desiring to support the demand for locally grown food.

The workshop will be held in two locations on Monday, February 27.

 

The workshop will cover practices and procedures that growers need to be able to address with potential buyers. Southern Iowa Regional Food System Coordinator, Sharon Wasteney, encourages institutional buyers who want to be better informed about buying food from local producers to attend as well. At both sites there will also be discussion of progress on community kitchen facilities. At the Chariton workshop there will be an update on discussions regarding the need for a community kitchen serving that area, and continued plans to cooperate with the Iowa Food Cooperative.

The program is being sponsored by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and Southern Iowa Resource Conservation and Development and is also appropriate for continuing education credit of Master Gardeners. There is no fee for the program but registration is requested by February 24 to insure adequate materials are available for attendees.

  • Questions and reservations can be directed to Sharon Wasteney via email at sharonwasteney@gmail.com or by calling the Union County Extension office at 641-782-8426 for the Creston meeting.
  • To register for the Chariton meeting, call Joe Sellers at 641-203-1270, or e-mail sellers@iastate.edu.

Healthy for Life University Offers FREE Get Healthy Iowa Expo

January 6, 2012
by Gary Huber

Come see the IFC’s Turtle Farm and the Homestead and maybe others at this event!

  • What: “Healthy Iowa” Expo
  • When: January 10 at 5:00 pm
  • Where: Point of Grace Church, 305 NE Dartmoor Drive, in Waukee

 

Waukee, IA – The first annual “Healthy Iowa” Expo is set for January 10 at 5:00 pm at the Point of Grace Church, 305 NE Dartmoor Drive, in Waukee. The expo is free to the general public and is helping attendees take steps to change the way they look at their health forever. The expo is dedicated to introducing individuals and families to local food producers and suppliers of organic produce, meats and eggs and prepared foods. After the Expo, attendees will come away with ideas and tools that will help them live a healthier, more fulfilling life. Guests will learn from leading researchers in the field of nutrition and health, will meet people with similar interests…. And have a great time doing it.

 

At this event you can also expect to benefit personally from:

  • Speakers, such as Steve Deace, a nationally syndicated talk radio host, Jake Velie, Food sourcing/lifestyle education expert and Brian Peskin, omega oil expert, will talk about eating whole, natural plant-based foods, sourcing, and omega oil supplements.
  • Healthy Food Preparation: wholefood chefs will show you how to prepare delicious meals.
  • Over 3 dozen exhibitors will offer information on locally grown and organic whole foods, whole food restaurants, healthy cookware, functional fitness experts, natural/holistic family healthcare and more.
  • Networking opportunities to meet your local farmers, growers and producers
  • Sample goods and services from your local providers.
  • Over $2,000 worth of healthy food and service prizes will be given away.

More further information please visit our web site:www.healthyforlifeuniversity.com or contact Jake Velie, Chief Education Officer, jake@healthyforlifeuniversity.com.

IFC Open House

November 17, 2011
by Gary Huber
  • Saturday December 3rd
  • 11am to 4 pm
  • Merle Hay Mall Pick Up Site

Samples galore and products for sale plus the opportunity to chat with the
great folks that provide our food!

Come out to our new location at Merle Hay Mall on Saturday, December 3rd and sample some of the best that IFC has to offer!

You will also be able to purchase products from the available farmers. Maybe some summer sausage for your holiday get-togethers? Beef sticks for those hunting trips? And if you know someone who has been hesitant about joining the IFC, bring them with you.

One sample of Shanon Ebersole’s beef jerky and they will be hooked!

Note: we’ll be able to use the inside entrance, which is near the southeast corner of the mall just north and west of the inside entrance to Target.

2011 State of the Coop

November 9, 2011
by Gary Huber

The 2011 Annual Meeting of the Iowa Food Cooperative was a success!

Thanks to all who took part in making it happen, and to producer member Lavon Griffieon of Griffieon Family Farms for hosting the  event.

Thank you also those who attended, for the wonderful food and for taking part in the panel discussion.

Per request here are the slide show and the audit presented at the meeting.

2011 General Manager’s Report

2011 Audit Report

Green Fire

November 2, 2011
by Gary Huber

Green Fire – Thursday November 10th , 6:30 at the Waukee Public Library

The first full-length, high-definition documentary film ever made about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold, Green Fire highlights Leopold’s extraordinary career, tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement. Leopold remains relevant today, inspiring projects all over the country that connect people and land.

Sponsored by the Raccoon River Watershed Association.

“There  are  two things  that interest me; the relationship of people to each other and the relationship of people to the land”
– Aldo Leopold

2011 Annual Meeting

October 18, 2011
by Gary Huber

It will be on Saturday, November 5th at the farm of LaVon and Craig Griffieon just north of Ankeny.

There will be an optional tour of the farm starting at 3:30 p.m., followed by a potluck at 5 p.m. The business meeting will start after the potluck. It will include elections of one producer and one consumer board.

There will also be a panel of consumer and producer members who will discuss there experiences participating in the cooperative, plus an open discussion with members about its future.

Click here to see the invite

American Meat returns to Des Moines

October 7, 2011
by Gary Huber

If you missed the first screening at the Fleur 4 Theatre, join members of the Board for it’s welcome return on October 16th at 11:45.

 

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm

 American Meat is a solutions-oriented macroscopic documentary surveying the current state of the U.S. meat industry. Featuring, Joel Salatin, Chuck Wirtz, Fred Kirschenmann Steve Ells, Paul Willis, and tens of farmers across America, we take an even-handed look at animal husbandry. We explain how America arrived at our current industrial system, and show you the feedlots and confinement houses, not through hidden cameras but through the eyes of the farmers who live and work there. From there, we introduce the current revolution developing in animal husbandry, led by the charismatic and passionate Joel Salatin. We meet tens of farmers across the country who have changed their life to start grass-based farms, and we highlight every day tangible solutions that people can take, to change agriculture in America.

http://www.americanmeatfilm.com/the-documentary/