There are many different types of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) options within Iowa. We’ve compiled a list of those located within one hour (and often much closer) of Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, or offering pickup in these areas. Many of these CSAs sell a combination of items, so be sure to check out what […]
CSA
Posted inCommunity/News
Refugee-led nonprofit Tapestry Farms fights Quad Cities food deserts with gardens
Half of Iowa’s grocery stores closed in the last quarter of the 20th century, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Today, roughly 40 percent of Iowans live a half mile or more from the nearest source of fresh fruits and vegetables—a minor inconvenience for folks with ready access to transportation, but devastating to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
As large-scale agriculture struggles, small farmers are getting creative to meet increased demand
Spring is a busy time for farmers. Typically their market and crop planning was done over winter, and they are now outside: seeding vegetable transplants, monitoring newborn lambs and piglets, preparing fields for planting and doing maintenance on machinery. But this spring, in addition to all of the usual demands, local direct-to-consumer producers are having […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Linn County plans Dows Farm ‘agrihood,’ a housing development based around a farm
Outside Cedar Rapids, a different type of neighborhood is being planned. Imagine a golf course community, but instead of 18 holes, a small farm serves as the central amenity. The Dows Farm Agri-Community, an agrihood consisting of varied housing units, a farm and different services and trails, is planned to be built on 179 acres of
Posted inFood & Drink
LV Recommends: Morning Glory CSA Food Truck
“Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming?” I sit in the air conditioning, scrolling through my photos of the Morning Glory CSA food truck, and I think of this question by farmer and writer Wendell Berry.
Posted inFood & Drink
Family Dinner: Brenda Nations and Art Bettis discuss food justice over food
The good news concerns zucchini: There’s plenty of it. Arguably too much of it, although environmentalists Brenda Nations and Art Bettis (armed with an abundant CSA share and a very tasty summer squash galette recipe torn from the pages of a Better Homes and Gardens) do not seem to mind. The bad news is the […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Family Dinner: Husbands Matt and Rob entertain friends with Iowan flare
Matt Van Maanen and Rob Lancaster are hosting dinner for the third night in a row this week in their Cedar Rapids home. Earlier in the week, the couple received their weekly summer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share, including a bounty of summer squash, which prompted tonight’s main dish: a zucchini-loaded pasta primavera with just-plucked basil and balsamic drizzled on top. On the side: kale salad with sliced almonds and a lemony emulsion, garnished with decorative-yet-edible nasturtiums.
Posted inFood & Drink
On the table: A guide to winter markets
As October comes to a close, so do most of the Iowa City area farmers’ markets. In the past, the City of Iowa City has hosted periodic winter markets to fill the veggie void left at the end of the regular market’s season. This year, due to a lack of space and demonstrated interest in […]
Posted inFood & Drink
On the Table: A visit with Iowa City herbalists Wild Rose Apothecary
Most people go to great lengths to rid their yards of plants they deem to be “weeds.” These so-called weeds are invasive and unattractive and might as well just be wiped out, right?
An Iowa City herbalist group, Wild Rose Apothecary, is looking to change that perception; it’s their mission to inform weed-haters that wild-foraged herbs like dandelions, cleavers, plantain and chickweed actually have a place in our homes.
Posted inCommunity/News
Photos: Have you considered investing in a local farm? Local fair shows the payoff
The basic premise of a CSA is this: Patrons become members of a CSA by purchasing a share of a farm. In return for paid membership, they receive a weekly box of fresh food straight from their local farmer. The mutual advantages to this are countless but the most obvious benefit is, perhaps, reassurance. Not only does a CSA membership guarantee fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs, honey and occasionally meat and dairy products to the consumer, but it also insures that farmers are able to support both the community and themselves.
Posted inFood & Drink
Fields of Sea
Iowa experienced the flood of the century 15 years ago. That, of course, was a different century. Last month Iowans saw floods unlike any in living memory. Fourteen hundred city blocks in Cedar Rapids were inundated with water up to 11 feet deep. Twenty University of Iowa buildings were flooded. Interstates 80 and 380 were […]
