Pop. Pop. Pop. In late 2025, ManilaBoy food pop-ups started springing up everywhere in Des Moines: Horizon Line Coffee, RAYGUN, Crème, the Art Terrarium. They even made an appearance at the Little Book for Indie Bookstore Day this April. ManilaBoy isn’t popping out of nowhere. Chef and owner Earvin Idio and his family have been […]
Farmers Market
Posted inFood & Drink
International produce you might find at the farmers market
Incubator farms are a sandbox — if that sandbox was full of fertile soil and eager pollinators. Refugee and immigrant farmers grow many fruits, veggies and flowers beloved by Iowans, including tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, microgreens, watermelon, peaches, sunflowers, onions, radishes, beets, zucchini, squash, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet peppers and hot peppers. Other crops favored […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Market After Dark returns to Cedar Rapids on Saturday
Market After Dark is returning for its ninth year, as the Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers Market’s 2024 season nears its end. There will be more than 125 market vendors offering their wares at the four-and-an-half-hour event, which starts at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. “This festive event is known for its unique atmosphere where patrons 21 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City Farmers Market opens its 2024 season on Saturday, along with Des Moines, Waterloo and more
The Iowa City Farmers Market returns to the Chauncey Swan Parking Ramp this Saturday. The market’s hours this year will be 7:30 a.m. to noon on Saturdays from May 4 to Oct. 26. One new thing at the market this season will be the person in charge. “This is my first season as the supervisor […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Field to Family’s online farmers market opens next week with an Earth Week Fair
Field to Family’s online farmers market is returning for its fourth season, and this year its array of fresh locally sourced foods and other items, including plant starters and baked goods, will be arriving early. Instead of opening in May as it has in previous years, Field to Family’s farmers market will celebrate Earth Week […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Spots for Spot: Five dog-friendly things to do in the Metro
Our dogs are our best friends. That’s why it hurts a little extra to leave them at home while we go out and enjoy our favorite summer activities. And while there are quite a few dog-friendly patios in the Des Moines area, sometimes our pup deserves a little more stimulation than just sitting on the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Field to Family’s online farmers market returns in May, with a new schedule and pick-up location
Field to Family’s online farmers market is returning in May, offering a wide variety of locally grown food just as it has before. “Sweet corn, greens, apples, radishes — we’re going to have it all,” Field to Family Executive Director Michelle Kenyon told Little Village. But when people place their orders and where they pick […]
Posted inCommunity/News
NewBo City Market will host farmers markets, food trucks starting in May
NewBo City Market is setting up a farmers market and hosting Food Truck Tuesdays starting next week. Both events will take precautions to follow social distancing guidelines and state regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Last Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation she called the “first step” to reopen Iowa, which permits farmers […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Cultivate Hope Urban Farm’s farmers market opens for its second year, with new features and activities
Cultivate Hope Market, the farmers market of Cultivate Hope Urban Farm in Cedar Rapids, will open for its second year on Thursday. Cultivate Hope, founded in 2012, was the first farm in Iowa started inside a city’s limits.
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa’s first urban farm is opening its own farmers market
On Tuesday, Cultivate Hope Urban Farm in Cedar Rapids will open its own farmers market. Cultivate Hope, the state’s first farm founded inside a city, and its new Cultivate Hope Market are projects of Matthew 25.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Good Apples’ details the curious history of apples and challenges facing farmers
Author and Iowa City resident Susan Futrell starts out her book ‘Good Apples: Behind Every Bite’ with the auction of the oldest commercial apple orchard in Iowa: an orchard outside Fort Madison that had been in the same family for five generations, but now faced an uncertain future dependent upon the winning bidder. It’s a fitting place to start a book about the long history of apples in the United States and the uncertain future the apple industry faces in a global economy.
Posted inFood & Drink
Made from the market: Strawberry-Rhubarb Cocktail
Spring is finally here! That means it’s time for the farmers market. Rhubarb is one of the first crops up, and I’m always looking for new ways to use it. Pies and jams are great, of course, but sometimes you need something a bit more adult. Why not a cocktail? Rhubarb and gin are a wonderful combination. Both are subtly floral and highly fragrant — they just need another ingredient or two to make them pop. It’s the same reason that rhubarb pie is boring, but rhubarb and strawberry is brilliant. As I was brainstorming this, my friend Andy suggested adding basil, and a springtime cocktail was born.
