Claim one of your most powerful rights of Co-op Member-Ownership!

2024 BOARD ELECTION

Wheatsfield’s Board of Directors represents all 7,175+ Member-Owners and ensures the needs of the membership are being met. The directors work as a team to set policy, hire and evaluate the General Manager, maintain the fiduciary responsibility of the Co-op and represent the membership as it creates the vision that guides the Co-op into the future. Each director serves a three year term, with three seats up for election every fall.

Voting will take place through this secure, online portal. All Member-Owners are eligible to vote.

VOTING DIRECTIONS

Voter ID = Member number
Voter Key = Member-Owner’s last name
Enter your member number with the preceding W as listed on your owner card. Single, double, and triple digit member numbers must insert zero(s) before the number to create a 5 digit Voter ID. i.e. “W0005, W0055, W0555.”
Trouble logging in? Call the co-op at 515-232-4094 or email [email protected]

Please make sure to vote for three (3) board candidates.

Voting is open Tuesday, October 2nd at 7am

Voting concludes Tuesday, October 17th at 9pm

Maximum Ames Music Festival

Saturday, September 23

Wheatsfield Community Room

1:30-3pm Coffee Shop Romance

5:30-6:30pm Sondra Wilson

Enjoy fantastic local musicians as they perform for the biggest 4 days in music in Ames!

Full Maximum Ames Music Festival schedule here!

Here are highlights from the August 2023 Wheatsfield Board of Directors meeting:

• Board members received an update on Wheatsfield’s Cybersecurity Coverage from Andrew Ricklefs of Knapp Tedesco Insurance and had an opportunity to address any security questions or concerns.
• The slate of candidates for the upcoming Wheatsfield Board election was approved and the student board member was appointed.
• Board members reviewed and approved proposed store signage for the new Gun Ban Policy and made suggestions for changes.
• Board members reviewed the final 2023-2024 budget, marketing, and business plans.
• Payment of the 2022 Preferred Share Dividend was reviewed and approved to be paid out by December 31, 2023.
• The Board heard an update on the progress and cost of this year’s financial audit which began on August 28 by Wegner’s CPA’s.
• Board members received an informational presentation on T Bills as a potential investment option.

Celebrating Local Foods

Liz Kolbe, Wheatsfield Board President

It’s Tomato Season!

And melon season, pepper season… somehow still cucumber season, just leaving sweet corn season and we’re almost to leafy greens again, soon to be apples and winter squash. For those of us who ride the waves of seasonal produce, we’re on an acidic, high heat ride, quelled only by the Wheatsfield bakery baguettes and a generous portion of butter. 

And what a better way to celebrate local foods than with a potluck! On Saturday, Aug. 26th about a hundred co-op members gathered at Brookside Park for Wheatsfield’s Local Foods Potluck. Formerly an annual event, this was the first potluck since 2019! We enjoyed a pleasant evening with comfortable(!) weather, sloppy Joes, and a plethora of homemade dishes featuring local ingredients. 

From a pre-dinner hand raise, we learned about a third of the attendees grew something they brought, about another third (and some of the same), shopped at the farmers market, and the rest bought their local products at Wheatsfield. 

I’m lucky to work with a lot of farmers who direct market fruits and vegetables (meaning they sell directly to the customer). There is incredible value and resilience in this direct transaction, and at the same time, it requires an exceptional array of skills on the part of the farmer to be grower, business owner, marketer, sales and customer relationship manager all in one! 

But to take local foods beyond the garden, and even beyond the farmers markets, stores like Wheatsfield set the pace for all other stores. If you visit other parts of Iowa and other states – you might appreciate that Wheatsfield is a hub for a community around local foods, and an easy (and delightful!) place to shop for local products. What’s more hidden to us shoppers is that stores like Wheatsfield are also excellent purchasers of local foods, they play a large role in circulating food dollars to local growers, and their reliability as a purchaser allows growers to expand their businesses. If we had a Wheatsfield (and Wheatsfield members!) in more Iowa towns, we’d have a lot more money flowing through the local food systems. 

But this isn’t a lament of what we’re missing in the state – it’s a celebration of what we have in Ames! Three cheers for local farmers, local foods and potlucks, and soon… for 50 years of cooperative grocery in Ames!