FREE COMMUNITY CLASS – Crafting Gnomes, Cultivating Kindness: An Upcycled Creation Class
In this hands-on workshop, discover the art of upcycling as you create whimsical decorative gnomes from CDs, fabric scraps, and yarn to keep or share. You’ll also learn to assemble practical “Kindness Kits” from upcycled materials filled with essential first aid and hygiene supplies, which will be donated to local non-profits serving at-risk community members. This class blends creative crafting with a meaningful opportunity for community support.
Meet the Instructor!
Shelene (Shelly) Codner has been with the Iowa Waste Exchange, a free, confidential and non-regulatory program of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for 23 years, prior to that she served as the Director of the Butler County Solid Waste Commission. Currently she serves as the program manager and also as an Area Resource Specialist for Area 2 which includes the following counties: Boone, Cerro Gordo, Clarke, Decatur, Dallas, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Madison, Polk, Story, Warren, Winnebago, Worth and Wright Counties.
Shelly is an award-winning writer, published children’s author and contributing author to the New York Times best-selling series, Chicken Soup for the Soul. Shelly also serves as volunteer regional editor of Green Teacher magazine based in Toronto. Aside from reading and writing Shelly has many hobbies and interests, sewing, quilting, crocheting, knitting, crafting, gardening, cooking, baking, photography and spending time outdoors and with family, Shelly’s favorite pastime by far is being with her grandchildren.
Shelly lives on a farm in rural Iowa with her husband of 38 years.
Class Location
Wheatsfield Co-op Community Room
Date & Time
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 | 5:30-7:00 PM
June 2025 Board Meeting Highlights
June 18th Meeting Highlights
- The General Manager transition will happen within the month; the Board attended the Passing the Torch ceremony on Sunday, June 22nd, where we bid farewell to Linda Johnson and welcomed Stacey Brown as Wheatsfield’s new CEO.
- Wheatsfield will march in the July 4th parade in downtown Ames then serve lunch at the co-op after the parade.
- The Board reviewed the finalized version of the lease renewal, extending the co-op’s lease another five years starting in July 2025, with three additional five-year options beyond 2030.
- The General Manager reported excellent May 2025 sales, up +5.46% from May 2024. More customers were in the store this May than any preceding May in past years.
- The Board discussed official commitment statements to the CEO specifying how we plan to support the new CEO in the transition.
- The Board reviewed the final numbers on the business insurance renewal coverage which is set to be effective on July 1.
- The engagement letter for the financial review that will take place in August for the 6/30/25 year end financials was presented for the Board’s information.
July-Aug 2025 Community Artist
Lisa Kuehl of Ames is the creator of Heartland Scrapbooks. Born in Davenport, Iowa, Lisa has lived in central Iowa most of her life and is a lifelong artist. In 1982, she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Graphic Design from Iowa State University and has spent the past thirty years exploring the rapidly-growing art of visual archiving, commonly known as scrapbooking.
One of her motivations for scrapbooking was to find a meaningful way to preserve and showcase the many boxes of mementos that her mother had thoughtfully stored away while she was growing up…school papers, cards, letters, awards and photos. Lisa knew that one day she imagined that she would find a wonderful use for all of this nostalgia, and scrapbooking has been the perfect solution. Not only are Lisa’s precious belongings safe and secure, but she has been able to organize and downsize her multitude of items at the same time. And being able to share her projects with friends and family has been especially important, as they find great joy reminiscing about “the good old days” together.
Lisa’s scrapbooking adventure has been so rewarding that she decided to share what she has learned with others who are wanting to begin their own sentimental journey. Scrapbooking is an immensely popular hobby and there has never been a better time to explore this wonderfully introspective activity. Scrapbooking supplies are plentiful and with the popularity of home computing, digital organizing and photo editing software, there are more ways than ever to tell your story, your way.
Lisa K. Kuehl
Creative Consultant, Heartland Scrapbooks
[email protected]
Fresh Deals, Jul 2-8
Everyone Saves!
July 2025 Change for Community
Prairie Flower Children’s Center
Prairie Flower Children’s Center is an independent, non-profit childcare center in Ames that runs unique nature-based programming for toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children. Nature is the setting for most of our activities – we spend as much of the day as possible outside – and also our main object of study. Children form a strong connection with nature by observing the seasonal rhythms of our local area and caring for the areas we visit.
In operation for over 25 years, Prairie Flower now offers year-round and full-day programming for preschool and school-age children. New in Fall 2025 is an income-based sliding fee scale for tuition. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, funds raised help fund tuition assistance and the cost of outdoor gear for low-income families, so that no child who wishes to attend but lacks funds is turned away.
Our belief: “All children need nature. Not just the ones whose parents appreciate nature. Not only those children of a certain economic class or culture or set of abilities. Every child.” -Richard Louv, author, Last Child in the Woods
Prairie Flower is located on the second floor of Bethesda Lutheran Church with daily access to woods, prairie, creek, river, and meadow—right in the heart of Ames.
For the 2025–2026 year, Prairie Flower will offer a mixed-age preschool/kindergarten (ages 3–6), a parent-child playgroup (14 months–3 years), a school-age after-school program (ages 5–12) with busing available, and weekly summer camps (ages 3–12).
Learn more at www.prairieflowercc.org.
Co+op Deals, Jul 1-15
Everyone Saves!
Preorder sale cases by 12pm, Jul 10.
Member-Owner Extras, Jul 1-Jul 15
Extra deals just for member-owners!
Preorder sale cases by 12pm, July 10.
Eat Lunch With us on the 4th!
Eat lunch with us on the 4th of July!
Stop by for house-made pork brats, hot dogs, and veggie dogs. Plus all the fixins!
Grab them in co-op off our hot bar. Grab chips, cold drinks, cookies and more to round out your lunch! Cool off after the parade with your co-op.
July 4th STORE HOURS: 8am-9pm
LUNCH: 11am-3pm
While supplies last. No evening hot bar available. Deli and Meat Departments close at 5pm.
June 2025 Produce Parable
Collard Greens
By Adam Calder
Wheatsfield Produce Manager
Green and glossy, tasty and tender, collard greens are a summer time staple in many gardens. A nutritious member of the brassica family (which includes kale, cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli), a serving of collard greens has 4 grams of fiber, protein, 339% of the daily value of vitamin K, and is a rich source (20% or more) of the daily value of vitamins A, C, and manganese. They are a moderate source of vitamin B6 and calcium.
Although they are likely native to the Mediterranean, collard greens are now grown all over the world, in East Africa, Europe, Brazil, Portugal, Zimbabwe, and the United States, especially the southern states. They have been grown since antiquity, when they were grown in the gardens of Greeks and Romans.
Collards have changed little since humans started growing them, and the collards we have today are essentially the same ones grown by those ancient Greek and Roman Gardeners. They are an earlier, more primitive form of cabbage. Even though cabbage was bred from collards, and is a more advanced form of the brassica, the virtues of collards as a valuable garden plant caused gardeners to continue to grow them.
They do not have a tight, compact head like cabbage, so collard greens are less susceptible to fungal disease caused by high humidity. They grow well in poor soil and a wide variety of climates, although they have the best flavor when grown in cooler climates.
Because of their ease of cultivation and nutritional content, collard greens were widely grown in the southern United States during the time of slavery, and slaves used these greens to supplement their rations. Collard greens are still widely available in the southern states, and there are several collard green festivals to honor the culinary heritage of this humble green.
Many people cook collard greens with smoked, fatty meat like bacon or ham hocks. In Portugal, they make a healthy and delicious soup called Caldo Verde.
We have ample stock of local, organic collard greens from Flint Ridge in Kalona, Iowa, so stop in soon and grab a bunch of these flavorful, healthy greens for your next meal.
Caldo Verde
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic
1 lb. potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes
½ lb. linguica sausage link (Portuguese sausage)
6 c. chicken broth
2 cups stemmed and thinly sliced collard greens
DIRECTIONS:
In a large, heavy pot, heat oil and sauté the onions and garlic, about five minutes. Add the potatoes, whole sausage link, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove the sausage, add the collard greens, and cook over medium heat for five to ten minutes, or util the collard greens soften. The soup can be eaten as is, or pureed with a blender for a thicker soup. Slice the sausage link, serve on top of bowls of soup.
Sip for the Pollinators!
Ames High students from left to right: Bethany, Sara, and Lily
Did you know Ames is the first city in the nation to create an official 10-Year Pollinator Plan?
We’re proud to support this groundbreaking effort—and the next generation of changemakers making it happen! Through the City of Ames’ Climate Action Youth Grant, Ames High School students partnered with local businesses like Wheatsfield as part of their final project to raise awareness about the plan.
Their creative idea? Custom-designed stickers featuring QR codes that link directly to the plan—now on our smoothies, juices, and other to-go items! This collaborative project also commissioned original artwork from an Iowa State University student artist to bring the stickers to life.
You’ll spot these pollinator-friendly stickers popping up at other local spots too, like Clayton Farms Salads, Burgies Coffee, and The Filling Station.
So next time you sip a juice or smoothie from Wheatsfield, take a moment to scan the code and learn how you can help support bees, butterflies, and all the vital pollinators that keep our ecosystem buzzing.
When we learn and grow together, our whole community thrives.
Scrappy Gardening: Using Food Scraps to Grow More Food!
Did you know you can regrow more food from the scraps you’re tossing? Join Kaitlyn Scheuermann, Registered Dietitian and Master Gardener, to learn how to reduce food waste and use those scraps for good! Not only will we cover how to grow from scraps, but also other ways to reduce your food waste at home.
Meet the Instructor!
Kaitlyn Scheuermann is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for gardening. In her professional career, she has developed a love of school nutrition programs and an expertise for Farm to School and school garden programs. Kaitlyn owns The Utensil Drawer where she believes in the power of gardening in healing, in health, and in the connection of humanity to the Earth. She spends her free time gardening with her children in her own quarter-acre garden where she grows a variety of vegetables, flowers, and fruits and donates them to her local pantry in honor of her son, Noah.
Class Location
Wheatsfield Co-op Community Room
Date & Time
Thursday July 10, 2025 | 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Recent Comments