Fresh Deals, Mar 15-21
Everyone Saves!
Member-Owner Extras, Mar 14-Apr 4
Extra deals just for member-owners!
Preorder sale cases by 12pm, Mar 30.
Co-op Deals, Mar 14-Apr 4
Everyone Saves!
Preorder sale cases by 12pm, Jan 26.
March Mini Member Drive
March Mini Member Drive
Did you know that member-ownership is a one-time fully refundable investment with some excellent benefits?!
Join the Co-op anytime March 17-31 and receive a gift! Pay your membership in-full and you will be entered to win a $100 gift card!
Membership options:
- Full Equity Member-Ownership
Buy a share in the Co-op! You will literally own the Co-op! Join 7,000+ other member-owners in ownership.- Full Benefits & Discounts
- One-time purchase
- Fully refundable
- $100 purchase – can pay at once or over 10 months
- Applies to anyone in household
- Can withdraw and get your money back at any time!
- Student Discount
Open to college students- Most of the Benefits and Discounts of equity membership
- Yearly Fee
- Not refundable
- Individual use only
- $20 purchase
Current Member-Owners:
Refer a new member and receive a thank you beverage bar coupon. Any current member-owner on a payment plan can pay in-full to be entered in the gift card drawing.
Membership:
- Helps grow the Co-op
- Grow local business
- Supports local producers
- Promotes the cooperative business model
- Supports the sustainability of the Co-op
- Provides local jobs and more!
Ask a cashier and join today, it only takes a few minutes! Or download and fill out our application below.
March Appreciation Celebration
March Appreciation Celebration!
Join us on Saturday, March 25 from 10am-2pm to celebrate you! Enjoy giveaways, samples, kid’s Signs of Spring scavenger hunt, visit with local vendors and more!
Sign-up to win our Local Product GIVEAWAY!
Featuring local food and gifts, valued at over $75!
Co-op Explorer Scavenger Hunt
Grab a scavenger hunt card at the store entrance and use the clues to fill it out. Make sure to sign-up your under 13 kiddos for our Co-op Explorers!
More info coming soon!
Cheese Madness 2023
Let’s get ready to crumble!
What’s Cheese Madness? Only the fiercest formage faceoff! On March 17, 18, 23, 24, and 25, 8 cheeses go head-to-head to earn your votes, but only one will be crowned the winner. Got a hunch which cheese is the crowd favorite? Brackets are available for pick up in our cheese department or print online.
Guess the winning bracket and you could win one pound of the champion cheese and perfectly paired gourmet goodies.
Fill out your brackets by Thursday, March 16!
March 2023 Word from the Board
Springing Forward
Emilie Ruehs, Board Member
As we enter the coming months, we welcome a period of growth, change, and longer days ahead while also reflecting on the events in history that have brought us to where we are today. With the celebration of both a Co-op anniversary and Women’s History Month, I want to acknowledge the many ways that Wheatsfield has been a change maker; representing the ability to grow and develop while staying true to the original roots and mission. In 1974 a group of people with a passion for accessibility to quality, local food banded together to form a buying club with the desire to make whole and natural foods available to the public and to support healthy eating.
This month we celebrate the 14th year in our Northwestern location with the completion of a major kitchen remodel that allows staff to continue to produce great local food in a space that will prioritize their comfort and wellbeing for years to come. We also look forward to celebrating our 50th anniversary in August of 2024.
In January, the Co-op broke the 7,000 member mark demonstrating a continued desire of both member-owners and staff in sharing the Wheatsfield mission within our community. In preparation for spring, we look forward to more in-person events and classes here at the Co-op. This month, as we celebrate the Co-op we also celebrate all of the people who have made this happen.
At Wheatsfield, 80% of the management team is woman lead. These women have worked endlessly to make the Co-op what it is today. They are a group of creative, passionate, driven, and knowledgeable people who have made a difference in their community and work tirelessly to ensure that the Co-op is a place welcoming to all.
March & April Artist: Brenda Backman
Brenda Backman
March & April Community Artist on Display
We welcome our very own Wheaty, Brenda Backman, to the community art space for the months of March and April! You will have to see her series “Gut Punch” in person to truly appreciate the details in Backman’s work.
“I’ve been making art and stitching since I was twelve and started making my own needlepoint designs. I’ve been hooked ever since. In 2000 I graduated from Iowa State University with a BFA and began my professional art career. I’ve shown my work all over the US and internationally as well. My work is characterized by a lively use of color and a heavily detailed surface which gives an intimate quality to the pieces.” – Brenda
March 2023 Change for Community: Legal Aid Society
Legal Aid Society of Story County
The Legal Aid Society of Story County is a privately funded non-profit that has been increasing access to justice in Story County since 1974. The purpose of our program is to provide legal counsel to low income Story County residents facing non-fee generating civil matters including, but not limited to, divorce, custody, guardianship, and eviction. Our goal is to provide access to the legal system to Story County residents who would otherwise not be able to afford an attorney and are not entitled to court appointed counsel for the type of legal problem (such as with criminal cases). We open more than 150 cases on average each year, often substantially more when we are fully staffed with 3 attorneys. Each case we open represents progress toward that goal.
The professional services we offer result in clients being more safe, more secure and having a better understanding of the law regarding their legal issue. The indigent population in Story County is substantial and accounts for more than 20% of the total population in our community. As such, helping our clients stay in their homes, obtain a protective order, a proper custody, visitation, and support order for their children, or develop a payment plan for a creditor seeking to garnish their wages is often paramount to ensuring stability in other areas of their life.
We currently staff 2 full time attorneys and in the process of hiring a 3rd attorney. To be eligible, clients must be residents of Story County, be at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level for their family size, and have a qualified civil legal problem.
Legal Aid also operates the Story County Volunteer Lawyer Project, which extends the same services to residents whose income is up to 175% of the federal poverty guidelines. This program coordinates client placement with volunteer attorneys in Story County.
Legal Aid clients are primarily women in poverty seeking security, safety, and stability for themselves and their children. More than 2/3 of the cases are family law cases including divorce and child custody/visitation. The remaining cases include domestic abuse protective orders, unemployment appeals, Social Security appeals, landlord/tenant issues, and others. Accessing legal counsel empowers clients through expanded knowledge of the Iowa Code. Legal Aid actively encourages clients to participate and make informed decisions. The attorneys are flexible in their approach to working with clients, 39% of whom self-identify as having a mental illness. This may come in the form of moving schedules around to meet emergency client deadlines or rescheduling appointments respecting clients’ family needs.
Legal Aid Society of Story County
937 6th Street, Suite 101
Nevada, IA 50201
(515) 382-2471
www.legalaidstory.com
February 2023 Produce Parable
Wild Harvest Organic Expansion
By Adam Calder
A recent article in The Packer by Jennifer Strailey details a new line of organic produce being offered through one of Wheatsfield’s distributors.
Wheatsfield Cooperative’s biggest grocery supplier is United Natural Foods Incorporated (UNFI). A couple years ago, UNFI bought Wheatsfield’s biggest produce supplier, Albert’s Fresh Produce. During the past few years, UNFI has introduced their own private label of organic produce: Wild Harvest.
Initially the program began with bananas, and has since expanded to include bagged apples, avocados, broccoli, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, limes, mangos, oranges, romaine lettuce, russet potatoes, sweet potatoes and tomatoes.
All Wild Harvest products are packaged with the same purple colored label to help customers easily identify the brand on the sales floor. Right now, Wheatsfield only regularly carries Wild Harvest bananas. We will increase our Wild Harvest offerings as they become available.
UNFI works directly with farms and farmers across North America to obtain produce for this program. The produce is packaged at the farm, which helps shorten the number of steps between the farm and the customer. This shortened supply chain results in lower costs, and those savings are passed on to our customers.
Demand for private label products, which are usually more affordable than large national brands, has only increased since the pandemic began. UNFI is capitalizing on its cache of consumer shopping data, continent-wide scale and supply chain network to increase their private label offerings and help our customers find great deals on high quality organic produce.
Feb 2023 Board Meeting Highlights
Here are highlights from the February 2023 Wheatsfield Board of Directors meeting:
- The Kitchen HVAC project is now complete aside from a few remaining unit modifications and painting throughout spaces; with no additional disruptions in the deli or bakery anticipated.
- Volunteer meeting has been scheduled for March 8 at 6pm. Those who have expressed interest will be receiving an invitation to this meeting shortly.
- Board training with our board consultant, Thane Joyal, was confirmed for March 3rd and 4th.
- The board adopted a new Lease Accounting Policy and amended the Procedures to Govern Appointment of the Student Board Member policy.
- March is Member Appreciation Month with the tiered discount coupon & a Mini Member Drive Month.
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