HANDS-ON CLASS: DIY Herbal Lip Balm
Dive in to the art and science of handcrafted herbal lip care in this interactive, hands-on workshop! Using a plethora of natural, nourishing, and eco-friendly ingredients including beeswax, oils, butters, and plant essential oils, participants will make and take home two different lip balm formulations to protect lips in all four seasons. It's herbal lip care made simple, made from scratch, and made by you!
Meet the Instructor!
Ann Staudt is the founder, chief soap formulator, kitchen chemist, graphic designer, sales manager, packaging extraordinaire, and overall operations manager behind Siberian Soap Co. She holds degrees in both chemical and environmental engineering. Soapmaking provides a wonderfully creative outlet that combines her interests in science, art, and living a simple, eco-friendly lifestyle.
Date & Time
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 | 5:30-7PM
Class Location
Community Room
HANDS-ON CLASS: Wild Foraging @ Onion Creek Farm
Join us for a foraging class at Onion Creek Farm, where we explore the natural abundance of edible and medicinal plants growing in our local landscape. Led by Dr. Crystal Jewell, a Neuroscientist and Science Communicator, this class will teach you how to identify, harvest, and use a variety of wild plants safely and sustainably. We'll cover key identification techniques, ethical harvesting practices, and traditional uses of native and naturalized species found on the farm. Be prepared for a leisurely walk on uneven terrain. Bring a notebook, a field guide (if you have one), and a sense of curiosity! Must be 18+ to attend.
Attendees will be allowed to forage invasive species. Please follow the instructions given by the instructor about what we are allowed to pick.
CLASS LOCATION: Due to limited parking at Onion Creek Farm, we will meet at Lockwood Cafe (4625 Reliable St #3713, Ames, IA 50014) and carpool together from there. If you are willing to be a driver, please reach out and let Sheba know at [email protected] or call 515-232-4094. It is 1.5 miles between the parking lot and the farm. Please try to arrive a little early so we have as much time as possible on the farm.
PLEASE NOTE: Waiver Required at Registration – A liability waiver is included in the Eventbrite checkout process. Before completing your registration, you'll be asked to read and check a box agreeing to our terms. Please take a moment to read it carefully — you won't be able to finish signing up without completing this step!
Meet the Instructor!
Crystal Jewell, M.S., PhD is a neuroscientist, science communicator, and naturalist who specializes in alternative and complimentary medicine with a focus on ethnopharmacology.
Date & Time
Thursday August 6, 2026 | 5:00-6:30PM
Class Location
Onion Creek Farm
Kids Cooking Class: Ready, Set, Snack!
Summer is winding down and school is just around the corner, so let’s celebrate with the best part of any school day! Join us for 90 minutes of hands-on snack making where kids (and grown-ups!) will whip up fun, delicious after school treats to add to your back-to-school routine. Ages 6-18 welcome and no experience needed! Parent or guardian must attend and stay for the whole class.
What we’re making:
- Ants on a Log
- DIY Trail Mix
- Banana Sushi
- Frost a cupcake to take home!
If you have specific dietary restrictions, please reach out to us in advance before signing up for the class at [email protected] or by calling the co-op at 515-232-4094 and speaking with Sheba Wright, Education Coordinator.
Limited substitutions can be made during the class.
Meet the Instructor!
As Outreach & Education Coordinator at Wheatsfield, Sheba spends her days connecting people with resources and opportunities and is always looking for new classes to share with the community. A Navy veteran who has lived all over the place, including Japan, she’s picked up a love of new places, new ideas, and new recipes along the way. Outside of work she’s a proud mom of three, and nana to six grandbabies with another on the way.
Date & Time
Tuesday August 4, 2026 | 5:30-7:00PM
Class Location
Community Room
DIY Food Storage: Ditch the Plastic
Plastic wrap, zip-lock bags, and single-use packaging get used more than a lot of us would like. In this hands-on class, we’ll explore simple, affordable alternatives you can make and use right at home. Together we’ll make beeswax wraps from scratch, learn the art of the mason jar, and swap ideas for reducing plastic in your kitchen. You’ll leave with wraps you made yourself and a handful of easy ideas to put to use right away.
We will have fabric available, but feel free to bring your own with you. Thinner 100% cotton fabrics work best and is compostable! Due to time and space restraints, there is a limit of 1 wrap per attendee.
Meet the Instructor!
As Outreach & Education Coordinator at Wheatsfield, Sheba spends her days connecting people with resources and opportunities and is always looking for new classes to share with the community. A Navy veteran who has lived all over the place, including Japan, she’s picked up a love of new places, new ideas, and new recipes along the way. Outside of work she’s a proud mom of three, and nana to six grandbabies with another on the way.
Date & Time
Tuesday July 21, 2026 | 5:30-7:00PM
Class Location
Community Room
June Member Appreciation Celebration 2026
Let’s Celebrate June Member Appreciation Day!
Join us on Saturday, June 13 from 10am-2pm to celebrate you! Enjoy samples around the co-op, visit with board members, sign-up to win our Local Product Giveaway, send the kids on a crafty activity, meet local producers, and more!
Local Producers
Experience the best of our community at the co-op with local producers sampling their fresh, high-quality products. Engage with the passionate individuals who are dedicated to bringing the finest local goods to your table, and discover new favorites while supporting your local economy.
Beeler’s Pure Pork, LeMars, IA
EcoLips, Cedar Rapids, IA
Terry Naturally , Regional
Co-op Explorer Craft Activity
Head back to the Community Room for a fun and crafty activity! We will be creating Upcycled Butterflies out of toilet paper rolls, pipe cleaners, and colorful markers.
All supplies provided, every age welcome!
Giveaways!
Celebrate with giveaways from our front welcome cart, sign-up to win a local basket, grab a coffee or water and learn all about what’s going on at the co-op! Don’t miss out on our limited edition Wheatsfield Koozie and La Croix GIVEAWAY! We are giving away 100 koozies with a La Croix in them starting at 10am, one per person, while supplies last.
Samples!
We will have a diverse array of great samples throughout the co-op. Whether you’re craving fresh, local produce, artisanal cheeses, or gourmet snacks, you’ll find something delightful at every corner. These samples allow you to explore new flavors and discover your next favorite product, making each visit an exciting culinary adventure.
May 2026 Board Meeting Highlights
May 20th Board Meeting Highlights
- The Education and Outreach Committee announced continuation of the Graduate Research Night events due to the previous month’s success. May 21st was the second Graduate Research Night event, and the Student Board Representative and Education and Outreach Committee will continue to co-organize these events in upcoming months as part of Wheatsfield outreach and Iowa State University outreach efforts.
- The CEO informed the Board that the parking lot re-pavement project is officially complete; the Co-op experienced less than two weeks of altered parking, and sales were not significantly impacted during this time.
- The CEO report noted an increase in co-op customers in April from March.
- Our CEO attended the National Co-op Grocers (NCG) meeting in San Diego, where she met the new CEO and was able to attend a number of sessions, several of which were on data trends and how to get new customers in the doors.
- The Board reviewed a new CEO evaluation form with categorical criteria that will be used for evaluation of the Wheatsfield CEO; these criteria will be used by the Executive Committee and Board for CEO evaluation and by the CEO for self-evaluation.
Call for Candidates – Run for the Board of Directors
Dear Wheatsfield Cooperative Members,
We are excited to announce that nominations are now open for the upcoming Board of Directors election. As a member-owned and democratically governed cooperative, Wheatsfield relies on the dedication and leadership of its members to guide our future. Serving on the Board is a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact on our cooperative community.
What is the Board of Directors?
Wheatsfield Cooperative’s governance structure, like most other member-owned co-ops, involves the work of a board to review and set policy, hire and evaluate the CEO, monitor the organization’s financials, and interact with the membership to support the Co-op’s mission and vision.
Why should I run for the Board?
1) The Co-op needs the input and vitality of your participation. It will thrive best from rotating a variety of member voices. And,
2) You will learn a great deal about cooperatives and discover how much you can make a difference in our community.
What will I have to do?
Show up, be prepared, listen, and add to the hive mind as needed.
Here are the basics:
- Give a three-year commitment to the Board of Directors.
- Become familiar with the Articles and Bylaws, and the Mission and Core Value Statements.
- Prepare for and attend a monthly Board meeting.
- Understand the financial statements.
- Attend Board outreach events.
- Have a genuine interest in the cooperative model, food issues, and our community.
Am I really qualified?
Yes. Three of the nine director positions are up for election each year. Some members choose to run for another term and others move on. You will always have a mix of veteran and new directors with a range of organizational experience and talents. No single director has to be an expert in every aspect of Cooperative governance, but each contributes.
How do I apply?
Please read the Board Packet and fill out the application. The Nominations and Recruitment Committee will review your application and contact you about the next steps. Also, there is a student seat for a 1-year appointment running September through August. Wheatsfield’s student community members are eligible to apply for the position here.
If you’d like a little more context about the Board, please send your questions to [email protected]
June 2026 Change for Community Recipient: Women, Food, and Ag Network
About WFAN
Since 1997, the Women, Food, and Agriculture Network has engaged women & non-binary farmers and land stewards in building a just and ecological food system through community power. Our network’s deepest roots are in Iowa, and now, 27 years on, we have the privilege of connecting with members across the country who share our values of storytelling, interconnectedness, ecofeminism and justice.
Mission
To engage women in building an ecological and just food and agricultural system through individual and community power.
Vision
A vibrant, community-centered food and agricultural system in which women and other gender-marginalized people are strong leaders.
Relevant Links
May 2026 Produce Parable
History of Fresh
May 2026 Produce Parable
By Adam Calder, Wheatsfield Produce Manager
What is fresh food? A simple enough question to ask, mind-boggling difficult to answer. In her book Fresh: A Perishable History, author Susanne Freidberg does a thorough job answering that question, and analyzing how that definition has changed over time and history.
The basic premises of the book are that freshness means different things for different foods, and that biology alone can’t define what “fresh” means. Since different categories of food define “fresh” differently, the book devotes each chapter to the history of a specific food. The first chapter is about refrigeration and the profound change it had on food freshness. The following chapters are about beef, eggs, fruit, vegetables, milk, and fish. Freidberg digs deep into each of these food categories. She read many old food industry trade journals, home economics texts, memoirs, technical manuals, cookbooks, women’s magazines, food packaging and advertisements to get a comprehensive understanding of the history of food preservation.
In her book, you learn about the resistance to the first mechanical refrigerators, hard as it may be to envision someone being anti-refrigeration in this day and age. The transition from sawdust-covered blocks of ice for food preservation to gas and electric motor-powered refrigeration was not rapid or universal. It had to first be adopted by shipping companies, and added to their boats and railcars. Then it was food distributors and warehouse managers that had to be convinced refrigeration was the future. Lastly, it was the home cooks and grocery shoppers who had to be conditioned to accept refrigeration in their kitchens.
She moves from refrigeration to beef, as beef was the first product that pushed the concept of maintaining a “cold chain” from farm to consumer to maximize freshness. The formation of fleets of refrigerated British steam ships, Argentinian meat packing plants, and municipal cold storage houses all arose together as refrigerated beef pushed across the globe.
With this cold chain in place, it became possible to also extend the distribution and shelf life of eggs, fruits, vegetables and milk. There are fun facts in each of these chapters, like that the Pink Lady was the first apple developed to not only look beautiful but to still taste good, or that a woman’s group in Philadelphia took to the streets selling cold-storage eggs to convince people they were as good as fresh-laid ones. There are also sobering facts in each chapter, especially regarding what past generations have long known about how certain fresh foods can be deadly. Milk routinely carried tuberculosis. There was dysentery in dirty vegetables, cholera on fruit. Freidberg does a compelling job using these facts, and many more, to answer the question: what is fresh food?
Tiny Deck Concerts 2026
Tiny Deck Concerts Are Back for 2026!
Kick off your weekends with free live music under the open sky and on the deck!
Friday nights, June 26 – September 4 | 6:00–7:30 PM
Head to the east deck for amazing local bands, good vibes, and great company. Grab dinner, sip a drink, and soak up the sounds—it’s the perfect way to wind down your week.
Everyone’s invited—bring your friends, your family, and your dancing shoes. Don’t forget a blanket or LAWN CHAIR—the deck fills up fast!
Rain Location – Right inside the co-op.
Fri., Jun 26 | Fred Love & The Bakersfield Brawl
Fred Love is a cowpunk singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Ames, Iowa. He fuses country grit, punk energy and bluesy soul into a raw, rebellious sound rooted in the rural Midwest. He performs solo and with his band, Fred Love and the Bakersfield Brawl, a no-nonsense power trio that puts a punk-rock edge on honky tonk tradition.
Fri., Jul 3 | Roamin’ John
Roots, Folk, and Blues trio right outta Ames, IA. Roamin’ John wandered the country coast to coast taking inspiration from the diverse landscapes and cultures of American street music. With wonderfully wailing harmonica (Jeff Hart), radically ripping mandolin melodies (Avery Joshua), and hard driving acoustic guitar with a bellowing baritone voice (Roman Hart). Be sure to get your boot stompers ready!
Fri., Jul 10 | Bleujack
Iowa born and raised, Jordan “Bleujack” Voigt combines folk, hip-hop, guitar shredding, and an Everyman lyrical approach to his raspy-voiced rantings and observations. A skilled performer with the Devil’s grin, Bleujack will win you over, if he hasn’t already.
Fri., Jul 17 | Casey Joe Collins
A steward of the road and a custodian of its tales, Casey Joe Collins maintains the country’s story. A well-worn guitar and a pen & paper are all he needs to chronicle these blacktop novellas. A songwriter’s songwriter, Casey Joe’s songbook is vast, yet polished. A body of work replete with characters, some real and some imagined, as colorful as the tattoos that adorn his working-class hands.
Fri., Jul 24 | Ben Schrag & the Cautionaries
Sweet, sad, and just a little rambunctious, Ben Schrag & the Cautionaries are a four-piece acoustic band from Ames, Iowa. Ben Schrag’s songwriting has received national awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Ben Schrag & the Cautionaries are: Cal Rebhuhn, Jim McNamara, Sara Goplin, and Ben Schrag.
Fri., Jul 31 | Day Ashworth
Originally from Tennessee, Day is a classically trained vocalist known for creating a full-band sound by layering vocals, percussion, and guitar loops. Her upbeat, easy-listening set features a mix of modern and classic rock, pop, and country hits, along with original songs. She has previously opened for acts such as The Pork Tornadoes, Not Quite Brothers, Alisabeth Von Presley, and The Schmidt Brothers. Past performance highlights include the McGrath Amphitheatre, Bridge View Center, The World Food and Music Festival, Iowa State Fair, Des Moines Lantern Festival, LunaFest, The District Stage, Q Casino, Laramar Ballroom, The Okoboji Mainstage, The Ames Auditorium, and the Des Moines Festival of Trees and Lights!
Social Media:
Instagram
Facebook
Spotify:
Days Live
Fri., Aug 7 | Todd Partridge
Todd Partridge crafts a gritty blend of American roots music steeped in blues, folk, country, classic rock, and Americana. Raised among the barns and cornfields of the Midwest prairie, his songwriting carries the raw honesty and weathered soul of Iowa itself.
After picking up the guitar at 18, Todd dedicated his life to music, performing with bands including Black Light Syndrome, Salamagundi, and the critically acclaimed King of the Tramps, where he spent a decade touring across the U.S. and Europe and recording five albums.
As a solo artist, Todd has continued to evolve his sound with releases like the reflective folk-inspired Autumn Never Knows and the swampy, hard-edged blues album Desert Fox Blues.
Today, Todd tours throughout the Midwest with his backing band, The Whiskey Gospel — Joe McGuire on drums, James Nicholson on guitar, and Greg Bruna on bass — delivering powerful live performances featuring songs from his solo catalog alongside fan favorites from King of the Tramps.
Fri., Aug 14 | Perfect Strangers
Fri., Aug 21 | Coffee Shop Romance
Coffee Shop Romance features husband and wife duo James and Lisa Webb, both members of “Stranger than Fiction,” the wildly popular cover band made up of local English teachers. Coffee Shop Romance is a scaled-down collaboration featuring melodic songs, guitar, and clean vocals for your cozy listening pleasure.
Fri., Aug 28 | Doomed Pioneers
Doomed Pioneers are an Ames-based vocal and guitar duo who dip in and out of their favorite genres from Bossa Nova to Folk. The name Doomed Pioneers stems from the field of Geology where it describes small critters living at the bottom of a shallow ocean who are unwillingly transported to the deep by mud-slides. In this new and strange environment they become pioneers, and because most of them will not succeed they are doomed. Deanna, an Arkansas transplant, and Jacqueline, from Switzerland, can relate and think making music is a pretty good way to find joy wherever life sweeps you.
Fri., Sep 4 | Central Iowa Jazz Trio
The Central Iowa Jazz trio will keep your foot tapping with tasty trombone, swinging sax and grooving guitar! Featuring long-time Central Iowa musicians Dave Richardson, Steve O’Brien, and Dave Swenson, the Central Iowa Jazz trio will not disappoint. Come and hear your favorite jazz, swing, latin and pop tunes!!
May & June Artist: Brenda Backman
Brenda Backman
Artist Bio
Brenda Backman is a contemporary artist known for her evocative use of color and texture, creating immersive landscapes that explore the interplay between nature and emotion. Based in Story City, IA, she draws inspiration from her surroundings, transforming everyday scenes into vibrant, abstract interpretations.
Brenda’s artistic journey began at an early age, fueled by a passion for embroidery and a fascination with the natural world. She studied Iowa State University, where she honed her skills in various mediums, including fiber arts, sculpture and mixed media. Over the years, her work has evolved to reflect her deepening connection to the environment and her desire to convey the feelings that nature evokes.
Exhibiting widely across galleries and art fairs, Brenda’s work has garnered attention for its unique blend of color and abstraction. Her pieces invite viewers to experience a dialogue with the scenes she portrays, encouraging a personal reflection on the beauty and complexity of the world around them.
With a growing body of work and a commitment to artistic exploration, Brenda Backman continues to captivate audiences, inviting them to connect with the beauty of both her art and the natural world.
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