Nam Doc Mai Mango

June 2026 Produce Parable

By Adam Calder, Wheatsfield Produce Manager

Summer is upon us, and that means it is the time for tropical fruit! Making a return appearance in our produce department is a real star, the Nam Doc Mai mango.

It is difficult to articulate just how good these mangoes are. The Produce Department Assistant Manager, Devin, said “they taste like what people always say good tropical fruit eaten in its setting tastes like.” That is a succinct way of saying these mangoes taste like a tropical sunset, with your feet in the sand at a beach, after a day of swimming in the ocean. If such things could have a flavor, they would taste like the Nam Doc Mai mango. Our Center Store Manager, Jane, said she and her children bonded over their surprise and delight in the sublime taste of this wonderful fruit.

The lemon-yellow flesh is succulent, sweet and syrupy in a most decadent way. The fruit itself has a unique, pointed shape with a greenish-yellow to gold-colored peel. These mangos also have a pleasant, heady scent that matches the sweetness of the fruit’s flavor. They originated in Thailand, and are the key ingredient in the delicious Thai Mango Sticky Rice dessert. Once confined only to Thailand, they are now grown in tropical and sub-tropical locations all over the world.

The plant itself has an interesting property, in that the seed exhibits polyembryony, which means the seed contains more than one embryo. In most circumstances, when a plant forms a seed there is one embryo in it, with a genetic composition unique compared to that of the parent plant. In polyembryony, there is more than one embryo in the seed. These embryo “siblings” have identical genes to one another, but different genes than the parent plant. The same thing happens in humans when identical twins are born from one initial embryo.

The season on these delicacies is only from June through July, so grab some the next time you are in the co-op if you want a tropical treat in the middle of our land-locked ocean of corn and soy.

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 20^th Board Meeting Highlights

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]

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?

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!!

Check out a video!