March 2026 Word From the Board
March 2026 Word from the Board
Alexandria Atal, Wheatsfield Board of Directors
Spring has always been my favorite season. I may be biased since I was born in spring, but spring has always represented change and hope for the coming year in my household, and I never really feel like the new year has started until spring rolls around. This also usually means I usually start and fail my New Years resolutions in spring, but we won’t talk about that.
During a time when things can feel hopeless, scary, and downright confusing, hope and change are sentiments we need now more than ever. Strength in community and nurturing the relationships that help guide us are essential to keeping us grounded and preserving the hope and lightness that keep us going. While we all emerge from our winter hibernations, we are able to come together and spend more time doing activities with our loved ones and breaking bread with people who are important to us in the new year.
This year, as a new board member, I am grateful to include all of you and the contributions you all make to our co-op and the role you play in strengthening our local food systems to the ever-growing list of people and communities I am grateful for. Our co-op is such a wonderfully unique place that not only nurtures our bodies through food, but nurtures our souls through community as well and isn’t that a beautiful thing?
This spring brings lots of events and activities to the co-op for you to engage in and continue to build community. We have Cheese Madness on March 20th, March 26th, March 27th from 4 – 6 PM and March 21st from 11 AM – 1 PM, March Appreciation Day on March 28th from 10 am to 2 PM , Coffee with the Board on April 18th from 10 AM to 12 PM, Earth Week events in April and World Fair Trade Day on May 9th.
Come on down and celebrate with us!
March 2026 Produce Parable
Shamrocks
By Adam Calder, Wheatsfield Produce Manager
Shamrocks are a traditional St. Patrick’s Day decoration, and a welcome, verdant addition to the produce department as the end of winter draws near.
What is a shamrock, though? As it turns out, that question does not have a straight forward or simple answer.
There are actually several species of plants that are colloquially referred to as “shamrocks.” In Ireland, where the tradition originates, most people would agree that shamrocks are clovers. All clovers are trefoils, or members of the Trifolium genus, and are three-leafed (with four-leafed clovers being exceptionally rare, hence the association with good luck). About half the people in Ireland consider Lesser Clover to be true shamrocks, a third of the population says it is White Clover, and the rest split between Red Clover, Black Medick, and Wood Sorrel.
Wood Sorrels, which are members of the Oxalis genus, are actually what we have for sale at Wheatsfield Cooperative. They are sometimes known as False Shamrocks, but as there is no clear “true” shamrock, Wood Sorrel is often used. The leaves and corms are edible, and taste acidic in a similar way to sorrel. Oxalis plants contain oxalic acid, which can be toxic if eaten in large quantities, so it is best to consume oxalis in limited amounts.
The truly unique characteristic of oxalis is their leaves. At sunrise, the leaves open up, and at sunset, they close. Many plants “move” by growing toward or away from light, or phototropism. The process by which oxalis leaves move is called photonasty. Photonasty is different, and is movement as a response to turgor pressure (the water pressure inside the veins of plants.) This movement is too slow for the human eye to detect, but it can be observed with time-lapse photography.
If you are looking for a festive addition to Irish-up your home a little, or if you are looking for a unique houseplant with a surprising quality, then look no further than the Iowa-grown shamrocks we have at Wheatsfield.
Watch this stunning purple shamrock (Oxalis triangularis) wake up! This time-lapse captures the plant’s delicate heart-shaped leaves as they slowly unfurl and open, revealing their rich deep purple color. Nature’s daily magic, right on your windowsill. 🍀💜
Video by Adam Calder
Cheese Madness 2026
Let’s get ready to crumble!
Cheese Madness begins Friday, March 20th!
This March, it’s a grate time to get wheely excited—because our 8-cheese bracket baaattle is on! Featuring legend-dairy GOAT cheeses, only one can be crowned the G-GOAT — Greatest Goat of All Time!
Who will brie victorious? Which cheese will crumble under the pressure? Can your favorite rise above the herd? Don’t kid yourself — this is no ordinary showdown!
Stop by, sample, and vote for the cheesiest champion! It’s nacho average competition — so don’t miss out!
Got a hunch on 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.
Fill out your brackets by Thursday, March 19!
Local Women Owned Businesses We Love
International Women’s Day, March 8, 2026
We work with many woman-owned and woman-friendly businesses at the Co-op! This International Women’s Day, we wanted to highlight a few of our local women-owned or led businesses. Please join us in supporting them.
This list highlights just a few of the many inspiring women-owned and women-led businesses in our community.
La Reyna
Vinton, Iowa
Carmen and Carlos Legaspi and their family are behind La Reyna, the brand that is proud to be “Hecho en Iowa” since 1991. They are known for their excellent fresh pico de gallo, guacamole, queso sauce, and more.
CADO Ice Cream
Fairfield, Iowa
Debbie Dowd is passionate about good health. She and her family created Shaktea Kombucha before moving onto their next (and very successful food adventure) CADO Ice Cream. The brand is really making a name for itself nationwide – winning accolades on many blogs’ and magazines’ “top 10” dairy-free ice cream lists. Their avocado base provides a rich, creamy canvas for classic ice cream favorites like mint chocolate chip, dark chocolate & lemon sorbet. Enjoy a whole avocado in every pint!
Clear Creek Orchard
Collins, Iowa
Teresa Conradi and her husband Martin take pride in making jams like grandma used to make. Clear Creek minimizes added sugar and keeps batch sizes small to minimize cooking time and to preserve the aromatic fruit flavor that boils off in commercial jam production. When the business transitioned to Martin, the original owner’s nephew, they transplanted many of the original Clear Creek berry plants to the new production site for consistency.
Seed Savers Exchange
Decorah, Iowa
In 1975, Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy founded Seed Savers with just two sets of family heirloom seeds from the 1870s. Today, the organization helps protect biodiversity by preserving and sharing more than 20,000 heirloom plant varieties.
Marmalade Sky
Fairfield, Iowa
Marmalade Sky is a local artisanal bakery specializing in gluten-free treats. Founder Malak Nour uses fresh, organic ingredients to create divine desserts like brownies, macaroon bars, and mini cakes.
Hanna Valley Protein
Des Moines, Iowa
Hanna Valley Protein is an organic, whole food, plant based protein powder that is free from top food allergens and is packed with nutrition. Owner Emily Hanna took great care in creating a formula that contains all 9 amino acids, is free from grains/fillers, and is loaded with fiber and Omega 3’s.
Siberian Soap Company
Ames, Iowa
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. Check out one of the classes she teaches at the co-op!
Saltlickers
Nevada, Iowa
Jennifer Knox, a poet, a cook, and a “devoted friend to parrots everywhere” makes unique herb and spice blends with her husband Collin. What started as holiday gifts in 2011 have gradually taken over their lives. They grow some of the herbs and spices and dehydrate them and also source ingredients in bulk, but all are grown in America and are preservative free.
Maytag Dairy Farm
Newton, Iowa
Myrna Ver Ploeg joined Maytag in 2003 and is currently the President of this premier cheese making company. She herself grew up on a dairy farm in Marshall County. Myrna says the business has always operated under three basic principles: be good stewards of whatever resources they are given, be independent thinkers and follow their hearts.
Sunday Night Foods
Des Moines, Iowa
Eileen Gannon is the founder and CEO of Sunday Night Foods, an Iowa-based company specializing in premium, small-batch chocolate dessert sauces. An award-winning baker with over 600 state and national accolades, Gannon launched the brand in 2021 to create high-quality, clean-label chocolate products.
SCREAM Ice Cream
Fairfield, Iowa
Kate Vigmostad opened SCREAM in early 2025, specializing in artisanal ice cream using local, organic, and grass-fed dairy from Iowa farms. Vigmostad, a former dancer, developed the concept to offer high-quality, locally sourced frozen desserts after purchasing an ice cream maker for her son.
Agri-Cultured
Davenport, Iowa
Sarah Underberg and her husband Eric started making fermented foods to address health problems like joint pain. Today they make raw sauerkrauts, pickles, kimchi, and kombucha – on tap at your Co-op! “We’re changing lives one gut at a time,” Sarah says.
March Mini Member Drive 2026
March Mini Member Drive
? Join & Receive a Special Gift! ?
Did you know that becoming a member-owner of Wheatsfield Co-op is a one-time, fully refundable investment that comes with amazing benefits? Your membership supports local farmers, sustainability, and a thriving cooperative community!
? Join Anytime: March 1–15
Sign up during our March Mini Member Drive and receive a FREE GIFT as a thank-you for supporting your local co-op!
Choose the Option That’s Right for You:
? Full Equity Member-Ownership – Own a piece of the Co-op!
✔ Enjoy full benefits & exclusive discounts
✔ One-time purchase of $100 (pay all at once or in 10 monthly installments)
✔ Applies to everyone in your household
✔ Fully refundable—withdraw anytime and get your investment back!
? Student Discount Program – For college students!
✔ Most of the same benefits & discounts as full membership
✔ Affordable $20 yearly fee
✔ For individual use only
Why Become a Member-Owner?
By joining, you help:
✅ Support local farmers & producers
✅ Grow a more sustainable food system
✅ Strengthen our cooperative business model
✅ Provide local jobs & community programs
✅ Keep Wheatsfield thriving for future generations!
? Sign up in minutes! Ask a cashier or download the application below.
Join today—let’s grow together! ?
March 2026 Change for Community: GNEA
Good Neighbor Emergency Assistance
Our mission is to provide emergency assistance to our neighbors in Story County, in an atmosphere of dignity, comfort, and encouragement. Good Neighbor Emergency Assistance offers services on an emergency basis to residents in Story County, providing a hand up to families and/or individuals in need. We work in partnership with other agencies and faith-based organizations throughout the County to provide rent and utility assistance, often stopping evictions from their home and the disconnection of utilities. In addition to rent and utility assistance, we offer food and gas vouchers, Cy-Ride tickets, and phone cards on an emergency basis. We also offer navigation services for our clients who need assistance navigating the various services, and systems to help improve their financial situation.
March & April Artists: Kelly Schwartz & Rob Sunderman
Rob Sunderman
Art Philosophy and Statement
My artwork has a strong connection to our natural environment and climate issues. I want the work to convey a sense of beauty but also confront the challenges we are facing with our environment. I want people to look at things in our world that are sometimes ignored or just not thought about. “We can live in harmony with nature and not dominate it. We can live within it as part of the cycle of our world. We can be sustainable.”
My work is very diverse in form. I work both in 2D and 3D. In the past I primarily have painted in oils but have been recently using other media to tell my stores. Also, incorporated painting and drawing in my 3D work continues to grow. Most of my paintings/drawings are about the movement of the paint/mark and how it feels to express a moment in time. It is an expressive and impressionistic flowing style. I have painted/drawn in plein air style, from photos and memory.
Not limiting materials is so important in my work generally. I use materials/mediums that best conveys the subject or story that I am addressing. I recently have been working on pieces dealing with renewal, fleeting moments and human intervention of natural cycles.
Specific to this exhibition and in general trees are a very important part of all my creative endeavors and life. You will find them in most of my work regardless of the medium I might be working with. I draw energy, insight and inspiration from the tree’s skeletal structures, shapes and textures. They are so important to us as humans and the cycle of the environment. They are strong and the backbone of all things that breath. I receive inspiration from them, repurpose them after death, give them importance and a new life.
A new painting/drawing/photography series I am working on is taking old ariel view photos of Iowa (1930’s – 1960’s ISU Ag Department) and painting organic elements on them. The mixed media pieces named “Aerial Iowa Revived” are about breaking out of the grid pattern created by Iowa’s farmland. These old aerial photo of Iowa are being repurposed as art eco statements. I have been drawing and painting tree/river forms on them, which are inspired by the way trees or river structures move, grow, connect through space. They are done in an illustrative style that is raw and direct. My marks gradually connect to the land. It is a response to its manmade and natural structures. These pieces are a statement of healing but also a reflection about the way we treat the Iowa landscape. The color gold is an important part of the composition of this work. It is used to repair the damaged squares that are part of the landscape of Iowa now. The square shapes of the photos themselves reflect how Iowa’s land has been so greatly altered. I also use gold pen marks to line the trees as a statement of new life and repairs. The tree/river forms move across the space to recognize the past and think about ways to create a new better path of seeing and living.
Time moves so fast that we rarely take time to notice a single beautiful moment. I want to preserve the pure glimpse of time on the move with in all my work. It is about reflection and then a more positive move forward.
One of my favorite quotes is from Leonardo Da Vince “Art is never finished it is only abandoned”.
Kelly Schwartz
Artist Statement
My art focuses on small detail and the playful whimsy of lines. Using the finest tip artist pens I explore the twisting and combining of forms seeking new ways to see things. My drawings are fluid and changing as I go, often uncertain how they will end. My inspiration comes from nature, the beauty and delicacy – yet robust circuitry of tree roots; the seeking curls of vining plants grabbing hold of anything in reach to climb higher; the one flower that manages to flourish in one small crack amidst a sea of concrete.
Conceptually, the seeking and the growing of these living structures mirrors us. As I draw, I aim to create an interesting and thought provoking design that is not only beautiful, but stretches our understanding of who we are, what we can do, and how it’s all related to each other. And, like life, it’s complicated.
February 2026 Board Meeting Highlights
February 18th Board Meeting Highlights
- The Board’s strategic discussion focused on strategies for increasing overall sales, both among members and non-members. Efforts to increase sales included talk of emphasizing value versus cost of products.
- Co-op events for the remainder of the year have been booked, including upcoming events next month: Cheese Madness and Member Appreciation Day (March 28th).
- The Education and Outreach Committee reported the need for more members or non-members to assist as volunteers for co-op events throughout the year.
- The Co-op is excited that sushi will be offered again starting in early March. This is something we are confident our members are highly anticipating as well.
- Wheatsfield added nearly 20 new members last month (compared to 35 last January). We hope to boost membership during the co-op’s Mini-Member Drive in early March.
- The Board reviewed overall satisfaction percentages in the Brand Performance Report from the Customer Experience Program; the co-op values this data, so encourages customers to provide feedback on the surveys printed on customer receipts.
February 2026 Produce Parable
The Russet Potato
By Adam Calder, Wheatsfield Produce Manager
The Russet potato, our 9th top-selling item in the produce department, seems ordinary enough. This is what many people conjure in their mind’s eye when they think “potato.” As it turns out, this American classic has a fascinating history that easily could have never happened.
The year was 1872, in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, and a plant breeder named Luther Burbank was walking through a patch of Early Rose potatoes, a popular New England potato. Burbank noticed something one does not usually see on a potato: a maturing seed-ball. Potatoes usually propagate from their underground tubers, but will very rarely make an above-ground fruit that looks like a tiny tomato.
This is what Burbank saw, and he marked the plant so he could keep an eye on it. One day, he noticed his prized seed-ball was no longer on the plant. He spent days scrutinizing the surface of the soil in the potato patch on his hands and knees, until he found and retrieved the seed-ball. There were twenty-three seeds inside.
Burbank saved them all, and planted them the following spring. Every seed sprouted, and each plant was unique. Tiny Tubers, large ones, and all the sizes between. A variety of colors, shapes, and textures. Some plants yielded few tubers, but some grew many. Of these twenty-three plants, two produced distinctly large potatoes with shallow eyes. Burbank saved these potatoes all winter, and noted that they stored well. He planted them in the spring, and of the two varieties, one had a much larger yield, and also coincidentally happened to be resistant to the late blight that had recently devastated Ireland. Burbank knew he had stumbled onto something valuable, and he named this the Burbank Russet Potato.
With shallow eyes and a consistently large oval size, these new potatoes were easier to peel than most potatoes on the market. This plant readily grew huge (two to three pound) potatoes, producing a large yield from small plots of land. Its starchy white flesh had just the right amount of moisture in it to bake and mash up fluffy, and also fry up crispy without over-browning. Russets are also high in protein, minerals, and vitamins, and low in fat/cholesterol. They have a pleasant, nutty flavor that was immediately popular when it hit the market.
In 1875, Burbank sold the rights to grow his potato to James J. H. Gregory, the owner of a seed-selling company. Burbank used this money to move to a farm in California to continue his lifelong plant breeding passion. He grew his potato on the west coast, Gregory grew Burbank Russets on the east coast, and soon, so did all the states in between. Today they are grown the world over, and it all came from one tiny seed-ball that could have easily been overlooked.
Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Sale 2026
Treat yourself and someone special just in time for Valentines Day!
Shop the Co-op February 13th & 14th to SAVE 15% on regular priced Wines, Cheeses and Chocolates!
Members-Owners and Student Members save 15%, non-members save 5%**
**Save on regular prices, sale excludes Co+op Deals and Co+op Basics items.
Sweet & Savory Samples – Wine Not!
Saturday, Feb 14 from 12PM-2PM
We will be sampling in the co-op so stop by for bites and sips of our favorite chocolates, cheeses, and wines. Make DIY valentines for your besties in the teaching kitchen, and Sign Up to Win a valentine’s giveaway!
February 2026 Change for Community: IowaMMJ
Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice
Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice (Iowa MMJ) is statewide membership-based advocacy and immigration legal service organization driven and led by immigrant and refugee voices and united with allies.
Mission – to build a movement for justice led by immigrants and refugees in Iowa by providing high-quality legal services and community empowerment through organizing.
Envision – An Iowa that is welcoming and inclusive, where the rights of immigrants and refugees are ensured through access to legal services, their voices are heard and the issues that impact them are addressed.
History – In the face of unprecedented need, Iowa MMJ is building on the legacy of two trusted organizations: the American Friends Service Committee Iowa and Iowa Justice for Our Neighbors. By uniting their programs, Iowa MMJ has created a powerful opportunity to address urgent needs for direct services while strengthening the movement for immigrants’ rights across the state and region.
Iowa MMJ’s diverse staff bring a combined 35 years of legal service experience and 15 years in programming, building on the 45-year reputation of its founding organizations. With a unique dual-program model, Iowa MMJ is well-equipped to fill unmet needs, build on existing relationships, lead/initiate important conversations, and win concrete victories for all communities in Iowa. As an affiliate of the Immigration Law & Justice Network (formerly Justice for Our Neighbors Network), Iowa MMJ continues to work in coalition, standing in solidarity with others to advance immigrant justice.
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