Share Your Knowledge – Teach a Class at the Co-op!
Do you have a skill, craft, or passion you’d love to share? We’re inviting our knowledgeable community members to teach a class at the co-op! Whether it’s cooking, gardening, sustainability, wellness, or a hands-on DIY, we’d love to feature your expertise. This is a great opportunity to connect, inspire, and strengthen our community while sharing what you love. Interested in teaching? Let us know! Email Sheba Wright, Outreach & Education Coordinator at [email protected] or stop by the co-op to sign up.
Let’s learn and grow together!
FREE COMMUNITY CLASS – Pedal Your Groceries and Other Stuff!
Instructor
Grant Olsen | Transportation Geek
Ames resident Grant Olsen is a self-described transportation geek. His modes include walking, pedaling, driving, and riding public transportation.
Date & Time
Thursday, March 27 | 6:00-7 PM
CLASS – Starting Solids: Purees & Baby-Led Weaning
Getting ready to introduce solid foods to your baby or struggling with how much—or what—they should be eating? Unsure whether to follow traditional weaning or try baby-led weaning? Join this introductory class led by a registered dietitian to learn about your baby’s nutritional needs and discover strategies to foster a healthy, positive relationship with food!
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.
Instructor
Kimberly Baishnab (Korff) is a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified lactation specialist who has a passion for all things cultural foods and culinary nutrition. Kimberly provides nutrition counseling and local workshops to promote a positive relationship with food for everyone in your family. Join Kimberly in the kitchen and the classroom to learn more about using food to nourish your body and soul, ensuring a happy, healthy life for your whole family.
Date & Time
Thursday, April 10 | 5:30-7 PM
EARTH MONTH CLASS – Beginner Bike Repair
Curious about bike maintenance? Learn how to fix a flat, oil your chain, and keep your bike in top shape with simple preventative care. Avoid costly repairs down the road by joining the legendary Ronn Ritz, owner of Skunk River Cycles, for an engaging session on the fundamentals of bike repair. Ronn will not have time to work on each bike in the class, but you can address specific questions if you bring your bike.
Class location: Store Front Bike Racks (Rain location: East Teaching Kitchen)
Instructor
Ronn Ritz is the owner of Skunk River Cycles in downtown Ames.
Date & Time
Monday, April 21 | 6:15-7:15 PM
Class Location
Store Front Bike Racks (Rain Location – East Teaching Kitchen)
EARTH MONTH CLASS – Composting With Worms!
Join us to discover just how easy it is to turn your food scraps into nutrient-rich compost! Vermiculture, or composting with worms, is a simple and efficient method perfect for both homeowners and apartment dwellers. With just a small bin and some hardworking worms, you can compost food waste year-round—no backyard required! In this class, you’ll learn everything you need to get started, and you’ll even take home your own worms to kick-start your composting journey.
Instructor
Steve Libbey started composting in earnest in the early 1990s turning over, literally, tons of waste as the Coordinator of the Seattle Zoo’s composting/recycling program. Subsequently achieving neither fame nor fortune, Steve continues to garden and compost in hot piles and with worms.
Date & Time
Tuesday, April 22 | 6:00-7 PM
EARTH MONTH CLASS – Beginner Bike Repair
Curious about bike maintenance? Learn how to fix a flat, oil your chain, and keep your bike in top shape with simple preventative care. Avoid costly repairs down the road by joining the legendary Ronn Ritz, owner of Skunk River Cycles, for an engaging session on the fundamentals of bike repair. Ronn will not have time to work on each bike in the class, but you can address specific questions if you bring your bike.
Class location: Store Front Bike Racks (Rain location: East Teaching Kitchen)
Instructor
Ronn Ritz is the owner of Skunk River Cycles in downtown Ames.
Date & Time
Saturday April 26, 2025 | 9:30-10:30 AM
Class Location
Store Front Bike Racks (Rain Location – East Teaching Kitchen)
HANDS-ON CLASS: Wild Foraging
Join us for an immersive, hands-on foraging class at Ada Hayden Park, where we’ll explore the natural abundance of edible and medicinal plants growing in our local landscape. Led by Crystal Jewell, a Neuroscience Graduate Student at Iowa State 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 in the park. Be prepared for a leisurely walk on uneven terrain. Bring a notebook, a field guide (if you have one), and a sense of curiosity!
Class Location: We will meet next to the picnic shelter in the main parking lot by the lake.
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!
Crystal Jewell M.S. is a science communicator and PhD student studying the neuroscience of mindfulness. Outside of academia, she nourishes her passion for food sovereignty through foraging, gardening, herbalism, and experimenting with traditional food preservation.
Date & Time
Saturday April 29, 2025 | 5:00 – 6:30 PM
Class Location
Ada Hayden Park – 5205 Grand Avenue – We will meet next to the picnic shelter in the main parking lot by the lake.
ONLINE RSVP
- RSVPs required for all classes! Class sizes are limited, RSVP to guarantee your seat!
- If you cannot RSVP online, call the store and talk to a Marketing Staff member.
- If a class is full – please call or email marketing staff to be added to our waitlist.
- We do consider waitlists when planning the next cycle of classes.
LOCATION
Classes are held in our teaching kitchen located in the east end of the co-op unless noted otherwise.
FEES
- Fees are transferable but not refundable unless the Co-op cancels the class due to weather, instructor illness, low attendance or other unforeseen circumstance.
The views presented in classes are not necessarily the views of the Co-op. Please consult with your health care provider before starting any new health regimen.
THANK YOU
A HUGE thank you to Cook’s Emporium for supplying the Co-op Classroom with a variety of useful cooking equipment. Come to a class to see the equipment in action! Make sure to stop by this locally-owned business for your kitchen gear needs!
