Abby Rippe and her husband Mark are the proud owners of the Blueridge Orchard located in Denver. Abby, who is originally from Cedar Falls, returned to the Cedar Valley in 2008 with Mark. At that time, they were looking for a home in this area and came across a “for sale by owner” ad in the paper. When they went to view the house and property, they found that it also had a working orchard and subsequently became the new owners. Mark is employed by John Deere and Abby recently joined the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Black Hawk County where she works as a volunteer coordinator. She very much enjoys her new people-focused job working with volunteers across their programs.
Abby loves living in the Cedar Valley as it allows her to be closer to family and is overall “a comfortable place to be”, adding that “it is great being part of a community like this”. She is also excited to see the growth that has taken place over the last several years, especially in Cedar Falls, which she describes as “thriving”. Some of the places that her and Mark like to frequent are the Cedar Falls Brown Bottle, Rudy’s and the Octopus bar which is located on the Hill. Abby is especially excited about the opening of the Milkbox Bakery by owner Andrea Geary who she has known since they were young.
Abby and Mark have been big supporters of the Cedar Falls Food Co-op from the beginning. Abby had been a member of New Pioneer and worked there as well while in college. Based on her experience, she understands how much a co-op can contribute not only by providing healthy, locally sourced food but also through education and community involvement. Abby and Mark also participated in the fall festival which she thought was a great way to get the public involved with the Cedar Falls Food Co-op momentum.
Abby loves to cook, watching cooking shows and the challenge of making something new. She says that she follows the recipe exactly the first time but then after that will “tweak” it, especially looking for ways to add-in chocolate. Her and Mark enjoy traveling – she mentions that they “travel to eat and drink”. She also volunteers as a team captain for Relay for Life and is on the Bark For Life committee.
Abby’s favorite season is summer because of the warmth. She mentions that while fall is beautiful, it is an extremely busy time for them at the orchard. The work that they do on the orchard is rewarding and they see it as an opportunity to be part of the local food system. The orchard is open between 6 – 8 weeks in the fall where the apples are sold fresh right there.