This month’s Cedar Falls Food Co-op Member Spotlight is Rowena Tan.
image by Dan Phillips Photography – Cedar Falls, Iowa
Rowena Tan and her husband Mike Gasser have lived in Cedar Falls since 1994. They moved to this area from Minneapolis after completing graduate school to teach psychology at the University of Northern Iowa. They have a 19 year old son, Nicholas, who is a geography major at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Rowena says that she and Mike always talk about what they love about this community, how easy it is to get involved and that people are willing to take time to get to know each other. She adds, “we truly have a sense of community in this community!” Rowena and Mike love the nature trails as well as being in a college town as it has much to offer. They are big fans of the businesses in downtown Cedar Falls and on the Hill and are thrilled that so many of them are on the Cedar Falls Food Co-op business partner list. They have a cookie subscription with Milkbox Bakery and enjoy the area restraurants. Also, Mike goes to Balance Hot yoga regularly and Rowena loves getting her gear at the Runner’s Flat and Bike Tech.
With the Cedar Falls Food Co-op, Rowena is most looking forward to fresh food. Her and Mike often visit the Co-ops in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City for the fresh food and items they’re not able to get in the standard groceries. She adds that she loves that people can get involved with what the co-ops have to offer. “Having a co-op makes everyone feel more invested–not just with food, but socially.”
Rowena raises chickens, enjoys gardening and has gotten back into knitting since her son left for college. She occasionally volunteers with Black Hawk Wildlife Rehabilitation and has “oodles” of pet turtles. Rowena also likes to work out. She used to be a runner but after a hip replacement, she now mostly volunteers with Trekman Racing for some of the local races in the area.
Rowena loves Thai, Vietnamese as well as Indian food and always has to go out for tacos at least once a week. She says, “I like food in general.” Regarding her favorite season, Rowena says that she can’t decide “but winter is currently in last place.”