Last chance to sign up for Food Bank February!

Help to lift up and encourage support for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank during Food Bank February! The Northeast Iowa Food Bank helps feed the growing number of northeast Iowans facing food insecurity across 16 counties. Volunteers are an important part of expanding the impact that can be made. 

RCCM member-owners will work together on Saturday, February 21 from noon – 2 p.m to help feed families right here in Black Hawk County. If you’d like to be part of the team, please email membership@rootedcarrot.coop by February 15 to give staff at the NEIFB time to plan for the size of our group. Space is limited. 

If this day doesn’t work in your schedule and you’d like to volunteer another time, go to the NEIFB Volunteer page and sign up today! 

If you are interested in donating food or money, or in corporate or planned giving, visit the NEIFB donations page for information. 

Hello! I’m Marian Kuper, the newest board member on the RCCM board.

It was a no-brainer for me to decide to apply for a board position. The combination of a board  vacancy and the board treasurer stepping down, plus my own background with several food co-ops and co-operatively-run food buying clubs, and finally my work history in accounting — all these made for an easy decision.

But the main thing is this, and here’s where I align completely with all of you: I really, really want there to be a storefront food co-op in our community, again. (We had one in downtown Cedar Falls 40-50 years ago!)

Iowa City/Cedar Rapids has New Pioneer Food Co-op, now with 3 locations. Ames has Wheatsfield Co-op Grocery. Decorah has Oneota Community Food Co-operative. Even Des Moines has a relatively new storefront food co-op – the Iowa Food Co-op – and while it’s not open every day, it just keeps getting better.

Iowa was the birthplace of two major co-operative food distributors – Frontier Co-op and Blooming Prairie Co-operative – which did business across the country. Frontier is still going strong. Like all of the co-ops I’ve mentioned so far, these got their start in the 1960s or 1970s. They, and thousands of other co-ops like them, all over this nation, were part of the food co-op “New Wave.” Continue reading→

Join Iowa Worm Farm for a hands-on vermicomposting workshop! Learn how to turn food scraps into garden gold with the help of red wigglers. Each participant will build and take home a complete 5-gallon worm bin, perfect for indoor or garage use. We’ll cover bin design, feeding routines, troubleshooting, and seasonal tips. No experience necessary — just curiosity and a willingness to get your hands dirty!

Saturday, March 28 from 10:00 a.m. – noon at College Hill Lutheran Church, 2322 Olive Street, Cedar Falls

Registration will be required – details coming soon!

From: Co+op

Total Time: 35 minutes; 15 minutes active

Servings: 6

Portobello mushrooms become very “meaty” when roasted, taking on a steak-like quality in vegetarian dishes like this one. Each mushroom serves as a cupped base for a cheesy filling, with roasted tomatoes to spoon over each one.

Ingredients

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 medium portobello mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed
• 2 cups prepared spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh basil or parsley, minced

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Pile the tomatoes on a sheet pan, add half the garlic, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then toss to mix well. Spread the tomatoes evenly on the pan.
2. Nestle the mushroom caps, gill side up, in the pan between the tomatoes. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the mushrooms. Sprinkle the remaining garlic on the mushrooms, then fill each cap with spaghetti sauce, then top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
3. Bake for 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling around the edges and the cheeses are melty and browned on top. Serve sprinkled with basil or parsley.

Serving Suggestion

Serve with buttered noodles or garlic bread.

Nutritional Information

360 calories, 24 g. fat, 45 mg. cholesterol, 730 mg. sodium, 19 g. carbohydrate, 4 g. fiber, 19 g. protein

More Recipes from Co-op: https://www.grocery.coop/food-recipes/

Building community, connections, and understanding is vital to the co-op moving forward. That is the goal for our new Rooted Carrot Co-op event called Brews and FAQs!

Member-owners are invited to come to a coffee shop or a bar for some brews (or any beverage of your choice, of course). Board members will be present to connect with fellow member-owners and answer any questions (FAQs) that may come up. 

There are two opportunities to come to Brews and FAQs in January. Please come on out, and watch for more dates this spring! 

• Brews & FAQs: Tuesday, January 13 | 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at Urban Pie
• Brews & FAQs – Morning Coffee: Saturday, January 17 |  9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. at Side Car Coffee on 1st Street

It is time again to lift up and encourage support for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank during Food Bank February! The Northeast Iowa Food Bank helps feed the growing number of northeast Iowans facing food insecurity across 16 counties. Volunteers are an important part of expanding the impact that can be made. 

RCCM member-owners will work together on Saturday, February 21 from noon – 2 p.m to help feed families right here in Black Hawk County. If you’d like to be part of the team, please email membership@rootedcarrot.coop by February 15th to give staff at the NEIFB time to plan for the size of our group. Space is limited. 

If this day doesn’t work in your schedule and you’d like to volunteer another time, go to the NEIFB Volunteer page and sign up today! 

If you are interested in donating food or money, or in corporate or planned giving, visit the NEIFB donations page for information. 

The RCCM board is excited to embark on a new year filled with possibilities. We are delighted to welcome Lisa Nelson as our new board President, bringing invaluable knowledge of the local food ecosystem and a deep commitment to community development. New board members Kathryn Gilbery, Rich Ross, and Marian Kuper are quickly integrating and offering refreshing ideas and enthusiasm.

Mark your calendars for February 4th! Kathryn Gilbery, one of our newest board members, will be a featured speaker at the annual Farm to Fork Dinner, hosted by the UNI-CEEE Local Food Program. This event is a great opportunity to connect with neighbors, farmers, and advocates to share a meal, stories, and a shared vision for a strong regional food system. We encourage you to attend. Event information and registration can be found here.

The search for a market storefront location is ongoing. We appreciate the leads provided by our member-owners, and our site team is diligently following up and discussing potential sites with local developers.

As a new board member, I am incredibly impressed by the dedication and resilience of our co-op members. Even without a physical storefront, the co-op significantly supported the health of the Cedar Valley’s local food system throughout 2025. Here’s a quick overview:Continue reading→

Exciting News!! RCCM volunteers are working to organize a spring membership event centered on VERMICULTURE! Or, more simply, worm composting. 

Why? How does this event fit with RCCM values? Sustainability is a core value of the co-op, working together to cultivate a healthy community through sustainable practices. Using worms to compost food scraps helps reduce the amount of food in local landfills, and the worms produce castings that can be used as fertilizer, reducing chemical fertilizer use AND helping you grow bigger, better produce at home. 

Education is also a core value of the co-op. As soon as the volunteer team sets a date with a knowledgeable presenter, we will share the details! STAY TUNED!! 

From: Bethlehem Coop Market – https://bethlehemcoopmarket.com/recipe/carrot-ginger-soup/

Recipe By: Justin Beaver, BFC Board Member and Sourcing Chair

–With a new year comes two things: resolutions and cold weather. And what better way to keep the chill away than a piping-hot bowl of soup?

Prep Time: 15 – 30 Minutes

Serves: 8

Difficulty: Easy

 Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1⁄2 pounds carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 fennel bulb, sliced
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 inch ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp turmeric
• 2 cups carrot juice, if unavailable, substitute vegetable stock
• 4 cups vegetable broth, plus more as needed
• 1 orange, zested
• 1 bunch of thyme wrapped in cheesecloth
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Steps

1. Over medium heat, sweat the onions and fennel in the olive oil until translucent.
2. Add the carrots, ginger and turmeric. Sweat until fragrant.
3. Add the juice, stock, orange zest, and thyme when fragrant.
4. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Add more stock, as needed, to keep the vegetables submerged.
5. batches, purée until smooth

Dietary Needs: Gluten-free, Nut-free, Vegetarian

Give the gift of a Rooted Carrot Membership! 

If you have someone on your list who is interested in healthy food, building community, and/or supporting local farmers & producers, the perfect gift is only a few clicks away! Surprise them with the gift of a Rooted Carrot Co-op Membership. 

It will positively impact the community AND allow them to access discounts at RCCM Community Partners throughout the Cedar Valley. 

Click here to get started today!