The Rooted Carrot Co-op Membership Committee is seeking member-owner input!

You will receive an email with details about WeArose and a potential partnership with WeArose to deliver CSA shares for Rooted Carrot Member/Owners. Please take the time to read the information and complete the very brief survey. This will let the committee gauge the level of interest in this opportunity so they can respond accordingly. 

THANK YOU SO MUCH for participating.

The Rooted Carrot Co-op continues to grow! We now have 1210 member-owners. Will you be the 1211th? Join today at: https://rootedcarrot.coop/join-today/

The communication committee participated in a tabling event to share information about RCCM at the Cedar Falls BPW event. They will be attending a health fair event at Aldrich Elementary. Thank you to our volunteers for helping with these events. 

Board members attend a monthly Peer Review call with other Co-ops in the same stage of development as we are. We will have several members attending Professional Development seminars in March and April. 

If you have expertise in finance or grants, we are looking for additional members to join our finance and grant committees. Please contact us at info@rootedcarrot.coop. This is another way for you to be an active member of our co-op process. 

Mindy Doyle, Board Member

By: Co+op

Honey and mustard combine to make a tangy, sticky glaze for these chicken thighs. You’ll brown the thighs in batches on the stovetop before covering them with a warm sauce to bake to tender perfection.

Roast new potatoes at the same time for a crowd-pleasing meal.

Ingredients

• 12 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large shallot, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Have a large roasting pan or 9-by-13-inch baking pan ready. Place the chicken in a large bowl, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and toss it to mix.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the honey, mustards, and Worcestershire sauce, stir to mix, and reserve.
3. Place a large saute pan over medium-high heat and heat for a minute, then drizzle with oil. Arrange the chicken pieces in the pan and brown for 2 to 3 minutes per side — you’ll have to do this in batches. Use tongs to transfer the chicken to the baking pan.
4. Add the shallots to the pan juices and stir. Reduce to low heat. Stir until the shallots are softened and the browned bits have loosened. Pour in the honey mixture and stir just until hot.
5. Pour the honey mixture over the chicken and turn to coat. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the pieces and bake for 15 minutes longer until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the meat reads 165 F.
6. Transfer the chicken to a platter and keep warm. Scrape the contents of the baking pan into a small pot, place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to boil without boiling over, and cook, stirring frequently, until the juices have thickened to a pourable sauce, about 4 minutes.
7. Pour the juices over the chicken, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with roasted new potatoes and a green salad or slaw.

Nutritional Information

340 calories, 22 g. fat, 105 mg. cholesterol, 390 mg. sodium, 16 g. carbohydrate, 0 g. fiber, 22 g. protein

Rooted Carrot had 12 people volunteer at the Northeast Iowa Food Bank on April 22.

We put bulk Cheerios into 1lb bags and packed almost four pallets for a total of 1200 lbs! While part of the crew scoped and bagged, others put boxes together, and others put labels on the bags. We worked alongside two other volunteer groups from Ferguson Distribution Center and St Edwards Church. What a great day fulfilling our Co-op Principle #7 – Concern for Community!

If you are interested in helping out at the Food Bank, please contact them at 319.235.0507.

We want to stay in touch with you!

CFU has announced that they will be ending their email service in 2025. If you currently use @CFU for email, please update your email address by clicking the “update subscription preferences” link at the bottom of this email OR email us at info@rootedcarrot.coop with your new email address to ensure delivery of the Garlic Press and other important email communications.

Updated information available at: cfu.net/email

Account Holders with Last Names

A-G: Email service ending July 1, 2025

H-N: Email service ending September 1, 2025

O-Z: Email service ending November 1, 2025.

Thank you for helping us keep you informed about the co-op!

The Membership & Communication Team works to keep the Rooted Carrot Co-op present and engaged at events throughout the community.

Volunteers shared information and enthusiasm at the UNI Student Wellness Fair last month, and will be at the Cedar Falls Business and Professional Women’s Salute to Women this week, and at the Aldrich Elementary School Wellness Fair in April.

If you know of any other events related to health, wellness, or food, who may be seeking vendors, please let us know! info@rootedcarrot.coop

The Board and Site Committee members have been meeting with Sarah, a Business Consultant with Columinate on updating our Proforma. The proforma will assess financial feasibility and is a financial model that includes the co-op’s estimated operating budgets for the first 10 years, along with balance sheet, cash flow and debt service schedule. Committee members have tweaked the proforma over the last several years but the Board agreed it was time to bring in a consultant again. 

If you have an expertise in finance or grants, we are looking for additional members to join our finance and grant committees. Please reach out to us at info@rootedcarrot.coop.

Jodie Huegerich, 

President, Board of Directors

Last month, the city of Cedar Falls requested input from citizens through a ‘Charting Tomorrow’ community survey. Thank you to all of you who voiced your opinions, especially those who included the Rooted Carrot Co-op Market as an important part of your future vision for Cedar Falls!

Join together in supporting the Northeast Iowa Food Bank throughout the month of February.

The Rooted Carrot Co-op is scheduled to volunteer at the food bank on Saturday, February 22 from 9:00-11:00. Bring a friend or two or three… We can accomplish a great deal when we all cooperate to help alleviate hunger in our communities. 

In order to be prepared for the size of our team, please RSVP by 2/15 at membership@rootedcarrot.coop. 

If you are unavailable on the 22nd, we encourage you to find another time to volunteer. Click here for more information. 

This fall, member-owners, Board members, Community Relations Committee members, and Site Committee members got together to create a campaign to educate and inform the mayor and members of the Cedar Falls City Council on the benefits of our Co-op. The Don’t Wait, Cooperate Campaign enumerates the health, economic, and community-building benefits. Our goal is to gather city government support for our Rooted Carrot Co-op Market.

We had one-on-one meetings with the Mayor and each of the City Council members. We had a chance to tell our story and found the conversations to be very positive. We provided them with specific information through our new flyer that enumerates our over 1200 members, the economic value of buying locally, and the healthful benefits of organic local foods. We reminded them that several outside consultants have recommended that the city should have a grocery store near the downtown area, “like a co-op market”.

In December, the Cedar Falls City Council and city staff had their regular yearly goal setting sessions to plan on projects for 2025. Discussions at those meetings included helping Rooted Carrot Co-op Market find a location, and supporting our efforts to that end. Afterwards, Mayor Danny Laudick informed us; “At goal setting, most everyone was supportive of working with you guys to find a location.” This is an important step forward that lays foundations for cooperation with the city to find a location for the Co-op.

David Schachterle
Rooted Carrot Board member
Community Relations Committee