I know several farmers market vendors who donate vegetables left over after markets to food pantries. Now, these charitable farmers can be rewarded for their good deeds through a new program. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey, announced the following this week: FARMERS DONATING FOOD ELIGIBLE FOR TAX CREDIT
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Tag: Iowa
Cool coop; City Council to look at chick...
NORTH LIBERTY – The North Liberty City Council will consider readopting the town’s urban chicken ordinance at its meeting this Tuesday, Nov. 11. Just over a year ago, the council approved the ordinance, which allows residents to keep up to four hens in city limits. Roosters are not allowed. At the same time, a clause […]
Digital divide? New options battle tradi...
Just this week, Overstock introduced a nationwide, online means of ordering fresh farmers market produce that can be delivered to your door. While the Salt Lake City-based business touts its national scope, it hasn’t yet made its way to Iowa. Still, just last night, ProduceRun officially launched in Cedar Rapids and the web-based Iowa Valley […]
Digging deeper into Greene Square in dow...
CEDAR RAPIDS – Park-goers will experience new lighting, a water feature and improved outdoor seating in downtown Cedar Rapids, after the City Council approved the Greene Square revitalization design plan at its meeting today. Work will likely begin next spring on the $1.95 million project, to be paid for through a private and public partnership […]
Online vs. old-fashioned: farmers market...
By Cindy Hadish High-tech means of selling fresh produce and other farm products aren’t necessarily at odds with the “old school” method of face-to-face sales at farmers markets, according to local foods advocates. That perception will undergo a test as the winter farmers market season gets underway, at the same time two online sales platforms […]
Spooky Halloween forecast: hard freeze p...
No more procrastinating. If you’ve been lucky enough to escape the frost so far, you might have delayed those last-minute harvests of tomatoes, peppers and other veggies, but the clock is ticking. According to the National Weather Service, frost is likely in the Cedar Rapids area Thursday night and a hard freeze – with temperatures […]
Pumpkin shopping and another neighborhoo...
I don’t recall ever buying pumpkins from a grocery store, as I’d rather see that money go directly to the farmers who haul those heavy loads to a farmers market, or right on the farm, as I found at a stop this weekend near Chelsea. Still, I can see that many people rely on their […]
Last call: Season ends soon for Iowa’s o
The final outdoor farmers markets of the season are fast-approaching. Many markets ended their seasons last month, but nearly 20 in Eastern Iowa will continue for another week or so. You can still find potatoes, cabbage, fall root crops such as beets, tomatoes, winter squash and more, along with locally raised meat, eggs, honey and […]
Keep off the grass at Brucemore, for goo...
I must admit, I was taken aback when I first saw the “keep off the grass” sign at Brucemore, and to be fair, it was actually the more polite “please stay off the grass.” Closer inspection revealed it wasn’t a landscaping company dumping chemicals on the lawn, but a much more palatable reason: a historic […]
New anchor merchants added at NewBo City...
CEDAR RAPIDS – Two farmers market vendors are moving into year-round spots at NewBo City Market. The market has seen a few changes since opening in October 2012 and not all have been popular. But Kristie Wetjen, the market’s executive director, noted that moving temporary vendors into anchor slots validates the “incubator” system on which […]