Eat Greater Des Moines

Big shoutout to EGDM's own, Paul McCormick, for representing EGDM at the Iowa State Fair alongside our partners at Iowa Farmers Union! He brought out the legendary blender bike and pedalled some delicious berry smoothies with Tommy Hexter of IFU. Way to go guys!! 👏😂

Eat Greater Des Moines Showcases Local Food Energy at the Iowa State Fair — Iowa Food System Coalition Eat Greater Des Moines, a partner in the Iowa Food System Coalition, joined in the fun at the Iowa Farmer's Union Day at the State Fair. With their innovative blender bike, EGDSM demonstrated the vibrant energy and commitment that IFSC members bring to building a stronger local and regional food sys

Did you know…
Three ounces of cooked goat has 2.6g of fat, while chicken has more than 6, and beef and lamb has more than 8!

Goat meat is a healthier alternative to other meats, with less saturated fat, more iron, & about the same amount of protein – a win-win for our bodies and the environment.

Goat also has a mild flavor, sweeter and leaner than lamb, perfect for all kinds of recipes, from curries to chops, sausage to stews.
Check Whippoorwill Creek Farm out at www.iowa-farm.com to try it out for yourself!

Goat meat is one of the most eco-friendly proteins out there. They eat invasive weeds, have very little impact on the land and compared to beef or pork…well there is no comparison! They need very little water and you don’t need to feed them grain.

We have regenerative farms in Iowa raising high quality goat, like Whippoorwill Creek Farm. You can experience the farm, learn to cook goat (and veggies from their garden too), and take home some meat with you too.
Check them out at www.iowa-farm.com

To continue our series with Whippoorwill Creek Farm we wanted to highlight goat meat. Goat is actually the most popular meat eaten in the world! It is also locally raised right here in Iowa! The dynamic duo of fifth-generation farmer John Hogeland and wife Beth Hoffman, author of Bet the Farm: The Dollars and Sense of Growing Food in America, raise goats near Lovilia, Iowa. Give goat a shot, Beth & John think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
Check them out at www.iowa-farm.com

To kick off our series.. we want to introduce our EGDM followers to Whippoorwill Creek Farm based in Lovilia, Iowa. It’ll only take you an hour from Des Moines to experience all this farm has to offer. From goats to cattle, cooking classes to overnight stays, Whippoorwill Creek Farm has you covered! Check them out at the LSI Global Greens Farmers Market tomorrow taking orders for their goat meat. They also sell beef and veggies!

Check them out at www.iowa-farm.com

Through our ongoing partnerships with local farms as well as food rescue champions The Supply Hive, we're excited to be rolling out pedal-powered deliveries in Des Moines! We weren't sure we'd be able to get a vehicle to Central Library's community fridge during the Arts Fest a few weeks ago, but our bike trailer made easy work of the traffic and road closures!

Eat Greater Des Moines has committed itself to supporting & growing our Iowa food system through the work of Value Chain Coordinators (VCC). Ever wonder what exactly a VCC does? Well here’s what EGDM’s SE Iowa VCC, Jonathan Lawrence has done in under a year on the job!

Value Chain Coordinators in action: The community fridge model is catching on like wildfire throughout Iowa!

We’re proud to welcome Golden Magnolia Sanctuary to the growing community of organizations operating fridges, thanks in no small part to EGDM’s Senior VCC Jonathan Lawrence, volunteer builders Mark Soth, Lloyd Westenberg, and Steven Blum, and the expertise of community fridge veterans Sweet Tooth Farm; supplies courtesy of Keo Lumber of Fairfield and the Greater Fairfield Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore; and fundraising support from Bob Ferguson and countless members of the Fairfield community!

Want a community fridge in your town or neighborhood, but not sure where to start? Email us at [email protected] and one of our VCCs will gladly help.

Just because it doesn't actually go anywhere when you pedal it doesn't mean a blender bike doesn't need a little TLC from time to time. Paul was hard at work last weekend making final tweaks to the derailleurs before it comes out of hibernation at Seed and Source with Cultivate: Local Food Connections tomorrow!

cultivatefoodconnections.org/seedandsource

Huge thanks to mechanics Jeff and Danny at for lending a hand (and a wrench) to get the job done right

We're thrilled to be bringing our blender bike to Seed & Source at the DSM Botanical Garden TOMORROW! Come hang out with us and our hosts, Cultivate: Local Food Connections, grab a smoothie, and learn more about our statewide value chain coordination efforts toward a more sustainable and equitable Iowa food system, while meeting dozens of other advocates and local producers.

https://fb.me/e/1hAgqf87R

(photo: throwback to the last time we brought the bike out, to the Bondurant Farmer's Market's 2023 Fall Festival)

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Free flowers from Eat Greater Des Moines! Come take some home to enjoy!!

🌱 Exciting Announcement 🌱 We're thrilled to share the news of our strategic partnership with The Supply Hive! 🤝 Our Food Rescue Program is taking a bold step towards an even more impactful future. Together, we're committed to community well-being, sustainability, and fighting food insecurity. Stay tuned for the incredible journey ahead! 🌽🌎

Exciting and important news!! 📣📣📣

We try to place our community fridges in locations that allow for 24/7 access. Removing time constraints around access to food removes yet another barrier for those in need of it.

Thanks to our community partners that make this all happen! Happy , all!

We picked a peck of peppers. 3400 pounds worth! Thanks to Sunny Valley Vegetable Farm for choosing to donate their extra produce to Eat Greater Des Moines! These peppers will be distributed to our network of community fridges and partner food pantries in the coming days. 💚🫑

This is what looks like. Thanks to our location partners for holding space to create more access to food across central Iowa.

These gorgeous photos are from our friends at Granger Iowa Public Library.

“Starbucks on Delaware is a great partner! Never too busy to help out!”

Happy , friends! Thanks to our generous community partners who choose over every day.

“Glean” : to gather (leftover grain or other produce) after a harvest.

We gleaned 100 pounds of pears at the Dallas County Human Services campus last week! These pears were donated to our network of community fridges and partner pantries throughout the DSM metro. 🍐💚

Have you ordered your Eat Greater Des Moines tshirt yet?
Available now via RAYGUNshirts.

Eat Greater Des Moines Eat Greater Des Moines is working toward a food system that meets your immediate needs and builds a healthier system for our future. Click here for more info.

This week, we’ve distributed 1000 pounds of Girl Scout Cookies to our network of Community Fridges and partner pantries. 😍 Thanks to our volunteers for helping us do this work! If you would like to volunteer with us, download our app via the Apple Store or Google Play store. 💚

An important update from Aubrey and the Eat Greater Des Moines board. Please read the "Last Letter from Aubrey" at the link below.

Aubrey, we cannot thank you enough for your inspiration, dedication and hard work on behalf of EGDM. You are a force, a changemaker and we will endeavor our best to continue the important work of building a food system that works for EVERYONE throughout central Iowa. Thank you for showing us what it means to be the change we wish to see in the world.

Last Letter from Aubrey When I accepted the role of Local Food Coordinator in April 2013, I could have never imagined where I would end up over 10 years later. My first day was at DMARC’s location off Douglas Avenue which is where I met my co-founder, Linda Gobberdiel. Since there were 2 of us and I was full-time, I beca...

FOOD RESCUE HEROES, UNITE!
We've got a super fun, family-friendly gleaning opportunity this week and we're seeking a few volunteers to help us get the work done.

We'll be picking pears at Dallas County Human Services Campus in Adel on August 31st at 1pm. Sign up to volunteer here:
https://forms.gle/xSMuheREpYbLCXXb8