I am writing this as part of the requirements for receiving food from the Local Foods Connection, but also I want to let you and the others in your organization how great I feel your program is.

I am a single mother with four children. It is hard for me to purchase food for my family which I feel that they need to be healthy in their growing years. Since I get paid once per month I pay the bills first and then what is left over goes for the basic necessities, medications, bus money to get them to school, lunch money, gas for the car, etc and then groceries.

I was sponsored by the Big Brother Big Sister organization to receive food this spring, summer and fall, along with a turkey at Thanksgiving. The food I received was grown organically on a farm near Brighton. I would pick the box of food up at a designated drop off location once a week. The food was fresh and there was always a sheet that told what was in the box, hints on preparation, and recipes. I must say my children and I could not wait to see what we would get in the box. We would pick up our yummy items on Tuesdays and as I stood at the kitchen sink going through the box, the kids (sometimes standing beside me) would hear me say "Wow, look at this" in utter amazement. Some of the lettuce varieties and other vegetables I had never heard of.

As a parent, I want my kids to get plenty of vegetables and there were a wide range of them. I can't even begin to name all the various kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, and other vegetables. Every once-in-a-while when the kids had not seen one of these vegetables before, such as some of the tomatoes varieties, they would look at it quizzically wondering if they should try it. I have always been a strong believer that my children should try new foods and if they don't like it I do not force them to eat it. But it is amazing to me that children have perception about what, let's say, a tomato should look like, and if it doesn't fit that "look" they think something is wrong with it. My children would taste these different varieties and as I looked on in anticipation, they would tell me how good it was and then want more.
It was a wonderful experience for the children and me to be able to eat this wonderful organic food. I worry about what preservatives the food that is not organic has in it. I feel that there is a lot more cancer now than when I was growing up. Maybe it's because the disease wasn't always diagnosed or because it wasn't talked about as readily but I want to do what I can to keep my children healthy and teach them about organic foods so that when they are the consumers of this produce they are as concerned about their own children's health as I am about theirs. I feel at the age that my children are the more they know now will benefit them in the future. I also feel that cancer could be from the preservatives that are used now in vegetable growing.

We went to an organic farm this summer. The children loved it. They got to see the animals and got to run around the farm. I grew up on a farm so I know what its like to be out in the country where life is so different than living in the city. I remember how the first spring rain smelled and watching the flowers grow, the moonlit nights were so clear and the stars were so brilliant. Not so in the city where the street lights are on and you hear the bustle of the traffic and the sirens. Farm life is calming although its lots of work and struggling.

I got to go on a tour of the farm and see the vegetables that were being grown. I saw in amazement how a woman, with help from a lot of volunteers, has kept the farm going with the help of her children. How she spends so many hours working to keep the bugs from taking over and experimenting with new varieties of vegetables and how you have to improvise when there is too much rain, not enough rain, etc. She was an amazing woman. We were invited to a party and shared a potluck meal with them. I felt so calm while I was there. With raising four kids alone there is very seldom a dull moment so it was a wonderful experience being back on a farm again. I miss farm life although I never got to actually help while living there. I was in grade school when we moved into a town of 5,000. Even though it was a small town it was still very hard to get used to not living on the farm. I feel that organic farmers should be especially recognized for their efforts to keep us healthy.

Koinonia, a local, cooperative food-buying club would like to invite you to become a member. In existence for over 25 years, Koinonia is one of Johnson County's oldest, cooperative food-buying clubs. A food-buying club is a group of people who band together to purchase food in quantity at wholesale prices, and who share the work and expenses involved. The group adopted as its name the Greek word "koinonia", which means gathered in fellowship or community. The club enables its members to provide healthy food for their families at affordable prices.

Twelve member households belong to Koinonia and our goal is to double in size so we can order monthly. Currently members order food every other month (in 2005: April, June, August, October,

December). Members participate in Koinonia by ordering food and sharing the work of ordering the food. Food is distributed every other month (second Saturday) at a pick-up site: First Presbyterian Church, 2701 Rochester, Iowa City. The pick-up time is 12 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. There are two working groups (A and B) and each group works once every four months, dividing that month's order into member households for pick-up. Group members take turns leading the group during each ordering cycle. There is no membership fee to join.

Come try us out. For more information contact Dorie Fink at 341-3514 e-mail sdfink@juno.com.

Note: Many thanks to Koinonia for their generous support of Local Foods Connection in 2004.

ALPHA KAPPA PSI Lends a Hand
--by Molly Carpenter of Alpha Kappa PSI

Students in Alpha Kappa PSI, a professional business fraternity at the University of Iowa, spend their weekdays dressed up in suits, ties, and high-heel shoes giving presentations or listening to speakers on various business topics in the Pappajohn Business Building. But every semester they get out of the classroom and spend a Saturday wearing worn out jeans and faded t-shirts helping Local Foods Connections on one of its farms.

Last October, AKPsi members traveled to Solon for a day of community service, teamwork, brotherhood, and fun. While AKPsi used this day for its major community service project of the semester, the day wasn't all work and no play. AKPsi also used the day as a retreat to build teamwork and brotherhood-a major aspect of the AKPsi organization.

While some of the college students rounded up sheep and gave them a worming medicine, others spent their time planting garlic, harvesting vegetables, and taking down tomato cages. Jennifer, a senior majoring in accounting who helped wrangle the sheep, said, "Before I went to the farm, I had never seen a sheep, so it was a fun and educational experience."

A portion of the day was also spent looking at the business side of the family farm. Working in groups, AKPsi members used their knowledge of business and farm operations to try and come up with the most feasible plan for some unutilized land on the farm. Each group presented their idea to Susan, the owner of the farm who then gave each group feedback on their idea.

Besides farm work, AKPsi also helps Local Foods Connections in numerous other ways. AKPsi helped Local Foods Connection in considering new names (former name was Adopt-A-Family) and in creating a working budget. Some AKPsi members also help Local Foods Connection with office work. After first working with Local Foods Connection at the farm back in October, AKPsi member Molly Carpenter has continued to volunteer her time doing various tasks for Local Foods Connection including organizing materials, making an address database, and writing articles.

Local Foods Connection is not the only community service activity performed by AKPsi every year. In the past year, AKPsi has also worked with Johnson County Health and Human Services and is currently planning a sand volleyball tournament this spring to benefit a local charity. Yet, working on the farm is one of AKPsi favorite community service activities and its members returned for another day of farming in April.

Local Foods has been collecting donations of kitchen equipment this past year, in order to stock our new store. Client families can purchases items from our store using points they earn completing educational and charitable activities. Visiting a farm, reading a book from our recommended book list, attending a cooking class, sharing vegetables with a neighbor, and volunteering for Local Foods Connection are a few of the many activities from which families can choose to earn point.
Some of the items in inventory are pots and pans, mixing bowls, knives, a vegetable peeler, spatulas, a and teapot. The store includes items donated by Hy-Vee, The Kitchen Experts and Le Creuset.
By watching an educational movie and writing a reaction statement, a family can earn 7 points (about 7 dollars). Here is one family's reaction to "Supersize Me" by director Morgan Spurlock:

"After watching "SuperSize Me," I don't think I will ever eat fast food again. I wasn't terribly fond of it to begin with, being a single mother of two children, I am guilty of buying us fast food more than I should for convenience sake alone.

I sat down with my kids, who had peeked at parts of the film while I was watching it, and had a talk today about what foods are good for us and why. I was surprised at their initial statements. My daughter (age 3) said vegetables are good for us because they are full of vitamins. And my son (age 5) said that drinks are good for us too. (He's a big water drinker which I try to encourage). Then my daughter said caffeine is bad for us but 7-up is good for us. Anyway, we talked about how McDonald's doesn't serve any vegetables and so they aren't in the business of selling food that is good for us and full of vitamins. I was very proud of the insightfulness of my kids. I tried to focus on the importance of good nutrition and not so much an "I hate McDonald's" campaign.

I think the film did the same thing by keeping a close eye on Director Morgan Spurlock's health. I was shocked by some of the unexplained problems he had. I, too, have had unexplained chest pain and heart palpitations. And, when I was pregnant with my daughter, I craved fast food all the time. During my pregnancy I had several unexplained gastrointestinal illnesses and abdominal pains…

This movie has forever changed by diet and my plans for providing food to my children. I couldn't believe the impact these food, which we have consumed, had on Morgan's body. It made me realize the importance of being aware of where the food you eat comes from and how it is prepared.

Finally, I was impressed by Morgan's examination of nutrition in schools and childhood obesity. I was disturbed that the majority of school lunches are made from prepackaged, processed foods. Additionally, as shocked as I was the Morgan continued eating McDonald's after all of the ensuing health problems, I was glad to hear that he was able to return to his normal weight after all his detox efforts."

The New Pioneer Co-op is a natural foods grocery store whose mission is very similar to ours. Their mission is to serve the needs of its members and to stimulate the local agricultural production of natural and organic foods. They are an environmentally and socially responsible member of the community, and emphasize high quality, fair prices and product information. For over thirty years, the store has been the physical and intellectual center of food and farming issues in the Iowa City/Coralville area.

Therefore we are so proud that the New Pioneer Co-op has chosen to publicly support Local Foods Connection this year! The Co-op is owned by its 13,000+ members, many of whom receive yearly

dividend checks back from the store. The dividend checks represent a member's ownership in the cooperative, and amount to a small percentage of the member's purchases from the previous year.
This spring, the New Pioneer Co-op asked its members to sign over their dividend checks to our charity.

Over 400 people have donated their checks so far!! The checks average $10 each, so we have an unexpected, but very welcome, $4,000 addition to our budget. We are humbled by the generosity and goodwill of the stores' members. Thank you to everyone involved in making this program a success.