Lemon Tree expands food co-op offerings

Ally Marshall is one of a growing number of Iowans who use food cooperatives to get natural, clean food. The Newton woman and stay-at-home mother is conscious about what she feeds her family and is always on the hunt for more naturally grown and developed foods.

When she discovered she could pick up her natural foods at The Lemon Tree Tea House & Restaurant in Newton, it became a regular stop to pick up her orders from Iowa Food Cooperative.

The Lemon Tree became one of 10 drop-off locations for the co-op about seven months ago. To offer more local foods to meet demands, owner Megan Pryke is expanding to offer foods from nearby Grinnell-based Middle Way Farms.

Pryke is not only a producer for the co-op, boxing and selling items like chicken salad and salad dressings, she also said her base ingredients used at the restaurant are made with nearly 100 percent of Iowa farm products.

She said she enjoys being a part of the program because it helps small businesses like hers, as well as local farmers, to contribute in another way to the local economy.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the community and myself so I am very excited about it,” Pryke said.

Pryke and Marshall are both impressed with the variety of selections from the co-op, noting thousands of products to choose from and pick up every other week at Lemon Tree. Pryke found a selection of international foods, hummus and baba ganoush which she said are made with Iowa products. Marshall’s main drive is to find food which is “raised with integrity.”

“I am looking for farms that allow the animals to live the best life possible until they don’t have a life anymore,” Marshall said.

Marshall introduced Pryke to Jordan Schneibel the owner of Middle Way Farm, a business tasked with growing fresh, high-quality, chemical-free produce, among other products. Now Pryke distributes goods from both Schneibel’s farm and the Iowa Food Co-op.

Scheibel, a Connecticut native, said he was impressed by the size and amount of farms in Iowa when he moved here, then he fell in love with gardening. This led him to start his own farm, where he produces for Iowans in search of quality grown food.

Scheibel is in the process of being established as a USDA certified organic farm, so he doesn’t use any prohibited synthetic products such as certain pesticides. He uses organically reproduced seed and he also adheres to manure restrictions. He said it is a “soils first” approach to farming.

He grows a little bit of everything you can grow successfully in Iowa on his two-acre farm, he said. Middle Way Farm products are also used in Grinnell restaurants and sold at farmers markets.

Pryke said locals enjoy the convenience of shopping online for their food and picking it up in Newton. About 18 local families currently use the drop point.

For more information about the Iowa Food Cooperative or to become a member visit https://iowafood.coop. More information about Middle Way Farms is available at https://www.middlewayfarm.com.

Pick up for the Iowa Food Co-op is every other Thursday and pick up for Middle Way Farm is Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at The Lemon Tree Tea House & Restaurant, 309 First Ave. W.​

Contact Samuel Nusbaum at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or snusbaum@newtondailynews.com