There is absolutely nothing like living in rural Iowa. I mean nothing,,,
We have had the privilege to live in two other states outside of Iowa. I think for that very reason we find more appreciation for small town living.
This is also coming from someone who would hit up the local Starbucks once and sometimes twice a day or stop at the shopping outlets and spend money we didn’t necessarily have on things I really didn’t need.
When we moved back home it was a bit of an adjustment for me. I never realized that almost every small town has a Casey’s gas station and a Dollar Store. Two locations that I never really went to living in Illinois or Colorado. We just didn’t have access to them.
Living in the Chicagoland area our properties were extremely close to each other. So close you could put your hand out the window and nearly touch your neighbor’s home. In Colorado we had more space but we were restricted by an HOA and had occasional run-ins with bear and mountain lions.
Both states completely different backdrop but I found myself doing the same things.
Moving back home to Iowa and buying a farm in a rural part of the state I soon realized what was important to me and it was not the Starbucks that is 30+ minutes away or the big box shopping centers.
This living forced me to dive a little deeper into what I really needed in life. It also showed me that I was spending way too much money on things that never made an impact to big companies that could care less if I bought from them because the next person would.
It forced me to look at other options. For example my coffee addiction and yes I still love my lattes but did I love them enough to make a single trip 30+ minutes to support a globally known billion dollar company who calls me by my government name and mispronounces it every time or could the local coffee shops who are run by women, who live in the city they run their business in and support their community make a latte just as good or better?
So yes when I splurge these days I no longer hit up the Starbucks. I hit up Beans and Blooms out of Reinbeck, Iowa to make me an iced Caramel Macchiato or hit up Natural Grind in Grundy Center, Iowa for a hot Chai Tea Latte. I do this now even if I am heading to an area that has a Starbucks. It was a mental shift for me.
I find the same things happen with small farms. It is extremely easy to make a trip to the store 30+ miles away to purchase meat that was likely not raised in Iowa or vegetables that traveled over 1500 miles to land on the grocery store shelves blasted with chemicals to make them look pretty and last longer.
Living in rural Iowa and buying a property, trying to build it into a sustainable farm has taught us that it is not easy work at all, but it is the most rewarding thing we have ever experienced.
Especially when we have people randomly stop by or reach out to say they heard about what we are doing and give us words of encouragement or support our farm by buying vegetables from us during our growing season at one of the local markets we attend or even drive 10-15+ minutes passing more convenient options to support a small farm. I absolutely get it now!
We have so many options available to us in our small community.
We have Holly at 5R Farms who also sells great produce and does amazing things with flowers. The Wical’s who have great produce at the market along with her famous pickles and baked goods! Grandma D’s baked goods, I love her monster protein snack! Can we talk about Marley and his tomatoes! Yuko who makes her amazing salts that I am still putting to great use! Did you also know that Yuko does a Live yoga on YouTube each week!👇
These are all great options around the Reinbeck area! Gladbrook also has some amazing vegetable farmers we have met! They will post on Facebook when they are having market and offer some great variety! We are hoping to get more involved with this market this year!
Last but not least there is an amazing baker in Toledo by the name of Frosted Bliss who makes these cake cups people… If you haven’t had the pleasure of a cake cup you are missing out! She is at the Toledo market and has a Facebook page!
I could go on and on about local options. I am only scratching the surface. Rural Iowa has taught me to appreciate my surroundings. Thank you Iowa for the wake up call, it came right on time!
Moral of the story… Convenient isn’t always better. Take the blinders off and dive head first into your local community. You will be amazed at what you find and who you can impact♥️
-✌🏼Jamie
Moral Of The Story 