Tallgrass Grocery Co-op

If your favorite part about  the weekly Downtown Farmer’s Market is picking out fresh and locally grown produce, then your new favorite spot may be the recently opened Tallgrass Grocery Co-Op.  Located at 116 5th St in Valley Junction, the store sells an ever changing mix of locally grown produce, eggs, meat, dairy, and bread, in addition to healthy snacks from larger vendors.

A co-op works like this: you can join as a member, and pay one small lifetime fee, which then gives you a 5% discount every time you shop, bulk order discounts, equal ownership rights, and the ability to vote on matters of the store.  With a mission to be a retail cooperative “that strives to provide access to healthy, locally-grown organic food and products at prices that respect the livelihoods of local producers and the budgets of consumers,” Tallgrass is bringing to Des Moines something most commonly found at the various Farmer’s Markets around Des Moines.  To help achieve this goal, Tallgrass aims to sell goods only grown by producers who don’t use GMO’s, high fructose corn syrup, refined sugar, pesticides, artificial flavors, low ethical standards, animal testing, antibiotics, nitrates, and more.

The day I stopped in, I was greeted with loads of wooden baskets filled to the brim with bright colored fresh produce-which that day happened to be tomatoes, potatoes, red, yellow, and green peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, avocados, and more.  Attached to each basket is a small sign naming the exact type of produce, the price, and where it was grown.  Stationed next to it was a table with ‘living basil’ for sale, and it was without a doubt the biggest looking basil plant I’d ever seen.

Shopping at Tallgrass helps support our local producers as well as the community.  Stop in today to see what fresh food you can find and feel good about what you’re eating as well as where you’re shopping.  Visit http://tallgrassgrocery.com for more information or find their Facebook page here.