Iowa?

[devolute]

So I'm thinking of movie to Iowa to do an AmeriCorps program. I will end up in either Cedar Rapids or Cedar Falls. I've looked on Happy Cow, and I know the vegan-friendly restaurant options will be limited. I'm wondering if anybody has been to/lives in one of these towns and can tell me if I'll be able to find veg items at a grocery store (

Comments

[virtualannette]

If you conscience will let you shop at big box stores, you'll be able to find things. See if the store Meijer is in Iowa... it's in most of the midwest, I think. When I lived in middle-of-nowhere Indiana my diet was much more.. veggies/beans/nuts focused... but I was still able to get soymilk, tofu, even soy ice cream at Meijer. I think Wal-Mart has those things too, though I never shopped there. We also had a small health food store that carried some items (just not much selection

[devolute]

Thanks for all the tips! I really don't think it will be that bad, but I figure I ought to prepare myself for the worst.

I think it'll actually be good, because like you said, there isn't the lure of take out. In Italy I cooked every meal in and never ate out unless I was in another city and away from my apartment. It was pretty liberating, and the food was so cheap! When I went to Finland, I cracked on expensive pre-made stuff at a local organic store (it was over 6 euro, about $10, for an itty bitty tiny thing of hummus) and ate out more often. I can't even remember what I ate, actually, I just remember it was expensive and I missed Italy.

Anyway didn't mean to bore you with a tangential story, but I think if I remember to buy specialty foods online before I desperately need them for a recipe, it'll be alright.

[aaeolyn]

My grandparents live in west Des Moines, and I never have a problem finding things (:

[deimos_dagny]

When I visited my parents this summer, I got to experience small town Louisiana as a vegan. I was not looking forward to it. But even this town of 30,000 people in Louisiana, land of seafood and butter, had a health food store, and I went in with low expectations, but came out with SO MUCH. I was floored

[tiatsuchi]

My girlfriend just moved from Iowa, so I'd like to recommend two places. I just have facebook links, so I hope that helps a little bit.

The Red Avocado (restaurant): http://www.facebook.com/theredavocado
New Pioneer Co-op (for groceries): http://www.facebook.com/#/newpicoop?v=info

[shieldmyeyes]

If you're moving to Cedar Falls, though, that's about an hour and a half drive to Iowa City.

[tiatsuchi]

Sorry about that, I was thinking Cedar Rapids was one of the names for the tricity area of IC. I should have double-checked.

[starry_echoes]

Well, I've lived in Des Moines, Iowa all my life so far (lol, I do plan to get out of here sometime, though), and I've never had trouble finding anything. You shouldn't have a problem at all. The rural parts of Iowa aren't very vegan-friendly places, but the bigger cities are a lot better, and the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area is probably the most liberal, progressive place in the state. All the major supermarkets where I live (Dahl's, HyVee, or even the grocery sections of Target) always have plenty of vegan substitutes, and organic produce. They carry tofu, soymilk/other dairy substitues, and lots of other vegan products, too. They should also have some specialty health food stores in those cities, in case you need something you can't find at a regular supermarket. If you're looking for vegan restaurants, Iowa City, which is I think about a half hour's drive from Cedar Rapids, has a lot of absolutely amazing all vegan places to choose from. The Red Avocado is a fabulous all organic, locally grown, vegan restaurant in Iowa City. I go