The Local Checkout: Fareway Fields of dreams coming to central Iowa, MOM's Organic Market launches dandelion campaign

Welcome to The Local Checkout, a weekly Winsight Grocery Business column about independent grocers from Editor Diane Adam, published each Friday.   

Grocery stores are like people—they come in all different shapes and sizes. And here at The Local Checkout, I’ll be taking a closer look through a wide lens of independent grocery stores. Because just like people—they all matter.  

Supermarkets & Sports

A supermarket might not be the ideal place for an athletic event, I mean, the watermelons will most likely always get in the way. But then again, does anyone remember former football superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski playing baseball in a supermarket? I do. Don’t worry, he used marshmallows for a ball.

Speaking of sports, a new 10-acre outdoor turf complex located at the Gregg Young Auto Sports Campus in Norwalk, Iowa, will open this spring as Fareway Fields. The partnership with Iowa-based independent grocery retailer Fareway Stores, Inc. provides for multi-year, exclusive, naming rights of the eight, outdoor turf fields located at the complex. Fareway Fields will operate on a 32-week schedule and will open this spring. The complex can be utilized for baseball, soccer, softball and more. A Fareway Fields of dreams welcomes you to central Iowa.

And if you want to hoop, no problem. The City of Norwalk and Fareway Stores have announced a partnership to name an indoor multi-sports court at the soon-to-be-built City State Bank Norwalk Fieldhouse. As part of the agreement, Fareway will receive branding at center court and near the free throw lines. The sponsorship for the Fareway Court is a multi-year, exclusive naming rights opportunity. Game on!

Save the dandelion

Spring has arrived. And the weather has prompted everyone to break out the lawn mowers for the year’s first grass cutting. But besides the lush green of the grass, there are purples, and yes, yellows on my lawn. Dandelions dot my lawn, and I love it. And I think MOM’s Organic Market would too. In their latest campaign, the family-owned-and-operated grocery retailer wants to help bring back pollinators to lawns across America. And in case you are wondering, dandelions are edible. Just ask your Greek neighbor. They will gladly serve you a plate of horta, aka Greek dandelion greens, which has been a staple in Greek diets since ancient times.

MOM’s Organic Market’s annual Save the Dandelions campaign helps raise awareness on the effects that toxic lawn chemicals have on our environment, according to the grocer’s website. So, don’t worry about a lawn laden with yellow. Instead think of it as a good thing, or as Ralph Waldo Emerson wisely proclaimed: “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not been discovered.”

Checkout for Camps

This week’s shout-out to an independent grocer that deserves the hashtag #KindessCostsNothing goes to Pete’s Fresh Market, a family-owned grocery store chain serving the Chicago area. The independent grocery store posted on its social media page that its Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraiser is now in full swing. “Our cashiers are accepting donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association until May 9,” the grocer posted on Facebook. The funding goes towards the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s virtual and in-person camps.

Thanks for reading The Local Checkout. Got an indie grocery story news item you think I missed? Email [email protected]