We do have farmers’ markets, but they’re not an exact substitute for a Whole Foods type store. I think Shakha’s got a lot of it - much of Iowa isn’t really that densely populated, and the populace is poorer. Nebraska, which is basically the same damn state only worse, has only one - in Omaha. But I also suspect there’s something cultural to it, because a) we Iowans don’t eat that fancy food, y’all and b) the perception is that we have lots of locally grown fresh food, as sociosam said. Iowa is about 99% corn, soybeans and pigs, though. I grew up here, and I think I probably went about 15 years without eating anything Iowa grown other than pork and sweet corn.

I am endlessly fascinated by people’s perceptions of Iowa. Best exhibit ever at the Iowa Science Center was a series of taped interviews with Easterners talking about Iowa.

And Whole Foods stock just crashed today - 13.76% down.

Smaller social observation: your life now is different than your life 15 years ago. But your family still seem to like you. So this is nothing to worry about…