IOWA CITY — Fresh off of unprecedented recognition in Little Village’s CRANDIC awards, Trumpet Blossom Cafe is focusing anew on supporting others.
Starting the first week of December, Iowa City’s only all-vegan cafe began donating 10 percent of sales of its “Take & Bake” weekly menu to a community group in eastern Iowa.
This week’s recipient is the Domestic Violence Intervention Program. Last week’s beneficiary was Corridor Community Action Network (CCAN), formed in 2019 to help connect nonprofit groups with each other, volunteers, donors and those in need. CCAN will receive a portion of sales through Dec. 12, Trumpet Blossom announced Tuesday.
The week before, Trumpet Blossom donated to Iowa City Mutual Aid Collective, which provides food and other basic needs to needy families. Trumpet Blossom will support a different group each week.
In addition to reviving its “percentage of sales to community” program, Trumpet Blossom has also added a section to its redesigned website showcasing local community groups.
Mandi Nichols, head of CCAN, said Trumpet Blossom’s support of local organizations is helpful because so many have had to “creatively pivot” because of COVID.
“We were thrilled that this local vegan business had found a safe way to continue to support community organizations,” said Mandi Nichols, director of CCAN. “We are especially excited to be the beneficiaries this week, and look forward to using the fund to purchase more winter gear for those in need.”
Trumpet Blossom’s Take and Bake donation program is like a COVID-adapted version of its former Tacos for Peace program, from which Trumpet Blossom donated 20 percent of sales every last Tuesday of the month to a different community group. That giving program had started in 2016 and continued right up until Trumpet Blossom closed to in-house dining in March because of the pandemic.
Earlier this year, Trumpet Blossom began reapproaching its charity efforts by hosting a clothing drive outside of its Prentiss Street location in collaboration with the Iowa City Tenants Union and Iowa City Mutual Aid Collective.
The dozens of groups it has benefited over the years include Iowa Farm Sanctuary and the Vegan Community of Eastern Iowa; the Iowa City Free Medical and Dental Clinic; the Emma Goldman Clinic and its women’s health services; the Domestic Violence Intervention Program; the RVAP and its services to assult victims; the Women’s Resource and Action Center; Girls Rock; the RARE Group devoted to conservation and rehabilitation of birds of prey; and Iowa City Pride, which coordinates the annual LGBTQ Pride celebration.
The 8.5-year-old restaurant received three awards and four runner-ups earlier this month in the third annual CRANDIC (Cedar Rapids and Iowa City) awards from Little Village magazine.
To order from Trumpet Blossom’s “Take and Bake” menu this week, choose from the menu below. Watch its Facebook page for announcements each Tuesday of the week’s beneficiary. You can also still order from Trumpet Blossom’s regular menu, for curbside or CHOMP delivery, through its website at www.trumpetblossom.com.
(this article was updated Dec. 15)
The Corridor Community Action Network receives 10 percent of sales from Trumpet Blossom’s Take and Bake menu this week.
