Good Food for All

Daily Digest: GoTo2040 Plan for Local Food Systems, Living on Food Stamps and Food Trucks in Chicago

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 1 in 7 Americans live in poverty, the highest rate since the 1960s.  Feeding Illinois has organized the SNAP Hunger Challenge to educate the public on the difficulties of living on food stamps. 

Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) will release its GoTo2040 plan on Oct. 13.  The most up-to-date version of the local food systems chapter is now available online. 

Three new food trucks can now be found on the streets of Chicago.  Happy Bodega and Simple Sandwich both focus on serving fresh and local fare. 

The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children was awarded $5.8 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services towards obesity prevention initiatives. 

Nominate a "Community Gardener of the Year" for GreenNet's 2010 Annual Award Ceremony and Potluck Dinner on Nov. 10. Nominations are due by Oct. 22. 

A farm camp in New York, Flying Pigs Farm, is geared towards educating food professionals about local cuisine.

Daily Digest: Michigan Young Farmer Coalition, Slow Money Wisconsin and Locavore Dinner at Prairie Crossing

Slow Money Wisconsin hosted its regional meeting last week. Read the report here. 

USDA Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food blog features Darn Hot Peppers and how farmers markets can act as small business incubators.  

The New York Times profiled the Michigan Young Farmer Coalition, a budding network of young and beginning farmers.  

Evanston chicken enthusiasts are working together to change the existing ordinance that poses obstacles to residents wanting to keep backyard chickens. 

Illinois investors and chefs want to open a carp processing plant for Asian carp, due to the recent influx in the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. 

A documentary video of the recent Locavore Dinner at Prairie Crossing is now on YouTube. Watch the video below.  

Daily Digest: FoodCorps, Young Farmers and Food Buying Clubs in Chicago

CDC released updated statistics on the continued rise of obesity in America, citing "a major public health threat" in many states. 

Register now for the Fall 2010 Environmental Leadership Training Series with Chicago Conservation Corps.  Apply here. 

Food buying clubs are growing in Chicago, including Healthy Food Hub, Chicago Food Co-op, Edible Alchemy and Woodlawn Buying Club. 

FoodCorps, a national AmeriCorps school garden and Farm to School service program, is holding monthly open conference calls to discuss program updates and working groups.  The next call is Thursday, Aug. 5th at 4 p.m. CST / 5 p.m. EST.  Call (218) 936-4141. Code: 572334#. 

Experienced farmers in southwestern Ohio are assisting young farmers in procuring loans with the Farm Service Agency (FSA). 

Daily Digest: Local Food Legislation, Prairie Crossing and Increasing Local Food Purchasing in Illinois

Gov. Pat Quinn signed two important pieces of legislation on Saturday, both promoting local food.  The  Farmers' Market Technology Improvement Act (HB 4756) will allow for more Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) machines at farmers markets to accept LINK cards.  

The second (SB 615) will create a Farm-to-School database on the Illinois Department of Agriculture website in order to facilitate fresh food purchasing for schools, effective Jan. 1, 2011. 

FamilyFarmed.org released an action plan and feasibility study on increasing fruit and vegetable production in Illinois.  Download the full report here. 

FamilyFarmed.org and Chartwells-Thompson Hospitality are also partnering to increase local food purchasing for Chicago Public Schools to over $2 million.  Download the Request for Information (RFI) and the press release here.  

Breaking Through Concrete features Prairie Crossing and Sandhill Organics this week, along with a video of Mike Sands, Executive Director of Liberty Prairie Foundation. 

Mike from david Hanson on Vimeo.

Daily Digest: Farm to Restaurant in Central Illinois and a Chicago Urban Agriculture Resource Wiki

Advocates for Urban Agriculture launched a Resource Wiki, which includes a Chicago Urban Agriculture Directory.   Add your project today! 

Chicago Public Schools and other Illinois school districts are changing the contents of their vending machines to provide healthier options for students. 

The deadline for registering farmers markets in the USDA 2010 Farmers Market Directory is June 4, 2010. 

The Illinois Farm Service Agency planted a "People's Garden" in Springfield, which will benefit the Central Illinois Food Bank. 

In central Illinois, young chefs are building a world-class farm to restaurant model at Epiphany Farms.  

Belleville Farmers Market received a $25,000 grant from Pepsi for its healthy eating educational initiative, Taste Buds.  Read the article or watch the video here. 

Daily Digest: UIC Chicago Neighborhoods Initiative Announces Opportunities for Seven Communities

UIC Chicago Neighborhoods Initiative (UICNI) plans to launch the ChiWest ResourceNet (CWRN), a targeted capacity building initiative for seven Chicago communities.  A Bidders Conference will take place on Feb. 16, 2010.  Click here to read the full RFP.  

The Atlantic investigates Walmart's Heritage Agriculture program and its commitment to sourcing local and organic foods. 

Read more about the background of Let's Move, which will include collaboration with government departments and forming partnerships with both the private and non-profit sectors.  

Funds are available for current and transitioning organic farmers. Sign-up is open until March 12, 2010. 

Logan Square Kitchen, a sustainable kitchen and event space, will host a Pastry Market this Saturday, Feb. 13. 

To watch a re-cap of the Slow Food Chicago Annual Meeting, you can watch the video here. 

Slow Food Chicago's 2010 Annual Meeting from Ryan Kimura on Vimeo.

Link to: 

Sustainable Food Jobs & Opportunities

Daily Digest: Winter Farmers Markets, Garden Workshops, and Illinois Farm Beginnings

Winter farmers markets are taking place in various parts of the Chicago region.  The next one will be on Sunday, Jan. 10 in Deerfield at the North Shore Unitarian Church.  For a complete listing, or to sign up for email updates, register here. 

Windy City Harvest announced its 2010 workshops.  Sign up here. 

Growing Home and Growing Power are featured in Francis Moore Lappé's new book, Liberation Ecology. 

The Land Connection posted a great video from ASAP Illinois about Gray's Farm and the Illinois Farm Beginnings program. Watch the video. 

Starting Out: A First Season on Gray's Farm from ASAP Illinois on Vimeo.

Links to: 

Jobs & Opportunities

Grant Database

Daily Digest: Hoop Houses, Grants, and National Young Farmer Coalition

A National Young Farmer Coalition is emerging, as an offshoot of the Greenhorns project. 

Small and urban farmers can apply for three-year hoop house (high tunnel) grants through the USDA.  Deadline is Jan. 15, 2010.  USDA Service Centers can provide more information.  Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota are all eligible. 

Urban farming could become part of Detroit's long-term development plans. 

Researchers at University of Chicago are looking for Midwest farms to participate in a study on "Energy Use and Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Small-Scale, Diversified Farms throughout the Midwest in 2010."  For more information, contact Esther Bowen, Program Coordinator and Graduate Student Researcher at eebowen@uchicago.edu, or Assistant Professor Pamela Martin, Principal Investigator at pmartin@uchicago.edu. 

Daily Digest: Winter Farmers Markets, Woodbury Co., and Upcoming Events

Woodbury County, IA is featured in The New York Times, where the core of the economic development strategy is promoting organic foods. 

Winter indoor farmers markets are happening in the Chicago area at Green City Market, Empty Bottle, and with Faith in Place. 

USDA will implement the Conservation Reserve Transition Program in 2010, which will offer incentives to land owners enrolled in CRP "to sell or lease land to beginning or minority producers using sustainable or organic farming practices when their CRP contracts expire." (source: NSAC).   

Save the Date: 

• Dec. 17: National Good Food Network Webinar on National Farm to School Network  
• Jan. 6-8: 2010 Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, and Organic Conference
• May 17-19: National Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Detroit, MI  

Daily Digest: French Market at Ogilvie, Local Foods Farming Course, and Hillside Farmers Co-op

Last week, Chicago's first French Market opened at Ogilvie Transportation Center.  The market will take place year-round, featuring 25-30 local artisans. 

John Wood Community College in Quincy, IL is offering a Local Foods Farming Course.  

Edible Twin Cities features an article on the Hillside Farmers Co-op, which is developing a network of Latino-owned free-range poultry operations. 

What does "sustainable food" mean to restaurants? 

Listen to this audio clip on Young Farmers in America, featured on WNYC. 

(Photo: Hillside Farmers Cooperative, Inc.)