Good Food for All

Weekly Digest: Food Incubator in Central Illinois, Tracking Fresh Food Access and Heritage Turkeys

This week's digest is cross-posted on ChicagoRegen.com. 

• Using mobile technology, researchers such as Mari Gallagher can easily track stores selling food in the Chicago area.

• Chicago Public Radio featured a story on how Illinois LINK-approved food and liquor stores, gas stations and dollar stores are not fulfilling federal requirements to accept food stamps.

• A Central Illinois food innovation center could support the local food movement by offering a place for producers to process and package their products.

• The Farm Business Development Center at Prairie Crossing has helped launch successful farms such as Dea Dia and Sandhill Organics.

• A niche market is developing in the Chicago region for heritage turkeys.

 

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: National Farmers Market Week, FRESH screenings and Backyard chickens

In honor of National Farmers Market Week, read this post on the importance of partnerships in administering the Double Value Coupon Program.

FRESH the movie will be showing at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago until Aug. 5. 

Download the full FamilyFarmed.org report "Ready to Grow: A plan for increasing Illinois fruit and vegetable production." The report details current obstacles and recommendations for meeting the increasing wholesale demand for local foods. 

Whole Foods opened its first on-site community garden in Virginia, which could serve as a potential model for other stores.    

A community-supported agriculture (CSA) drop-off site was almost shut down by the City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. 

Irv & Shelly's Fresh Picks' current newsletter features an interview with Tiny Greens Organic Farm. 

Backyard chicken enthusiast groups continue to grow in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. 

The City of Chicago approved a 3rd Wal-Mart store, in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood. 

The Community Food Security Coalition 14th Annual Conference will take place Oct. 16-19, 2010, in New Orleans, LA. Scholarships are available and early registration deadline is Aug. 13. 

Attention farmers market managers in Illinois: Illinois Department of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Statistics Service are requesting information on growers and vendors represented at this year's farmers markets.  Download the full letter here.

Daily Digest: City Council Approves Wal-Mart, Whole Foods to Start Growing Own Produce, GoTo2040 Plan on Local Food Systems

The Chicago City Council approved the construction of the city's second Wal-Mart on Wednesday.  Listen to the full story here.  

Whole Foods will start to grow its own produce at one of its Virginia stores.  

USDA released a "How To" guide for farmers market managers to use Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) machines to accept SNAP benefits.  Read the press release and download the guide here.  

Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) has released its draft report on local food systems for the GoTo2040 plan.  The full draft report is open for public comment until Aug. 6th.  Comments can be left on the website or submitted via email.  Click here to download the Local Food Draft Report for GoTo2040. 

Gourmet Gorilla was featured on NBC News about serving local and organic school lunches. 

A new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America's Health shows obesity levels in Illinois increased almost a full percentage point in the past year.   Illinois is ranked 4th in the nation for the highest rates of childhood obesity. 

Daily Digest: FoodCorps, Farmers Markets, and Food Truck Legislation

FoodCorps is in the planning stages for developing an AmeriCorps School Garden and Farm to School program.  If you would like to participate in a working group, you can fill out this survey. 

Food truck legislation was delayed until further notice at the Chicago City Council meeting this week. 

To promote farmers markets across the country, American Farmland Trust is sponsoring its annual "America's Favorite Farmers Markets" contest.  Vote here! 

The USDA Food Environment Atlas is an excellent tool for food security and food access data. 

Prairie Fruits Farm in Champaign, IL will receive a USDA Value-Added Producer Grant to conduct a feasibility study and create a business plan "for an on-farm, goat-milk-to-gelato operation."  Click here to see what other Chicago foodshed farm enterprises will receive funding.  

Good Food for All has an updated listing of jobs and opportunities in the Chicago foodshed, as well as links to other useful websites. 

Daily Digest: Mobile food trucks in Chicago and Food System Conferences

More street food vendors may be coming to Chicago:  an ordinance allowing for mobile food trucks will be submitted to the City Council on June 9. 

Michael Pollan has an informative article on food system movements.  

CDC released a State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables (2009), showing behavioral, policy, and environmental indicators for Illinois. 

Nominate a visionary farmer, organization or business for Glynwood Center's Harvest Awards. 

Upcoming Conferences: 

The Food System Economic Partnership Conference, focusing on improving the local food system in southeastern Michigan, will convene on Thursday, June 24 in Jackson, MI.  

Growing Power's National-International Urban & Small Farm Conference has released a Request for Proposals. 

For those looking to showcase community-based food work, Community Matters is seeking presenters for breakout sessions on citizen-driven examples of community building.  Deadline is June 11, 2010 to submit panel proposals. 

Fruit and Vegetable Study Reveals Significant Potential for New Jobs and Increased Income in Illinois

Illinois could gain more than 5400 jobs and over $988 million in retail sales through increased production and marketing of 28 types of fruits and vegetables for local consumption according to a major study of the economic potential of increased fruit and vegetable production in the upper Midwest. 

The same analysis shows that if local fruit and vegetable production were focused on the state's nearby major metro areas, including St. Louis, the potential gain could be approximately 4,100 jobs and over $783 million in retail sales. 

The study, done by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University and funded in part by Fresh Taste, reveals that meeting our entire statewide need for fruits and vegetables would require only about 69,000 acres of land, or just 0.3 percent of the state's 23.7 million acres of cropland. Just under 50,000 acres would be needed for the urban center option. 

To download the full press release,  click here. 

To read the full AP story, click here. 

The Leopold Center study is the first multi-state study in the upper Midwest to examine the potential economic benefits of fruit and vegetable production on a scale that would meet the needs of consumers in each of the six states.  Download the full report here. 

Daily Digest: Yards to Gardens, Central Illinois Farm Beginnings and Students Taking Charge

Register early before 3/26 for "Taking Root: 5th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference", May 17-19 in Detroit, Michigan. 

Yards to Gardens offers online listings for gardeners, available green space, and more.  To post a listing or to view available opportunities, click here.   

Fed Up with Lunch, a blog written by an anonymous Illinois teacher eating school lunch for an entire year, has a guest student blogger who wants to find out the ingredients in her school's food.  Students Taking Charge, a project of Action for Healthy Kids, has photos of a recent Chicago youth convening. 

Chicago Magazine features the 2010 Green Awards in its April issue.  Winners include Terra Brockman and her work with The Land Connection.  Read the article here.  Last year's winners included Orrin Williams and Harry Rhodes of Growing Home and Brenda Palms-Barber of Sweet Beginnings, LLC. 

Click here to view a Google Map of Central Illinois Farm Beginnings graduates. 

View Central Illinois Farm Beginnings Connections (public) in a larger map

Daily Digest: Illinois Farmers Buying Back Farmland, CPS Students Demand Better Food, and 2010 CSA Guide

Chicago Public Schools high school students are demanding healthier food options.  A group of twenty students will present their ideas at the Chicago Board of Education meeting on March 24.  

New research shows that fewer than one in three Chicago Public Schools students meet government recommendations for physical activity. 

The annual Green & Growing Fair at Garfield Park Conservatory will take place on Saturday, April 24.  Click on the Good Food for All Event calendar for more events or to submit information on upcoming opportunities. 

Illinois farmers are buying back farmland from banks hit hard by the recession.  Watch the video below. 

Chicago Tribune journalist Monica Eng is nominated for a James Beard award in Health, Environment, or Nutrition category for her reporting on school lunch reform ("Nachos for lunch? Yes, every day."  

The Local Beet has an updated 2010 Chicagoland CSA Guide. 

Daily Digest: Healthy Food Hub, Farm Work Days, and Shared-Use Kitchens

Black Oaks Center for Sustainable Renewable Living will sponsor a Market Day as part of its Healthy Food Hub.  To learn more or to become a member, click here. 

A panel on shared-use kitchens took place at last week's Chicago Food Policy Summit.  Read an overview here. 

For an opportunity similar to The Crop Mob in North Carolina, volunteer with Cob Connection on Saturday, March 27.  Kismet Organics will host a work day. 

Shared Harvest offers an internet portal to sell, buy and trade locally grown food.  The model is being used in several states. 

Urban Farm Hub features an overview of Prairie Crossing Conservation Community and the Liberty Prairie Conservancy.  

Restaurant owners in Chicago are listening to the markets and adjusting their business strategies accordingly.