Good Food for All

Weekly Digest: CAFOs, Cob Connection and Altgeld Garden

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

• Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity sponsored an action summit on fighting obesity and improving nutrition on Dec. 3rd, with more than 150 stakeholders from 90 different organizations in attendance.

• Illinois Citizens for Clear Air and Water led a successful campaign to have the Illinois EPA strongly regulate CAFOs and enforce the Clean Water Act.

• Chicago Public Radio features a story on the development of a new urban farm, Altgeld Garden on Chicago's South Side.

• Environment Illinois released a report on the status of large-scale farming in Illinois according to the Chicago Tribune.  More news coverage here.

• In time for the holidays, Cob Connection is piloting Roots for Christmas, a program offering greener alternatives to traditional cut or fake trees.

 

Daily Digest: GO TO 2040 Sustainable Local Food Report, McHenry County Farm Day, and Community Gardens in Englewood

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is an advisory regional planning agency for Chicago and the surrounding 7-county region.  One of the top 12 recommendations in the upcoming plan, GO TO 2040, is "promote sustainable local food." 

Download the Local Food Draft Report for GO TO 2040 here.   The public comment period is open until Aug. 6, 2010.  To submit input on the local food section of the plan, comments can be left on the CMAP website or at one of the open houses. 

McHenry County designated Tuesday, July 20th as "McHenry County Farm Day" to encourage local food production and farmland protection.  For a full list of McHenry County farmers markets, click here. 

Greater Englewood Garden Association supports a number of community food gardens.  Read about the new Heritage Station Community Garden.  Watch local news coverage below. 

Daily Digest: Improving Farmers' Market Technology, Antibiotic Use in Livestock, and Upcoming Events

Learn about the Farmers' Market Technology Improvement Act, sponsored by Illinois State Representative LaShawn K. Ford.  HB 4756 would improve consumer access to the Illinois Link Card Program, allowing participants to redeem their SNAP benefits at farmers' markets. 

To find contact information for your state representative, click here. (h/t  Illinois Stewardship Alliance) 

Across the nation: 

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer released "FoodNYC: A Blueprint for a Sustainable Food System. Read the full report. 

On CBS Evening News, Katie Couric spoke with Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, and Dr. David Kessler about the use of antibiotics in livestock. 

Upcoming workshops and events:

Financing Farm to Fork Conference and Chicago Food Policy Summit: March 11-13, 2010 (Buy tickets here). 

Growing Food and Justice Initiative Chicago Local Empowerment Group Dinner: Sunday, March 28, 2010, 5-7 p.m. at Experimental Station.   

Garden Park Conservatory will host a series of upcoming workshops on gardening and composting. 

Learn about the five practices of agroforestry on March 5th with Illinois Extension and Calhoun County Farm Bureau in Kampsville, IL. Register here. 

Daily Digest: First Lady's "Let's Move" Campaign and Food Statistics Mapping Tool

The Chicago Tribune announced its 2010 Good Eating Awards. Winners include Sweet Miss Giving's Bakery, Frontera Foods, and Kitchen Chicago. 

Economic Research Service has a new online "Food Atlas", a mapping tool which assembles statistics on food environments and diet-related disease rates. 

Let's Move is a new national campaign to promote healthy eating and physical activity for children. Watch First Lady Michelle Obama's remarks on the epidemic of childhood obesity.  Click here for more background on the campaign. 

Link to: 

Sustainable Food Jobs & Opportunities

Daily Digest: Chicago Health Department Throws Out Local Fruit Used in Communal Kitchen

Due to licensing discrepancies, the Chicago Health Department destroyed local fruit used by small business owners at Kitchen Chicago, a shared community kitchen.  

Beyond USDA, government agencies can play a significant role in supporting local food systems. Read the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's full report.  

Out of 26.8 million acres of farmland in Illinois, only 0.1% is devoted to organic production. 

Angelic Organics Learning Center is organizing season extension, bee keeping, and backyard chicken workshops in the coming months.  Register here. 

According to a 2009 Gallup poll, 17.2% of Illinois households are food insecure. 

USDA will initiate a series of reforms to improve school lunch safety standards. 

 In addition to the $50 million allocated for USDA and the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, there will be $250 million in the 2011 budget for the Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund "to expand financing for access to healthy foods."

(Photo credit: Fed Up: School Lunch Project) 

Daily Digest: Climate Action Day, Lake County Hunger Tour, and Anti-trust Investigations

Saturday, Oct. 24th is the International Day of Climate Action. To find an event near you, visit 350.org.  Slow Food on Campus chapters nationwide are organizing actions. 

Jewel Osco is closing its Urban Fresh store in Lincoln Park. 

A New York Times editorial weighs in on the agriculture anti-trust investigations.

USDA administrators paid a visit to the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. 

The Lake Community Foundation led a food security tour this week to learn about local hunger. 

Federal emergency food funding will be reduced next year.

Daily Digest: Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Website Launched

The new website for USDA's Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food  is now available. 

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced it will give assistance to a food distributor to expand operations. 

The Community Food Security Coalition is offering free assistance for the USDA Community Food Project grant application. View successful projects here.   

Read this profile on Terra Brockman and her new book. 

Illinois is one of the states to receive a portion of the $8.5 million allocated for WIC State Agencies, to improve nutrition for women and small children. 

In spite of the economy, small local food companies are sprouting up outside Detroit. 

In New York City, new incentives for supermarkets will be available in neighborhoods with little access to fresh food. 

Illinois Food, Farms, and Jobs Act [HB3990] signed into law

Governor Pat Quinn will sign HB3990 into law on Tuesday in Springfield at the Illinois State Fair's "Ag Day."   

Learn how the White House lowered lead levels in its garden. 

The American Planning Association's August/September issue is devoted to food, farming, and land tenure. 

36% of farmers don't have internet access, according to a new USDA study. 

Learn more about the Illinois Food, Farms, and Jobs Act here. 

(Photo credit: via)

Daily Digest: Pacific Garden Mission, AUA Food Map, and Midwest CSA Producer Survey

WBEZ featured a story on Pacific Garden Mission and their new greenhouses. 

Add your community garden or growing plot to the Advocates for Urban Agriculture Chicago Food Map. 

Fish farmers in Southern Illinois could receive funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

A 2009 CSA producer survey focuses on the business and marketing tactics in nine states, including Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan.  

Food stamps have been linked to obesity, in a recent study. 

The White House garden has an even lower lead level than before, thanks to soil amendments. 

Daily Digest: Food Safety bill passes House and Sustainable vs. Organic at Green City

The Prairie Crossing model is being adapted in South Burlington, VT. 

H.R. 2749 (Food Safety Bill) passed the House, and will move on to the Senate. 

A look at sustainable vs. organic at Green City Market. 

Tim LaSalle, CEO of Rodale Institute, and Gary Hirshberg, CEO of Stonyfield Farms, each respond (here and here) to a recent UK study on organic food. 

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer writes an op-ed on New York City's food policy initiatives.