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: City Provisions Deli opens, African American farmers in the Chicago Region, and Community Food Project Grants

City Provisions recently opened a local and sustainable food deli on Chicago's North Side.  

Chicago Reader features an in-depth article profiling African American farmers in Hopkins Park and how they are trying to connect to markets on the South Side. 

USDA announced its Request for Applications (RFA) for the Community Food Projects (CFP) Competitive Grants Program.  Deadline is Nov. 17.  Free grant assistance resources are available on the CFSC website. 

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food, an initiative of USDA to support local and regional food systems, posted updated slaughter maps in the U.S., to assist small ranchers and farmers. 

Heartland Local Food Network released its farmers market guide to accepting Illinois Link cards, based on its program at the Downtown Bloomington farmers market.  Download the guide here.  

Loyola University will offer a Sustainable Food Operations course in Jan. 2011, taught by Greg Christian of Greg Christian Catering and the Organic School Project. 

Daily Digest: Hydroponics in Central Illinois, Fresh Produce in Drugstores, and Seasonal Ingredient Map

Living Waters Farms in central Illinois is using geothermal hydroponics to grow lettuce greens.  Read the full article and watch the slideshow here.  

Epicurious has a useful seasonal ingredient map for each state, as well as product descriptions and recipes. 

Chicago's Progressive Talk radio has a series of urban agriculture reports on its website.  If your organization is a good candidate for the next "Urban Ag Report", you can submit an inquiry form online. 

Local and organic catering business City Provisions will be opening a deli in August. 

CVS and Walgreens have plans to offer more fresh produce in select Chicago stores in the coming weeks.  

NBC Chicago has recent coverage about food access issues in Chicago, highlighting the work of Neighbor Capital and its partnership with Peapod. 

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: Englewood Urban Agriculture Community Meeting and "Guaranteed Green" Restaurants

The Greater Englewood Urban Agriculture Taskforce (GEUA) is developing plans for agriculture and food projects within the community with the support of Teamwork Englewood, Growing Home and Kennedy-King College. The goal is to transform Englewood into a “food destination” within the City of Chicago. The public is encouraged to attend to learn more about the process and give input. Refreshments will be served. 

GEUA will meet this Monday, June 28 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Washburne Culinary Institute (located at 63rd & Halsted St).  For more information visit the Teamwork Englewood website or call 773-602-4507. 

The Green Chicago Restaurant Co-op will announce Chicago's inaugural class of "Guaranteed Green" restaurants tomorrow, June 22 at Sopraffina Marketcaffe at 222 W. Adams St. "Guaranteed Green" lets diners identify and support local restaurants that have taken significant, verifiable steps toward protecting the environment.  Rick Bayless, Paul Kahan, Helen Cameron, and other leading chefs, will be the first inaugural class of 20 environmentally sustainable restaurants. 

Daily Digest: Urban Agriculture in Detroit, Kitchen Chicago and Mobile Gardens

Small business owners in Chicago have mixed reactions to SBA loans provided under the federal stimulus program. 

"The Mike Nowak Show" dedicated this past Sunday's show to talk about the health inspections at Kitchen Chicago, an incubator for small food businesses.  Watch the video of the inspections here. 

OrganicNation.TV profiles a Chicago aquaponics operation, near Bridgeport.

Detroit urban planners are helping rewrite zoning regulations to allow for more urban gardens. 

Advocates for Urban Agriculture, a coalition of organizations and individuals advocating for urban agriculture in Chicago, is sponsoring a logo competition. Entries are due by March 15, 2010.  Visit the AUA website for more information. 

A mobile garden project with CTA is currently under development. 

In relation to the Let's Move campaign, New York Times columnist Mark Bittman asks,  is soda is the new tobacco? 

Photo credit: New York Times  

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: Local Food Radio, 2010 FamilyFarmed Expo, and Chicago Food Policy Summit

Attention local food businesses and farmers: Save $100 on early registration (before Jan. 10) for the FamilyFarmed Expo exhibit.  The 2010 Expo will take place at the UIC Forum, March 11-13. 

Session proposals at the Chicago Food Policy Summit are due Jan. 11: Download RFP for CFPAC 2010 Sessions. 

Mike Nowak's recent radio show featured local food leaders in Chicago.  Listen here. 

A new EPA ruling would improve air quality, reducing the stunting of plants and trees. 

A new World Health Organization report cites local food as a way to improve food safety.  

Los Angeles Times has a piece about the nuances of the local food vs. Big Ag debate.  

Supporting local farmers is a first step, but focusing on local processing, distribution, and retail are equally important (via HuffPost).

Links to: 

Jobs & Opportunities 

Grants Database 

Daily Digest: Community Food Project Applications Available Online

Community Food Enterprise is a project of the Wallace Center, which features an Enterprise of the Week. View a complete list here and sign up for project updates. 

LocalDirt.com serves as a local food clearinghouse for buyers, sellers, and distributors.  Read an article about the new venture here. 

FY2010 Community Food Project Competitive Grants Program is accepting applications until November 19.  All applications must be submitted online and registration can take up to a month to complete at grants.gov.  Read more information here. 

Daily Digest: Women Entrepreneurs, USDA Child Nutrition Grant, and Kilbourn Organic Greenhouse

Crain's Chicago Business features a video on women entrepreneurs involved in the local food industry. 

Illinois is one of 18 states to receive a USDA grant for childhood nutrition.  Read details here. 

Logan Square Kitchen, a new sustainable event space and shared commerical kitchen in Chicago, is hosting two open houses this weekend. 

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has created a Farmers' Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program. The first sign-up for CSP ends on Sept. 30. 

A Washington Post editorial calls for more funds for school lunches. 

Dairy farmers are requesting a federal antitrust investigation of the two major industry players. 

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food will include steps to link local farmers with schools, through the Department of Defense (DOD) "Fresh" program. 

Watch this video about the Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse.  Learn more about classes offered at KPOG.  (via)