Good Food for All

Daily Digest: OneTray.org, Investing in Sustainable Agriculture, and Conservation Easements

Chicago was named one of the five best cities for urban gardening. (via)  

DePaul University's "Food for All Chicago" class visited the Cook County Jail vegetable garden as part of a food systems design course.  

Janine Yorio of NewSeed Advisors writes how sustainable agriculture investment is uniquely positioned to take off in the near future.  

The first national database of conservation easement information is set to debut in May 2011. 

Visit OneTray.org to find out about the Child Nutrition Act and to view the new campaign videos. 

As part of "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food", the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service is proposing new rules to allow for interstate shipping of meat and poultry products.  This rule change could provide new economic opportunities for small meat and poultry establishments in Illinois, Indiana, and other states. 

For an excellent overview of KYF, read this story. 

Daily Digest: UIUC Student Farm, Local Food Maps, and Small Biz Expo

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has a new student-run farm supplying local dining halls with fresh fruits and vegetables.  The mission of the farm is 'to provide students, growers, and the community experiences in small-scale fruit and vegetable production.' 

University of Illinois Supplying Cafeterias from New Student Run Farm from ASAP Illinois on Vimeo.

Urbana-Champaign also has a number of local food maps, that can help those looking for local restaurants, farmers, or garden shares. 

eOrganic is a new Illinois Extension resource for farmers and ranchers interested in an pursuing organic agriculture practices. 

The Office of the City Treasurer will host Chicago's Small Business Expo on July 17th from 8-3:30 p.m. at UIC Forum.  Read more about this year's Top 10 Finalists for the Small Business competition.  

Friday News Digest

From Earth Day to a countdown to the growing season, this week was full of interesting news stories and upcoming events.

Local

There are still over 2,000 CSA shares left in Chicago.  Look at this list and sign up today!

Students of STEP (Solutions to Environmental Problems) presented their semester projects (bee keeping, composting, growing herbs on rooftops, and working with Bhutanese refugees to grow their native foods, to name a few) at yesterday’s Food Systems Forum at Loyola University. 

'Future Master Gardeners' from Hyde Park’s Harte Elementary School created earthboxes at the Museum of Science and Industry.

Openlands’ Jaime Zaplatosch says to plant your cool season crops this week.

The Peoria Journal Star featured the Good Earth Farm Alliance, a CSA consortium in Western Illinois. 

The Local Beet reports that Kankakee's farmers' market begins tomorrow.  

If you're in Chicago, check out the Green and Growing Fair tomorrow at the Garfield Park Conservatory.  View the brochure here. 

Only one more week till Urbana's Market-at-the-Square opens. 

National

USA Today weighs in on a low-carbon diet.  

USDA ‘embraces sustainable food’ by planting the first crops in the People’s Garden.

Locally Grown Food Now Served at U of Illinois

Local, organic produce, “once thought too expensive for regular meals,” is now being served at the Bevier Café located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

The food, grown in Champaign County, is served daily in "hearty helpings at $5.00 an entrée."

In addition to supporting a local food and farm economy, students and faculty find this is a move in the right direction as well as an opportunity for education.

The Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture Program (ASAP) at the University of Illinois produced the video, and offers more resources on its website.  Next week, ASAP will host its annual Food Film Festival, featuring “King Corn,” “Eat Drink Man Woman,” and “The Real Dirt on Farmer John.”

For the chefs at Bevier Cafe, it’s about the fresh flavor, saying, “you just can’t match this with the stuff at the grocery store,” echoing Chef Rick Bayless’ similar thoughts and philosophy on sustainable agriculture and local food expressed at yesterday’s 4th Annual Chicago Food Policy Summit. 

Local Food Makes Inroads at University of Illinois Dining from ASAP Illinois on Vimeo.

Spotlight on: Western Illinois

Western Illinois is preparing for the upcoming growing season with some exciting new developments related to local food. 

Good Earth Food Alliance Launches New Website

The Good Earth Food Alliance launched its new website this week, offering a CSA program to the Peoria, Galesburg, and Kikapoo areas.  The GEFA network is a collaborative of over ten sustainable growers and producers, offering "not just food...but piece of mind too."  The Good Earth CSA program aims to provide 45-50 different foods this season.

One of the members of GEFA is Amy Brucker of Appleton Hollow Farms (photo below from the GEFA farm slideshow) who recently started farming after completing the Central Illinois Farm Beginnings Program, offered through The Land Connection and The University of Illinois Extension. Read the article in Radish Magazine about Appleton Hollow here.

 

U of IL Extension and John Wood CC Offer Local Foods Class

The University of Illinois Extension Adams/Brown Unit will offer an class this spring at John Wood Community College, entitled "Building Community: One Bite at a Time."

Here is the synopsis of the course from the Locally Grown blog.  The class will take place at JWCC on Thursday, April 2, 2009.

"Locally grown", "sustainable", "localvore", "seasonality"—you have heard the words, but what do they mean? A class titled Building Community: One Bite at a Time will define these terms as the possibility of building a sustainable local food system is explored. The class will be taught by University of Illinois Extension staff Carrie Edgar and Brenda Derrick on Thursday April 2, 2009. Offered by John Wood Community College as one of their community education courses, the class will run from 6:00-8:30 pm in room D022 of the Paul Heath Center. The cost is $20 and those interested can register by contacting JWCC at 217-641-4941 or http://www.jwcc.edu/communityed.asp.