Good Food for All

Daily Digest: Vertical farming in Chicago, Industrial Harvest Project, and Carbon Nation Celebration

Illinois celebrates National Farmers Market Week until Aug. 7.  Read the "Illinois - Where Fresh Is" Farmers Market Network newsletter.  The biggest growth in farmers markets is taking place in the Midwest. 

Illinois Stewardship Alliance is partnering with Industrial Harvest, a project to better understand the global commodities system through the purchase of a "wheat futures" contract from the Chicago Board of Trade. 

Sustainable Chicago magazine features Plant Chicago, a new project to combine industrial reuse with aquaponics to create Chicago's first vertical farm.  Another article highlights LEED-Neighborhood Development certification and Prairie Crossing Conservation Community. 

Chicago Tribune follows Growing Home's heirloom tomatoes from seed to the table. 

Chicago Garden features Chicago Botanic Garden's Green Youth Farm program. 

Spotlight on upcoming events: (Event Calendar is here). 

• North Lawndale Greening Committee Annual Garden Tour, Aug. 7 at 10 a.m. 
• Carbon Nation Celebration in Millennium Park, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. 
• Locavore Dinner at StarGazer Cafe in Prairie Crossing, Aug. 20 at 6 p.m.  
• Corks & Crayons for Purple Asparagus, Aug. 29 at 4 p.m.

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: 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: Illinois' Healthiest Counties, Farmers Market Forums, and Healthy Food Financing Initiative

The Obama Administration released more details on the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. 

Register here for an upcoming Farmers Market Forum in Carter, Rockford, Urbana, or Chicago, IL.  

View the new members of the Illinois Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Council.  The first meeting of the council will take place on Wednesday, March 3rd in Springfield, IL. 

Healthy Youth Partnership in St. Louis is organizing a Regional Food Summit next week.  

Chicago aldermen are proposing a ban on foam food containers in Chicago Public Schools. 

Suburban and small farming areas rank as some of Illinois' healthiest counties, according to a new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

A new resolution in the Illinois General Assembly would create an identification system for sensitive crops in order to reduce chemical drift.  

Link to: 

Sustainable Food Jobs & Opportunities 

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: 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)

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. 

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)

Good Food for All Announces 'Food Grant Database'

Fresh Taste is compiling a comprehensive database of grants available to farmers, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. 

The database will be in Excel format, categorized into Federal, Corporate, and Private Foundation sources. 

If you have any trouble downloading this document, please email us. 

Click on "Grants Database" above on the Navigation Bar, to download the latest version of the Food Grant Database 2009.   It will be updated frequently so check back in to download the most up-to-date version. 

Register Today! Farmers' Market Managers Conference

Registration is now open for the 2009 Farmers' Market Conference for managers and vendors, taking place in a few weeks, with three different meeting locations and dates.  Download Farmers market conference flyer

March 31st: Springfield, IL

April 7th: Mt. Vernon

April 9th: DeKalb/Seneca

Objectives for the workshops/meetings include:

• Better informed farmers market managers and vendors
• Increased access to resources for markets and specialty crop producers
• Strengthened support from agencies and ability for the market manager and vendors to network with support program representatives
• Networking opportunities for farmers market managers and vendors

Topics to be covered

• Rules and Regulations
• Resources for Market Managers and Vendors
• Market Issues for the Manager and Vendor
• Farmers Market Association Presentation
• Roundtable with Question/Answer Period

Sponsors include the Illinois Department of Agriculture, The Land Connection, University of Illinois Extension, American Corn Growers Association, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, and Urbana's Market at the Square.

To register, visit: http://www.agr.state.il.us/marketing/reservations

For more information, contact Delayne Reeves.

Download Farmers market conference flyer