Good Food for All

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: Composting, Community Food Enterprises, and Value Chain Partnerships

OrganicNation.TV gives a visual tour of composting at Growing Power's 2.5 acre farm in Milwaukee.  

Liberty Prairie Conservancy is leading a visioning process to protect 1,000 acres each year in Lake County for the next 20 years.  

Economist Michael Shuman explains how Community Food Enterprises (CFEs) can help revive local economies. 

The CFE website has a series of individual case studies on food business incubation and value-added food production, including The Intervale Center and Organic Valley (CROPP). 

Value Chain Partnerships, an Iowa-based network of food and agriculture working groups, has launched a new website. 

NPR hosted a discussion with Will Allen on ethical consumerism during the holiday season. 

Daily Digest: Food Waste, IOM Guidelines for School Lunch, and Farm Business Development Center

The National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends incorporating more whole grains, less salt, and cutting out saturated and trans fat in school lunches.  

The E.P.A. is considering a new strategy towards recycling, especially with food waste, which totals 13% of waste nationally.  If composted, food waste can break down and be utilized as an organic fertilizer, returning nutrients to depleted soils.  

Prairie Crossing has a new website for its Farm Business Development Center. 

Western Illinois University sponsored a panel and discussion on Food, Inc. 

Starting this week, San Francisco is mandating all residents to compost their food waste. 

The FDA is now investigating the Smart Choices program. 

Daily Digest: Slow Money, Cooking Up Change, and Prairie Crossing

Through the Cooking Up Change program, culinary arts students in Chicago compete to showcase their skills.  

Slow Money founder Woody Tasch is interviewed in WSJ about long-term investments in sustainable agriculture.  

Growing Power will be taking its sustainable aquaculture model to South Africa and Zimbabwe. 

Lake County officials are exploring ways to encourage locally grown food.  Learn more about Prairie Crossing here.