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News
FamilyFarmed.org EXPO to Take Place November 21 - 23, 2008 We are pleased to announce that the 2008 FamilyFarmed.org EXPO will take place this year November 21 - 23 at the Historic Chicago Cultural Center. This is the weekend before Thanksgiving, the largest food buying weekend of the year! "Farmers, consumers, sponsors and artisan food producers have all expressed positive feedback about this move," says FamilyFarmed.org founder Jim Slama. "November will truly give us the opportunity to have a fall harvest show and experience the abundance of the season." The Expo is also being expanded to three days because attendance at last year's show was so high. The extra day will give more consumers and trade buyers the opportunity to attend. Join us at the Bronzeville Community Market FamilyFarmed.org is proud to be a partner in the development of The Bronzeville Community Market. This unique Chicago Farmers Market (located on Cottage Grove Avenue & 44th Street) will launch Sunday, June 15 from 10:00am to 3:00pm, and run weekly through October 26. The market, the first of its kind, will offer locally grown products as well as exotic produce and prepared foods, and is a joint effort between Quad Communities Development Corporation (QCDC) and the Mayor's Office of Special Events (MOSE). The market will feature a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables; a selection of meats, cooking oils, honey, and wine; a range of baked goods and prepared foods; vendors selling plants, beauty products and other non-food items, and a variety of fair trade vendors in cooperation with the Chicago Fair Trade Association. Market goers can also visit the market's wellness area that will feature a chiropractor and health screenings provided by a local medical facility. The Mongo Market, an antiques market with over 20 vendors, will participate the second Sunday of each month. The Bronzeville Community Market is a unique partnership because it will offer products not traditionally seen at City of Chicago farmer's markets, such as exotic produce and prepared foods. Sustain and FamilyFarmed.org have assisted with identifying produce and prepared food vendors, with an emphasis on connecting African American farmers like Will Allen from Growing Power and Johari Cole of Laybo Farms with the market, which is located in a largely African American community. "This market model is significant because it allows us to combine the best of all worlds and bring a wide variety of high quality fresh food to the community," says Bernita Johnson-Gabriel, Executive Director of QCDC. "We expect a lot of involvement from local businesses and are pleased to provide them with the opportunity to showcase their products and services" she says. The Bronzeville Community Market is made possible through generous support from the Mayor's Office of Special Events, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the Partnership for New Communities, and others. Bronzeville Community Market Every Sunday 10-3 through October 26 at Cottage Grove Avenue and 44th Street. Chicago and Farmers Embrace Green Festival at Navy Pier Green Festival once again won over the hearts of folks in Chicago May 17 and 18. Over 35,000 people came out to see 125 speakers, visit 350 booths, and eat great food. Mayor Daley kicked off the Festival with a ribbon cutting and speech renewing his vow to make Chicago the greenest city on the planet. FamilyFarmed.org was well represented with a pavilion featuring 15 farmers and artisan food producers."It is so great to have this large contingent of family farmers at Green Festival," said Isabel Schecter, Regional Director of the Chicago Green Festival. "We hope to expand this presence in 2009 and include educational programming focused on local, sustainable and fair trade food." Illinois State Representative Julie Hamos headlined a Green Festival workshop on the Food, Farms and Jobs Act... the groundbreaking legislation focusing on building a local food system. She was joined by Jim Braun, Debbie Hillman, and Jim Slama, who led the citizens effort to pass the law. For more information visit www.greenfestivals.org Help Build an Illinois Food System The Illinois General Assembly enacted The Illinois Food, Farms and Job Act. This Act authorized Governor Blagojevich to appoint a 32-member Task Force, charged with assembling recommendations that will support and expand a fully functioning Illinois food and farm system. The Task Force is charged with creating a plan and appropriation requests to facilitate the growth of a statewide Illinois food system, encouraging Illinois farmers to grow produce for Illinois citizens and communities. You are invited to give your input to the Task Force at a series of listening sessions held across the state. What are the economic and community building opportunities if we grow, process and sell more food and agricultural prducts within Illinois? What are the obstacles to and benefits of such a network? Join us as the Task Force brainstorms about providing economic development, creating jobs and revitalizing Illinois communities through a comprehensive food and farm system. Chicago, Carbondale, Bloomington, and other cities have already held productive sessions, and more are in the works. They include: CHICAGO Wednesday, June 11 (6:00 - 9:00 PM) Chicago State University Cordell Reed Student Union (Conference Rooms) 9501 S. Martin Luther King Dr. Contact: Johari Cole 815/944-8390 GRAYSLAKE Thursday, June 12 (6:30 - 9:00 PM) Prairie Crossing Byron Colby Barn 1561 Jones Point Rd. Contact: Stan Rosenberg 847/453-1202 ROCK ISLAND Friday, June 13 Augustana College (details forthcoming) BELLEVILLE Tuesday, June 17 (details forthcoming) ROCKFORD Wednesday, June 18 (6:00 - 8:00 PM) Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden 2715 S. Main St. Contact: Margaret Larson 815/235-4125 A partnership with the Winnebago County Forest Preserve FREEPORT Thursday, June 19 (6:00 - 8:00 PM) Freeport Library 100 E. Douglas St. Contact: Margaret Larson 815/235-4125 For more information, contact: Task Force Coordinators Jim Braun (Springfield) 515/229-2679 or Debbie Hillman (Evanston) 847/328-7175 Sustain a Leader on Illinois Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force Seeds planted last year by the thriving local food community in Illinois are now coming to fruition. In 2007, Sustain and FamilyFarmed.org and partners at the Illinois Farmer Consumer Coalition, Evanston Food Policy Council, and the Illinois Stewardship Alliance played a key role in the passage of the Illinois Food Farms and Jobs Act. This legislation created the Illinois Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force, which is charged with creating a state planning process and appropriation request to build a local food system. It is a dynamic group with 32 members--many of the top leaders of sustainable agriculture in the state. Sustain president Jim Slama was appointed by the Governor to the Task Force and is Co-Chair of the Consumer Access Committee. Sustain Board members Warren King and Dr. Wes Jarrell are also Task Force members and Jarrell is the Task Force Chair. The Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force and planning process is an unprecedented opportunity to secure state and federal resources to build the infrastructure to support an Illinois local and organic food system. There is presently little government support for local and organic food production in Illinois, despite an existing market of nearly 13,000,000 people. More than 90 percent of food currently consumed in Illinois is imported from outside the state. In addition, research indicates that while the Illinois organic food market exceeds $500 million in annual sales, 95 percent of this food is imported from out-of-state. A visionary and practical plan developed by the Task Force will create impetus for the Illinois General Assembly to make major investments in areas such as farmland preservation, farmer training, processing, storage, distribution infrastructure and more. The Task Force is also charged with addressing the many "food deserts" in the state, both rural and urban, where people do not have sufficient access to fresh food. Task Force members include: Erika Allen, Growing Power; Keith Bolin, American Corn Growers Association; Jim Braun, Illinois Farmer Consumer Coaltion; Mary Ellen Caron, Chicago Department of Children and Youth Services; Greg Christian, Greg Christian Catering; Johari Cole, Iyabo Farms; Dean Craine, Agri Energy Resources; Leslie Duram, Souther Illinois University; Chris Eckert, Eckerts Orchards; Carrie Edgar, University of Illinois Extension; Jack Erisman, Goldmine Farms; Tom Grant, City of Carbondale; Debbie Hillman, Network for Evanston's Future; Bridget Holcomb, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Wes Jarrell, University of Illinois; Gerry Kettler, Niemann Foods; Warren King, Wellspring Management; Donna Lehrer, Lamb of God Farm; Therese McMahon, Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; Bill Olthoff, Illinois Farm Bureau; Chuck Paprocki, Dayempur Farm, Vicky Ranney, Liberty Prairie Foundation; Delayne Reeves, Illinois Dept. of Agriculture, Penny Roth, Illinois Dept. of Human Services; Stan Schutte, Triple S Farms; Allen Sexton, Prairie Trace Farms; Bryan Sharp, Illinois Farmers Union; Jim Slama, FamilyFarmed.org; Tom Spaulding, Angelic Organic Learning Center; June Tanoue, America's Second Harvest; John Vanek, Harvest Food Group; and Kim Wasserman-Nieto, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization.Read complete article on the Food, Farm and Jobs Act FamilyFarmed.org
Named a Favorite Chicago Magazine Website  Yahoo!
recently named FamilyFarmed.org as the inaugural recipient of
their Yahoo! for Good Green Award. The award recognizes
web-based initiatives which are striving to achieve good in the world,
and with a little boost, could do even more. FamilyFarmed.org
staff met with representatives at Yahoo! to discuss the potential of
Web 2.0 tools such as food and agriculture blogging,
e-commerce, and online videos to help FamilyFarmed.org reach a broader
audience with their message about sustainably grown local food.In related news, FamilyFarmed.org was chosen in an international competition as one of 21 featured projects at the NetSquared conference to be brought to the next level through financial and technical support with some of the world's leading experts and funders of technology and social networking. "Our goal through this experience is to develop the vision and funding to take FamilyFarmed.org to the next level as a web 2.0 social network," says FamilyFarmed.org founder Jim Slama. "The contacts and knowledge gained in the NetSquared community will go a long way in supporting this." Learn about the NetSquared Conference FamilyFarmed.org
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| FamilyFarmed.org is a website, food label, and EXPO that supports Midwestern organic farmers by connecting them with consumers and commercial buyers. FamilyFarmed.org creates sustainable economic development, builds community, and contributes to a healthy environment by encouraging people to buy food from local producers. | ||||
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FamilyFarmed.org is a program of Sustain 7115 W. North Ave. #504, Oak Park, IL 60302 ph: 708.763.9920 f: 708.763.9925 www.sustainusa.org |
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