FamilyFarmed.org Press Room

Contact: Jim Slama
Phone: 708.763.9925

Illinois has passed major new legislation to encourage the production, processing, and distribution of local and organic food. The Illinois Food, Farm and Jobs Act of 2007 became law with overwhelming support from the state legislature.

The goal of the legislation is to make Illinois the Midwest leader in local and organic food and fiber production.  It authorizes the creation of an “Illinois Local and Organic, Food and Farm Task Force” that has been charged with developing a plan and budget to support an Illinois local food system. “This legislation is a way for farmers, consumers, and businesses to benefit by producing more local and organic food right here in Illinois,” says Evanston State Representative Julie Hamos, chief sponsor of the Act.

The Food, Farms, and Jobs Act follows up a feasibility study produced by Sustain and funded by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the USDA’s Federal State Marketing Improvement Program. The study found that Illinois residents buy $500 million of organic food, 95% of which is grown out of state. With this study as a basis, Sustain conceived of the legislation, worked to develop a diverse statewide coalition of farmers, businesses, NGO’s, and other stakeholders, helped craft the principles and language of the bill, and worked with the coalition on a statewide awareness campaign which created overwhelming political support for the Act’s passage.

“The key to winning this victory was the outstanding coalition that emerged to work together towards passage,” says Slama. “People, businesses, and organizations from every section of the state recognized the value of the Food, Farms, and Jobs Act and actively supported it.” Other coalition leaders include the Evanston Food Policy Council, the Illinois Farmer Consumer Coalition, The Illinois Stewardship Alliance, and Northern Illinois University. In addition, State Senator Jacqueline Collins was the chief Senate sponsor and Mayor daley and the City of Chicago were very supportive. Governor Blagojevich first signaled support for the Act in a speech by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Steve Frenkel, at the FamilyFarmed.org EXPO.

 “By retaining food dollars within the Illinois economy it will benefit family farmers and local communities while creating jobs and economic development, both urban and rural” says Sustain president, Jim Slama.” Currently there are thousands of jobs in Illinois tied with local and organic food processing, production, distribution, and sales. With state support, this sector can continue to rapidly grow and produce new opportunities.”

The bill also confronts the fact that many Illinois communities are “food deserts” without sufficient grocery stores with fresh fruits and vegetables. “Our hope is that the Task Force will encourage the state to develop programs addressing this problem,” says Hamos. “Many Chicago neighborhoods and downstate communities will benefit from more food access.”

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 the News

• Chicago Tribune, March 10, 2007--Bill-backers call for local growing, more organics
• Chicago Tribune, Business section, March 23, 2007--Whole Foods Market and FamilyFarmed.org pair up to offer loans to farmers
• Christian Science Monitor, March 29, 2007--Organic food? Sure, but is it cage-free?
• WorldChanging Chicago - FamilyFarmed.org’s newest projects are profiled -- March 2007
• Chicago Tribune's, Season by Season -- A four part series about rediscovering the allure of locally grown produce Go to articles

Press Releases and Downloads

• March 23, 2007 Release: EXPO Spotlights New Illinois’ Jobs, Economic Development--Illinois Food, Farms, and Jobs Act of 2007 May Pass in Spring Session
• March 19, 2007 MEDIA ADVISORY: Leaders to Discuss Future of Organic, Local Food in Illinois—Friday, March 23 at 10:30 am, Chicago Cultural Center
• March 23, 2007 MEDIA ADVISORY: Whole Foods Market to Announce Partnership with FamilyFarmed.org, Commitment to Local Food at Media Event—Friday, March 23 at 10:30 am, Chicago Cultural Center
• March 12, 2007 Release: Top Chicago Chefs Eager to Pair with Local Farmers to Raise Funds, Awareness at Local Benefit
• March 1, 2007 Release: Local and Organic Food Event Showcases Top Chicago Chefs, Season’s First Farmers Market
• Press Pass form
• 2007 FamilyFarmed.org background sheet
• February 8, 2007 Release: Celebrate Local and Organic Food at the 2007 FamilyFarmed.org EXPO
• Organic Harvest Report
• March 13, 2006 Release: 2006 FamilyFarmed.org EXPO a Huge Success

Links

• Want to talk about an organic lifestyle?