Get a CSA

Local Beet Editor in Chief Michael Morowitz is very enamored with the Home Grown Wisconsin CSA he subscribed to this year. He summarizes the experience, with totals, at the Beet.

Me, whenever I hear discussion of a CSA, I have to give my lecture on all the great ancillary benefits of belonging to a CSA. Here's my comment to Michael's post

Gosh I wish I could be so organized! Very well done.

I've said this many a-time around the internets. I really enjoy and appreciate being part of CSA even as I have certain CSA reservations. Like you, I enjoy cooking, cooking new things and having a base of material. I also enjoy (maybe too much see forthcoming blog post) shopping. I like the challenge of cooking what is there, but I also like the pleasure in finding something at the market. If nothing else, I rue two things about CSAs. First, the quality of one particular item is often screwy, like not really enough kale. Second, there's always somethin' I'm not wild for, mostly an Asian green-ish type thing.

That all said, I would not even consider ditching my CSA. The most important thing about a CSA, it aligns you with a farm and a farmer. You are there when she needs you. She is there when you need her. It is altruistic, but beneficial too. To paraphrase something Michael Pollan said, by belong to a CSA, you learn about the real and true issues that affect farmers and affect our food. The forced interchanged from a CSA from country mouse to city mouse helps all.

A CSA helps in other ways. It affords one, typically, a chance to visit a farm, learn more. At times, a CSA might get produce too limited for other outlets. CSA subscribers earn extra benefits. The biggest one, I believe is ongoing access to the CSA, including access to other wise closed CSAs such as off-season CSAs.

Michael's done a good job of selling a CSA. Hopefully, I've sold some of the side benefits.

Remember #7 in the chai of local is subscribe to a CSA.

Family Farmed Expo Program Announced!

100's of Locavores, Chefs, Politicians, Activists, Retailers, Wholesalers, Farmers, Distillers, Butchers, Bakers and Candlestick Makers (and Combinations Thereof)

If you have any interest in local food. Cooking it. Eating it. Finding it. Selling it. Building better systems. Getting better items. The impact on the environment. The impact on the government. Having your restaurants more green. Having your shops and such more greeen. Cassie Green. Green grass beef. Green grass dairy. In the city, in the fields, on the farms. On your plate, in your glass. For the everyday. For the holidays. Fresh food fall all. In your school, in your store, at your neighbor's house next door. Learn it. Live it. Love it. Family Farmed Expo 2008.

I am quite pleased to be involved with Family Farmed 2008's gigantic festival of local food being held this forthcoming weekend, November 21 through November 23 at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph. I will participate in a panel on November 23, hosted by my friend and favorite food reporter, Monica Eng, on making your holidays more local. In addition, I will reporting on the event, perhaps live blogging it, for the Local Beet.

This Expo serves several purposes. Foremost, it is a celebration of the foods and farmers of the Great Lakes. You can meet the people growing the food. Meet the people shaping the food into quality manufactured goods. Some of the most famous chefs in Chicago, Rick Bayless, Gayle Gand, Paul Kahan will teach you how to make best use of the foods. The whole local, local food world will come together for a localicious party on Friday Night. Beyond celebrating, it's about educatin'. It is about better reaching the consumer, better reaching the institutions. It's about the tiny, like growing your own patch of food, and it is about the whole, like the food systems in Illinois; from greening your backyard to greening the great big earth. The Family Farmed Expo is bringing them all together. It's got me impressed.

Wait. There's More. There will be a farmer's market, reminding you that even in late November, there is plenty of local food to be had as well as introducing you to foods you did not know could be had. There will be exhibitions by local manufacturers who create outstanding products. For the young uns, there will be a kidz area run by Purple Asparagus. No one's gonna walk away bored.

Keep your eyes peeled on these pages and the Local Beet for more information on the Family Farmed Expo. Please come out to see me chat. For a long time, I have been extolling the virtures and pleasures of the eat local lifestyle. Here's a chance to get yourself into it as well.

No Place Better to Eat - Farm Dinner - Prairie Fruits Farm

KennyZ, an LTHer really has my number. Not that long ago my wife and I went to a food based event presented by the Shriver Center that we learned of from Kenny. Kenny and I are also charter members of the Mado fan club. I had my first Mado meal with him. When Kenny told me about a farm dinner at Prairie Fruits Farm, I think he knew I'd jump at the idea. We had a near ideal dinner on the prairie the other night. (The night also very much possible by the gracious sitting of my parents.)

Prairie Fruits Farms is the off-spring of Wes Jarrell and Leslie Cooperband. As they say on their site, they moved from urban and academic life, to life on the farm. They raise goats, producing farmstead goat cheeses, and they grow fruits including peaches and berries. They are especially committed to local foods. Beyond selling their fresh fruits, they are looking for ways to offer their produce year round through canned goods, freezing and perhaps drying. They also realized that nothing showcases local foos more than eating local food, and there is no place better for eating local food than feet from where it grew (at least some of the meal). Hence the farm dinners. I should also add that at this was a bargain at $65/BYOB.

The night began with very refreshing mason jars of tea made with the farm's peaches and black currents. The day started out cool, but near dinner time, it felt more like Illinois August. The tea fixed a parched throat. With the tea went assorted nibbles. They grilled cheese sandwiches of their Little Bloom on the Prairie goat milk cheese, then accented it with peach chutney and farm harvested honey. They fried squash flowers plus tiny squash, the blossoms stuffed with the freshest of chevre.

Our last pre-bites: corn cakes with andouille sausage from Stan Schute's Triple S Farms with a roasted green chili relish. This could have been a great dinner here.

Momentarily satiated, Wes took us on a small farm tour.

We all gathered around Wes's tractor pulpit including the hens that followed us and the goats that wandered in from their pasture, to hear about farm life and cheese production. That was interesting, but the highlight was Wes teaching us how to pick a fresh peach, about as good a taste as we had all night.

That's not to diminish at all the work of Alisa DeMarco, the farm chef.

I'm more of a fan of chunky gazpacho, but I cannot complain in the least of this pureed version, its strong tomato essence highlighted with a good kick of garlic and touch of hot pepper. Dinner came in large platters. For all the talk of slow food conviviality at the dinner, we went after the food with much gusto. Thus, I never got around to capturing the servings. Instead, see what my first helping looked light--I had much more of everything. We all loved the Country Cottage Farm lamb, but really loved the veg including eggplant agrodulce and roasted heirloom potatoes.

After dinner Kenny hit on the one flaw in the night (I have one other quibble, but I'll get to that in a moment). Our tables were oriented so that half the crowd, the unlucky half, faced the still blazin' prairie sun for most of the dinner. It was hot. It would have made more sense to face the tables the other direction. On the other hand, it meant we got to take in the blazin' prairie sun-set without craning our necks.

Of course there was cheese and then dessert.




We had three house cheeses in a range of ages, with little doo-dads of flavors along side such as currents in gin syrup and honey comb. The finish included their peaches and gelato made from their goat milk. My one quibble of the night, the only food touch that did not work for me; I did not much go for the bits of fresh herbs on the peach pie. Of course, I just picked them aside and ate away.

You all should be inspired by KennyZ's idea.

How Fare the Battle for Local

About 2 weeks ago, I gathered up all the weekly inserts in the Chicago Tribune for grocery stores. I meant to write a post highlighting the amount of local foodstufs advertised by the lot (including Dominicks, Jewel, Tony's, Ultra Foods and Caputo's). As a lot of my ideas of late, it remains inchoate (+ one post in draft form and another post that got killed by an Internet Explorer crash). The bad news from the delay, it seems like the forces of local have had some setbacks.

A few weeks ago, all the stores featured several local items (produce) in their fliers. Today, the pickings are fewer. To wit:

• Food4Less - No specifically delineated local products. Worse, the navel oranges are highlighted with a big bar "IMPORTED!".
• Jewel-Osco - See above. No produce labeled local; Australian navel oranges. They do note their peaches and nectarines are "Bursting with Pick'd Ripe First of Summer Flavor [sic]". Believe them?
• Tony's Finer Foods - Getting better. They advertise "Sweet Michigan Blueberries".
• Ultra Foods - Take that: home grown green beans, zucchini and yellow squash.
• Domincik's - One one hand, they have the absurdity of an ad for hot house cucumbers right above copy that reads, "It's Peak Season!", but they do also advertise locally grown blueberries, sweet corn and green beans.
• Angelo Caputo's - I save the best for last, the staunched of the bunch. They advertise Michigan green peppers, Michigan peaches, Michigan pickles, Michigan grown farm fresh eggplant, Michigan grown farm fresh large ripe tomatoes, locally grown green onions, locally grown Romaine lettuce, locally grown basil, and Illinois farm fresh sweet corn. Where should you shop?

Here's the real kicker. Everything Caputo's advertises, they offer for less than $1 per pound or $1/per item. For instance, their Illinois sweet corn sells 5 for $1. C'mon! Anyone who tells you that local is not affordable or accessible, well get thee over to Caputo's now. I was there yesterday and besides what is on advertisement, the local included cabbages at something ungoldy cheap like 3 lbs/$1 and an assortment of local peppers. If price is a strong concern, stock up on your local now, when it is cheapest. Green beans and corn freeze especially well. Peppers can be preserved in oil. These are not quite canning tomatoes, but Caputo's will have them soon. Eat local.

Let's monitor the battle front in the weeks to come.

Eat Local Orange Juice

Well, there are many locavores that can wake up each morning with a refreshing glass of orange juice from oranges grown within their local area or local foodshed. If your oranges are out of season, you can even use some stuff you put away in your freezer. OK, that aint us here in the Chicago area. Anyone around here abiding by a local diet, whether a 100 mile radius or my more expansive Big 10 Conference, will not find oranges. Here, local orange juice?

Last night I had the chance to speak to a small group of people on my favorite's of topics, eating local [ed., you would like the chance to talk about the media issues, but no one's giving you that platform, right?]. As I am wont to do in such talks, my first bit of advice to the crowd is the way to starting eating local is to not eat local. In other words, don't make yourselves nuts eating local. If you want a glass of orange juice to start the day. No sweat.

An audience member last night, though, instinctively hit on one of my favorite themes. If you cannot eat it local, eat it as-if local. She talked about making her own orange juice. How different the amount of juice one gets when squeezing her own oranges compared with opening a carton, but this juice, her juice satisfied her more, and as we both agreed, came with the lack of packaging one associates with local. We further agreed that juice oranges, even those found up North, tended to be more flavorful oranges than the standard supermarket oranges and surely more flavorful than the standard supermarket orange juice. Good points all around. Then, another audience member added another good juice point. We used to know juice glasses as tiny glasses. We drank a standard portion in three ounces. It made sense, the amount of juice obtained from DIY squeezing. That's what it was supposed to be. So, I say. Go ahead, drink juice. Make it as-if local by squeezing it yourself.

Another key message (I believe) about eating local (beyond don't make yourself nuts) is that local is an imprinteur, a roadmap. Way more than organic, I find the word local, well not so much the word but the sussying out via label reading and other research, leads to the type of food that matters to me. Firstly, it leads me to food made with respect for the things that matter to me such as humane animal husbandry and good environmental practices. Secondly, it leads me to food made with care, artisanalship, quality, things together that equals what matters most, deliciousness. The corollary of this message becomes then, if it cannot be local, look for products that have the traits of local. Take my morning coffee. I would not survive, period, if I looked for local coffee. I do survive, however, on coffee that is fair trade (or better) and organic. Roasted by local companies like Blue Max, all the better.

Tomorrow morning, have a nice, small, glass of orange juice, secure in your knowledge that you are a locavore.

The Night Local Reigned - Green City Market BBQ

Once upon time, an erudite culinary historian and linguist with the nom de Internet of Antonious stormed around LTHForum reminding us that the proof was not IN the pudding but rather in the eating of said pudding. Mr. B would agree then, if he attended last night's Green City BBQ that the proof of local came not in the local pudding but in eating said putting, although really we did not have pudding we had cheesecake made from local goat cheese (my pals at Eli's) that was like pudding and sweetened farmer's cheese from Fox & Obel that was pudding-ish (as was the filling in the Spring/Green Zebra/Custom House ravioli). This night was a very worthwhile celebration of all things local, and nothing could convince you more, the local food offered.

Really, this fete has been recorded as the homage du porc, but unlike last year where literally (about) every other stand offered a take on pig belly, I found pork not quite as prevalent. It was more, I believe, the year of the sausage: bunny weiners from Blackbird/Avec, a locavore version of the Chicago hot dog from Four Seasons, a newly emancipated chef at the Peninsula making a foie gras Polish saw-sage; clever square breakfast sausage "sliders" from Iron Chef-testant, Paul Virant's Vie, and my favorite, the Greek flavored pork sausage from Mint Creek Farm served by Prairie Grass Cafe.

I stuffed myself on encased meat. So stuffed, that well past mid-day, I have had nothing to eat beyond coffee (fact: we anticipated this yesterday and cancelled our planned Shabbos "Southern Night*" dinner in light or our need to eat spa food for a bit). Stuffed aside, my favorite foods were not the sausages. For all the efforts of all the chefs, the things that impressed me the most were the La Quercia ham and the sustainably caught hot smoked whitefish from Plitt Seafood. Perhaps because I am so stuffed still, ultimately it was not even the food that most made the night.

The closest I've come before to meeting someone who has inspired so much envy and admiration in me was when my wife and I kinda, sorta intermingled with the sister of Gus Hanson in Las Vegas. Last night I got to meet and schmooze with the most hated one herself, the Washington Island dwelling Martha Bayne. Of course where would I find her, but hanging out with the Death's Door Spirits people. For me it was a chance to meet Martha and also meet, in person at least, my editor at the CTrib, Colin; for one daughter it was the chance to chat up Dale Levitski in the potty line. The real celebrities of the night, the farmer's were in abundance. Look there was Mr. Nichols and Nick and Chad were both espied. Beth Eccles of Green Acres looked very happy as did the Heartland Beef people (why not it tasted delicious). And if the farmers were tops on the list of market heroes, and there were reporters with the best of beats; and chances to meet the Top Chef (and I swear I saw someone who looked like the man with the culinary boner, Andrew); there were also chances to meet with many more top chefs like Bayless and Zanella (fact: your kids are cute AND look a lot like you) and Carrie can't say your last name and Sarah who must just be proud of it all (all except Virant who was face deep in flames) and finally all the bedrock foodies of the city, especially the crew from LTHForum.com. We all got a chance to eat our local. Get your tickets early for next year's event.

*Planned dinner included local collards slow-cooked with local smoked turkey from a Wisconsin farmer; summer squash casserole, pickled beets, etc.

Hear Me Talk Local

Chicago Amplified

Cathy(2) Lambrecht and the Midwest Foodways Alliance provided me a platform (in fact a cool Emerlesque cooking theater) about a month ago to talk local. For those interested in what I said, you can now find the podcast at WBEZ's Chicago Amplified page.

Eat Local Events

Land Connection Summer Abundance Meal

The Land Connection and Va Pensiero (1566 Oak Ave, Evanston, IL) invite you to their Summer Abundance Dinner on July 26 from 6:30 to 10:00 pm. Enjoy a delicious meal created by owner Jeff Muldrow and chef Eric Hammond from fresh, seasonal produce from Henry's Farm, supplied that day from the Evanston Farmer's Market!

Megan Lewis, executive director, and Terra Brockman, founder, will share what The Land Connection is doing to increase the number of sustainable farmers in Illinois and increase the amount of acres being used for local food production. The 3-course menu with wine and hors d'oeurve reception is only $80, all inclusive. A portion of the proceeds will go to support The Land Connection's work. Please call 847-475-7779 to make your reservations today. Limited to 60 guests.

Purple Asparagus's Project Dine Out

August 3, 2008 5:00pm-7:00pm

Join for an evening of music, food and fun at Uncommon Ground on Devon Street. The second Project Dine-Out includes a family-style meal created from locally-sourced ingredients. The menu includes:

Roasted Green Acres Farm Eggplant Salad with Mint Tzaziki & Pita

Zucchini & Carrot Fritters with Capriole Goat Cheese

Gunthorp Farm Pulled Pork with Seedling Farms Cherry BBQ Sauce
on Jalapeno Corn Bread

Asian-Style Heartland Flank Steak with Asian Market Greens, Cucumber & Herbs

House-made Chorizo Empanadas & Smoked Jalapeno Creme

Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta with Fresh Mozzarella

Market Green & Fruit Salad

Dessert Platter

$40.00 for teens and adults, $20.00 for children 5-13. For $10.00 more, adults can purchase a wine, beer or spirit package. To purchase tickets, please visit Brown Paper Tickets.

Uncommon Ground is located at 1401 West Devon Street, Chicago

Eat Local, Save the Earth

Terra Talks Toxic

Last week we stumbled into the terrific program being offered at Eli's Cheesecake. Right now it's basically my wife and I, plus the kidz from Chicago Ag School. You should come too. We got a great talk yesterday from Ms. Brockman of the Land Connection as well as a few sage words from Joel Smith of Slow Food (whose pitch of eating well while doing good finally has my wife seeking to join, and if she wants to do it, guess who won't be far behind). Terra talked local. Her vehicle, the tale of two farms. She contrasted battery egg production and other industrial farming against her brother's organic farm. She offered much, in a witty and engaging way, but what I most took from the hour was that eating local was even better for the environment than I thought.

OK, I'll say that I am pretty familiar with the ills of factory farming. I'm aghast at the idea of a huge penned milk line going up in Western Illinois. Still, when I've thought about local and the earth, including in my recent speeches, I've focused almost wholly on food miles. And when I try to think of other environmental reasons for local, I tend to think of the lack of packaging in my CSA box. Terra fully reminded me of a range of problems with standard ag.

Battery eggs, the slightly nicer term for caged in total confinement is gross in many ways. Think about that again, caged in total confinement. It is also bad for the earth. These factories produce huge amounts of, well, chicken shit. The shit as well as the occasional chicken that cannot handle the heat (so to speak) get poured into a brew known as the lagoon. Regs require these pits of animal hell to be sealed and otherwise set off, but of course it does not always work that way. This toxic water finds its way to where it's not supposed to be. Terra also talked about the typical industrial ammonia based fertilizer, which is really a off-shoot of petrochemicals--she cited some numbers of the amount of natural gas that is needed to make fertilizer. I did not write it down, but believe me when I say, a lot. Again, you have problems of run-off and seepage. She showed a picture of a sign in a Wisconsin farming community cafe, where the denizens were warned that the local water was not safe for the young and infirm...because of the nitrate stew of washed off fertilizer, unsaid in the warning. She ended her talk with the notion that no human activity causes more earthly harm than the production of food.

Wait you say. Terra's brother Henry, is an aberration. His farm is totally solar powered. He rides to the market in a biodiesel powered truck. The only fossil fuels he encounters occur at the locker where his chickens are processed. That's not local, that's a freak. 'Tis true. It's not like there are not factory farms that are local to me. I love the foodstuffs at Fair Oaks Dairy, hate the farming practices. My response would be that local, local food, locavore, means more than just food within my foodshed, food grown or produced near me. It means getting my food from the places I want. Making choices about my food. Choosing my farmer. Knowing my farmer. If you question anything Terra said, go visit the farm this weekend. She reminded me that there's more to local than good food.

I'm Not Bitter - Chicago Tribune Front's Local

While the story should run on the front page of Sunday's Chicago Tribune, it's already front and center on their web site. I'm entirely happy that the Trib's profiling locavore's. The challenges of eating local will diminish as more people eat local. I believe, have remarked often, that demand, consumer demand, will make local happen the most. Want more farmer's markets; shop at farmer's markets. Same with winter markets. Don't just dabble. Let your wallets talk. Demand can achieve year round local produce, right here in Chicago. Demand can create meat that's not frozen all the time. Demand will get you more and more restaurants with local food. So, I'm happy first of all that the article highlights a few others that are keeping local, with various degrees of extremism. I am happy, obviously, with the top of the news placement, and I am happy that the article will encourage more people to eat local. I'm not bitter that my comments to the reporter last week were not included. The story is mostly a good primer for eat local starters, and I'm not bitter over the fact that I asked the reporter to mention this humble blog, and he did not.

Really, I'm not bitter. I'm not a bitter kinda guy. My family calls me Mr. Not Very Bitter. It's just that I did not start eating local last month, nor did I commence my web site (this one) in 2008. Been doing it, my family and I, for three plus years. Not giving it a whirl, not a one week challenge and not in time for the duration of farmer's markets. We do it summer and winter. We maintain it because the reasons for eating local, all the reasons for eating local, do not go into hibernation when the farmer's markets pack away. And, we do it, surely a bit, for the challenge too, to see that we can continue to do it. We know the challenges. Just because my family and I believe we have as much, nay more experiences on eating local in our area, we're not bitter. If I was a bitter kinda guy, I'd be bitter. Instead, I'm happy the Trib's got the Eat Local beat.

Certainly, a bitter guy would not share the three challenges to eating local I mentioned to the reporter the other day. After all, if they were not good enough for the Chicago Tribune, could the be good enough for here?. The challenges to eating local in Chicago:

1. Tracking down one's food. To eat local in the Chicago area means working for your food, whether it's shopping at farmer's markets or figuring out how to have local meat, it's not just a question of hitting the closest supermarket.
2. Can local be done year-round? To eat local in the Chicago area in the winter means a combination of winter shopping and storage. I'm not sure which is the bigger problem. Do you have the time to run to Madison? Do you have the space and resources to horde food?
3. Time. As I have said often, local needs time. It needs time to figure out what works, how to do things that work for you, and it needs time to prep, to get your local food on the table.

As to resources, there's plenty here, including my trademarked best seasonality guide. Look over the links on the sidebar for any help you need to eat local. If I was bitter, I'd go an erase them all right now.

I look forward to your participation in the Eat Local Challenge. I'm with you all the way. Not the least bit bitter.

What's Local, Whole Foods

Credit Due Department

I still struggle to find much local at the Whole Foods I most frequent, River Forest, Illinois. On the other hand, I have heard that the Whole Foods at Cicero and Peterson in Chicago carries more local. This, though, appears to be a Whole Foods with local on the mind.

Eat Frozen Meat

Rick Bayless Sez So

I think this is gonna be the week of blessings and curses on the blog. Which is it, then when it comes to local meat? Except for some Amish raised chickens I can find here and there, my family and I are pretty much restricted to getting our meats frozen to stay committed to local meats. A...a curse angle, at least, as I have said many a-time, is the hassle of frozen meat. It puts a bit of a damper on spur of the moment meals, and means we plan our Friday night dinners by mid-week. Are for losing quality, I've not found it, and now Mike Sula has got Rick Bayless to weigh in:

"I think the freezer is a really good tool," he says. "We went through this period back in the seventies, eighties, when people would say if you had anything frozen in your place, you were an awful restaurant. And if you're talking about frozen prepared foods, or choosing frozen ingredients when you could get the best stuff fresh, then, yeah, that is awful. But we have huge freezers. . . .If you know how to use a freezer and you understand that you can only freeze certain things, and you know how to defrost slowly at the right temperature, you can serve great local food all year-round."

They Send Out E-mails

Sustainable Table E-mail 6/4/08

New York City, May 30, 2008—Sustainable Table, the creator of the animated short film series, The Meatrix, is going on the road again, headed to this year’s Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. Founder/Director, Diane Hatz, and Moopheus, the larger than life, trench-coat-clad cow and superhero star of The Meatrix, will bring festival goers an urgent message—“Eat locally grown, sustainably raised foods to help save the environment.” 2008 is emerging as the year of ethical eating. Local food is becoming an important part of the consumer food market as consumers want to know more about their food -- where it was grown, what ingredients it contains, how it was packaged, and the footprint its production left on the earth.

By purchasing sustainable, local foods in-season, you eliminate the environmental damage caused by shipping foods thousands of miles, your food dollar goes directly to the farmer, and your family will be able to enjoy the health benefits of eating fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Buying seasonal produce also provides an exciting opportunity to try new foods and to experiment with seasonal recipes. And it simply tastes better!” said Diane Hatz, Founder/Director of Sustainable Table.

See here for more about Sustainable Table.

Be a Locavore, Put More Local on Your Table

Discussion at Kendall College, June 14 2008 - 10 AM

The Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance was kind enough to provide me a lectern on June 14 to discuss all things local. Details of the event can be found here. Hope to see you all there!

Listen to Me

More Thoughts for the Illinois Food and Farm Task Force

To paraphrase a great local writer, will this VI guy ever shut up.

• Turn locally grown beans into commercially sold dried beans
• Turn locally cured/smoked hams into deli ham
• Turn locally raised turkeys into deli turky
• Create incentives for local food companies like Vienna, Mars, etc. to use local raw materials

Listen to Me

Scroll Down

On Tuesday, I went to a Listening Session for the Illinois Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force at Hull House (props to Hull House too, btw). I started my report of the event early Wednesday but got distracted. I saved what I started as a blog/draft. I did not realize that the post, when done, would go below the other post I had made yesterday. Readers who go to the top of the blog may not see the newer post. Since getting a better local food system matters a bunch to me, here's the post. Read.

Listen to Me

Report from the Soupbox

As I previously posted, the Illinois Local and Organic Food and Farm Task Force held "listening sessions" yesterday. The session leaders informed us that only a small fraction of the food grown in Illinois went directly to consumers in Illinois. Moreover, Illinois consumers were spending a host on organic foods and about none of that came from from food grown within the state either. The result, as we were told, the real ghettos around here were the boarded up and declining rural communities of Illinois. The Task Force hopes to rectify that by ramping up, tremendously, the local food system. Eat local.

The listening session gave a bowl of soup, a delicuous fresh baked roll and a soap box of 120 seconds to who ever wanted. Beyond the time limit, there were no rules. One person read a poem that turned soup into sex. Another person had a poem, with no connection, as far as I could tell, to food, period. Jason Hammel, from Lula's in Logan Square made some very good points. Others railed against GMO's and wanted to give it to the Man. I planed on just being a listener myself, but when most of the talkers seemed 10,000 feet in the air, I thought it would help for someone to speak from the ground. I wanted them to hear from someone eating local. I asked for non-frozen meat and better hours and more available food. If I really had myself collected, and perhaps could talk fast, I would have given this list:

• A central, year-round, daily market, somewhere triangulated between Milwaukee's recent Public Market, the Ferry-Terminal Market in San Francisco and Cleveland's Westside Market.
• Markets open in the afternoon and evening
• More winter markets
• Farmers growing for winter markets. In other words, producing surplus quantities of potatoes, root vegetables, apples, pears, onions and the lot then storing them at optimum conditions. These crops will be released over the course of the Winter.
• Farmers growing in the winter using hoop-houses and other technology--lettuces, greens, herbs, maybe even berries.
• Fruits and vegetables grown for ethnic markets.
• Local food served in schools.
• Mills grinding local grains into the full range of desired grains including white flour.
• A viable commercial fishing industry, including river fish and Lake Michigan fish.
• Pecans grown at one tip of the state and hazelnuts grown at the other; in between a revitalization of the native black walnut crop.
• Artisanal consumer (that's consumer) products derived from local corn and soy including tofu and cooking oils.
• Clearly marked sugar derived from locally grown sugar beets.
• Efforts to ensure the survival of our honeybees.
• Marketeers selling a range of foraged crops including watercress, ramps, paw-paws, wild burdock, dandelions and plenty of mushrooms.
• And last but not least, local meat that is not frozen when I go to buy it!

LAST MINUTE - CHANCE TO BE HEARD - TODAY (MAY 20)

Sorry for the last minute-ness of this, but I only got the word on this late yesterday.

The Illinois General Assembly created a "Food & Farms Task Force to further the cause of local eating in this state. In other words, trying to better hook up non-commodity farmers in the state with consumers of their food. The Task Force has scheduled “Listening sessions” at various locations statewide to gather recommendations from the public on production, infrastructure, public access, public education, and economic benefits that can be derived from Illinois farmers directly serving the needs of their neighbors. They need input!

There are two listening sessions TODAY May 20, 2008.

- Hull House Museum on the UIC campus, 800 S. Halsted, 12noon to 1:30pm, as part of their Rethinking Soup series (free soup!)

- DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 8005, 3pm to 5pm, http://www.chicagofoodpolicy.org/events.htm

My wife and I are going to attend the session at Hull House. And a trip to Hull House is never complete, no, with a trip to nearby Manny's. We plan on being at Manny's around 11 AM and then walking to Hull House. We would love for anyone to join us at this last minute call to action (or for an early sandwich).

Here's the link to the Task Force for more info. Those who cannot attend in person can submit written comments at any time prior to July 15, 2008 to Debbie Hillman, dlhillman@sbcglobal.net (or call 847-328-7175 for mailing address).

Eat Good Food

Green City Farmer's Market 5/14/08, etc.

"It's been eight years since I've eaten fruit"

The League of Woman Voters of Glen Ellyn inaugerated a book club last year. They picked Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle as their book. When it came time for their annual meeting, they needed a speaker. After several reach-outs, the Women became convinced that Ms. Kingsolver would not be available. From who knows how many other choices they found me. I gladly jumped at the chance to provide my eat local, not on the farm, experiences to these recepative ladies. The best line of the night, however, did not come from me. It came from one of the organziers of the event, and it came as we were wrapping up. This woman revealed that for over eight years she had not eaten any fruit. She realized she was not eating fruit because the fruit she was buying just did not taste very good.

When I lectured, I lectured on the benefits of eating local. I talked about food miles, proliferating the 1,500 to your table mantra. I talked about how most local farmers were stewards of their land, using better-than-organic, sustainable practices. How local food, purchased in a CSA or at a farmer's market reduced solid waste because of the lack of packaging. I told how I wanted to support my farmer friends and support the farm economy. Still, at the end of the day, I implored, I wanted to eat better.

This is farmer's market fanfare time of year across the media. The Tribune has their spread and directory today. Gapers Block beat them to the punch a few days ago, but the Chicago Reader was hot to the top over a week ago and should have more eat local stories soon. I know Time Out Chicago's got something brewing. Follow the buzz.

The buzz generally will lead you to Chicago's Green City Market. Honestly, it's not my favorite farmer's market. I mean if nothing else the dulcimer music drives me batty. It's hard to bottle feel for a market, but the Green City Market just does not quite have it. Without cataloguing all my slights and quibbles, let me say this, the feel of the market would be a lot better if the vendors were either lined up all in a row, ala a Parisian street market, say with one collective canopy, or if the vendors made a circle or square of something. It would provide cohesion at least. Maybe it would remind me a bit more of the Dane County market even if that's an unfair comparison. This one aint even close. Still, at the end of the day, it is the most complete market around Chicago.

The vendors are good. Bennison's bakes some of the best breads in Chicago. I related the story to them today of what I heard from an Evanstonian who I had regaled about how good is Bennison's bread. Surprise. Shock. It seems like a lot of Evanstonian's associate Bennison's with mediocre birthday cakes, and the woman selling bread said she's heard the same thing. If the ciabatta I got from them was crisp and short lasting and hardly healthful, the sunflower rye from Dobra's aptly named Delightful Pastries balanced things. Great eating should start with great bread and Green City has you covered there. The fruit and veg people are some of the best in the area. Surely, you should start first with my pal, Farmer Vicki, who today had spinach and baby bok choi's (that caught the eye of the Penisula Hotel) and the long, skinny, early season allium that her and her son argued over which would sell it better "scallion" or "green onion" (Mom gave in and changed the sign to the latter). Nichol's Farm and Green Acres can load you up with the new and the varied. Beth Eccles at Green Acres can provide you with your own watercress motivations, but sadly, she was out of fiddlehead ferns by the time I arrived. Oh, and please do not forget Growing Power who is doing great things in Milwaukee parking lots. I got some edible flowers from them today. If the cheese selection cannot even come close to Madison, the cheeses that are there are very good, especially from Brunkow. The meat counters vary. I had to buy actual spring lamb (a shoulder) today from Mint Creek Farm. I passed on the elk although I liked the tiny taste, and I have more than enough meat still to bypass Heartland.

Don't go to Green City expecting the greatest farmer's market. Do go to begin your eat local quest. It will get you very well started. You would not have found any fruit today but as soon as the strawberries appear, in a few weeks, I guarantee you won't go another eight years.

The Green City Market will run outdoors on Wednesdays and Saturdays until October 29, 2008, 7-1:30. It is located just north of the Chicago History Museum on Clark Street, around 1700 N.

Eat Local Now

What's Up at Cassie's Green Grocer - Part 1

Who wants to eat local. Who wants to eat local now! Cassie's got your goods. She forwarded to me a list of produce on hand, so who sez you have to wait until the farmer's markets open.

Here’s a few items that either we just got or will have probably by the end of the week!

Asparagus from Seedling Fruits in Michigan (this could still be another week or two)
Arugula and chives from City Farms (Division/Clybourn)

Baby lettuces, mustard greens, collards, radishes, chard from Windy City Harvest (28th and Western)

Lettuces, herbs, microgreens from Organic Illinois farms (all across the state)

“Teese”-vegan cheese made by local Chicago Soy Dairy (who uses Wisconsin soybeans when in season)