Very Happy to Be Here
At a terribly early hour on December 10, 2003, Barb and I drove to Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Later that morning, doctors removed a non-vital organ that was trying to slowly kill me.
Unpleasant as that was, I have considered myself fortunate ever since. The doctors caught the cancer just before it would have spread, making the outcome much better than the prognosis that gave me the humbling experience of reading five-year survival charts at the age of 48.
And here I am, 20 years later at a not-very-tender age, working like an over-caffeinated beaver to support the cause of a food system that’s better for people and the planet.
I have now lived long enough to see friends much younger than me taken by some version of this dreadful disease. May their memories be for a blessing. I hope I stand up for them in this work.
We’re close enough to Thanksgiving, when I wrote about many of the things I’m thankful for, so I won’t go on about it. While for better or worse I try to infuse this publication with a bit of my personality, Local Food Forum is decidedly not about me. It’s about the farmers and farmers markets and co-ops and farm to table chefs and non-profit organizations and food justice advocates and consumers who together are building a movement for a better and more sustainable future.
With that, this is the last day of the paid subscription drive. The campaign is intended to make Local Food Forum more self-sustaining… and I’m giving 20 percent of the proceeds to a hospital’s pediatric cancer care. Nothing moved me more when I was undergoing my treatments than knowing there were little kids in the same hospital fighting for their lives against cancer.
The campaign has raised more than $150 so far. To get to $200 would require only five more new paid subscribers. I hope a few of you will consider signing up.
This Weekend’s Illinois Indoor Market Schedule
Hey, local food fans. Please note that if you want to stock up on that delicious locally produced food for your holiday feasts, you should consider visiting one of these farmers markets across Illinois this coming weekend. Many of them will be closed the weekend immediately before Christmas to enable their vendors and employees to better enjoy the holiday.
The Illinois Farmers Market Association has a winter market schedule that has more detail. Click here to check it out.
Friday, December 15
St. Charles Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Baker Memorial Church, 307 Cedar Ave.
Saturday, December 16
Batavia Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., The Dock at 150 First Street
Carbondale Community Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., University Mall
Champaign-Urbana Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Lincoln Square Mall, Urbana
Deerfield Indoor Winter Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 815 Wilmot Rd.
Evanston Community Indoor Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., 616 Lake St.
Geneseo Farmers Market, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., 1025 S. State St.
Grayslake OUTDOOR Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 201 Center St.
Green City Indoor Market, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., 3031 N. Rockwell St., Chicago
Lanark Winter Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., 405 East Locust St.
Land of Goshen Winter Market, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., 114 St. Louis St., Edwardsville
Macomb Farmers Market, 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., 221 E. Washington St.
61st Street Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 6100 S. Blackstone Ave., Chicago
Twin City Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., 106 Avenue A, Sterling
Woodstock Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., McHenry County Fairgrounds
Sunday, December 17
Cary Indoor Winter Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 3900 Northwest Hwy, Crystal Lake, IL
Farmers Market at the Dole, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 401 Country Club Rd., Crystal Lake
Market at L&A Healing Studio, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2018 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
Wicker Park Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2018 W North Ave.
Bob’s World, and Welcome to It
The photo at top is a panorama of a beautiful sunrise last Thursday (December 7). Here are a couple more angles of a beautiful way to start the day.
Bob
The Best Is Yet To Come…