An Appealing and Eventful Issue
Annual appeals from here and far, and two great events coming right up
Can I Get a Wow?
We see a lot of pretty sunsets over a year. Some are beautiful. And then there are some — like the one Wednesday (December 6) — when the angle of the setting sun catches the clouds just right, and you get to experience something entirely awesome… stirring… jaw-dropping.
Please read the important articles below, but keep scrolling to see a series of photos that show how this amazing sunset devleoped.
End-of-Year Non-profit Fundraising Appeals
Local Food Forum extends a standing offer to share food non-profits’ annual fundraising appeals.
There’s no publicity like free publicity, so if your better-for-people, better-for-the-planet food organization would like to reach our audience of true believers, please reply to this issue of Local Food Forum or email me directly by clicking the button below.
There is no charge for this service; the only requirement is that you contact us directly, because I just don’t have the resources to track down your content from the web.
This content is published verbatim from the organizations’ content.
The first is from Illinois Farmers Market Association (ILFMA), one of the pillars of our region’s local food ecosystem.
The second is about Just Food, a non-profit that works with CSAs and farmers markets in New York City to bring healthy food to underserved areas of the city and encourage farmers, especially farmers of color and those from nontraditional backgrounds, to build their market in the city.
Thanks to Ruth Katcher, one of Local Food Forum’s long-distance supporters, who runs a CSA in Brooklyn and also is on the Just Food CSA Advisory Board. It has always been my goal to reach out for content from beyond the Chicago region, as we have much to learn from each other, and it is something I plan to pursue in the upcoming year.
Besides, I was born and raised in New York, and it’s nice to be able to help out my old hometown
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Support for Illinois Farmers Market Association
Farmers Markets don't just happen. Farmers markets take extensive planning, expertise, and resources to happen. Support ILFMA as we support farmers markets and build a resilient local food system.
Your gift to the Illinois Farmers Market Association (ILFMA) is a direct investment in building a robust local food system. Every donation, regardless of size, is helping small and micro businesses, farmers, producers, families, entire communities, both urban and rural, retain access to local, fresh, and nutritious food.
Farmers markets are great, fun events, but they are so much more.
Farmers markets are
Food Access opportunities
Smaller carbon footprint
Economic growth and development
Business incubators and development
Farmers markets provide access to food and may be the only access to fresh food in some communities. Over 100 farmers markets in Illinois accept Link and offer Link Match, an incentive allowing Link users to get bonus dollars for fruit and vegetable purchases at farmers markets.
Local products don't travel 1000's of miles. Priority is given to variety and taste, not cross country transportation.
Locally produced food is often harvested for market day, maximizing taste and nutritional content.
Farmers markets are a low-cost way to test a business and measure the communities' response. Many farmers markets vendors who found success have expanded their businesses.
Farmers markets bring people and their dollars to a community. Locally spent money puts dollars back into the local community,.
It is a place to meet the producers and make community connections.
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From Ruth Katcher:
Just Food is a small operation and is emerging from the pandemic with a broader mandate to bring healthy food to underserved areas of [New York City] through CSA and farmers markets AND to encourage farmers — especially farmers of color and those from nontraditional backgrounds — to build their market in the city. Just Food also runs a training program for community chefs.
From Just Food’s website:
At Just Food, we work passionately to shift the power, health, and wealth of historically marginalized communities that have been purposely divested from, by developing community-driven solutions to inequities within the New York regional food system. We catalyze action and create change through our learner-centered trainings, annual conferences, and vibrant network of small- to mid-scale regional farmers. We have made racial, economic, and environmental equity our north star.
Community Events Update
The Trashy Holiday Market
Sunday (December 10), 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Three locations (West Town and Fulton Market neighborhoods)
This event, staged by the Nowhere Collective, features local artisan-made products made with upcycled materials that otherwise would have ended up in the trash (hence the “Trashy” in the event’s name). There will be vendors on hand in three locations:
Ignite Glass Studios, 401 N. Armour St.
District Brew Yards, 417 N. Ashland Ave.
Patagonia x Worn Wear, 1115 W. Fulton Market St.
This is not a food-specific event, but it was brought to my attention by Amy Bartucci, a zero-waste advocate and friend of Local Food Forum. Amy will be at District Brew Yards from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday to talk local food and food systems (I am hoping to make a cameo appearance there).
Here’s the pitch from the producers:
Come be dazzled by debris at the Trashy Holiday Market! Featuring ingenious local artisans who work their magic to turn almost-trash into one-of-a-kind wonders. Plus, enjoy other waste-less activities and crafts.
Brought to you by Nowhere Collective, Ignite Glass Studios, and Patagonia x Worn Wear.
There is no better way to show love for our one-and-only planet and each other than to gather together as a community. We have *nowhere* else to go, so let’s go *nowhere* together.
Shop from eco- & socially-conscious local businesses offering an array of uniquely upcycled, hand-crafted wares, like home goods, planters, art, fashion, bath & body and more. Plus, more hands-on, trashy activities for all ages.
Registration is not required but is requested.
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Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC) Holiday Mixer
Tuesday (December 12), 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Blvd. (Near West Side neighborhood)
CFPAC is a leading non-profit advocate for food equity/justice/sovereignty and urban agriculture. Here is their description of the holiday mixer:
The 2023 Winter Mixer is an interactive event designed to engage various persons within the food supply chain (food workers, food producers, distributors, buyers, policymakers, financers, and community stakeholders) to advance the Metro Chicago Good Food Purchasing Initiative and understand what role we all collectively play within the regional food system.
Attendees can expect to walk away with knowledge/awareness about funding opportunities, certification processes, pathways to institutional procurement, as well as the ability to network and build relationships. We are inviting our community of organizations, industry leaders, and business owners who are actively working with the food system to identify transformative solutions to establish a more equitable and just food system.
We aim to keep this conversation going and continue to collectivize at the 2024 Food Justice Summit.
Bob’s World, and Welcome to It
More of Wednesday’s gorgeous sunset…