Annual Appeals: Austin Eats Initiative, Zumwalt Farms
Also, great non-profit events and our subscription drive continues
We’re Standing By to Share Your Annual Appeals
Tuesday’s Local Food Forum extended an offer to share food non-profits’ annual fundraising appeals. The following two excellent organizations were quick to respond.
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’ requests.
Austin Eats Initiative, Chicago
Chicago’s Austin community has 90,000+ residents but only two full grocery stores. And with the pandemic, Austin’s bare-bones emergency food infrastructure was exposed.
However, the Austin Eats Initiative is addressing this challenge by working to sow and grow a healthier Austin through urban gardening, culinary entrepreneurship, and food access. Austin Eats is a collaborative of 20+ organizations that are organizing efforts to educate the community about healthy food resources, and they have even started the process of bringing a community-owned Food Co-op to Austin.
Help sustain this work by donating to Austin Coming Together (ACT), the nonprofit that convenes Austin Eats, at AustinComingTogether.org/Donations or learn more at AustinComingTogether.org/AustinEats.
Zumwalt Acres, Sheldon, Illinois
Zumwalt Acres is aiming to raise $24,000 by the end of the year to be able to support a farm manager, after three years of operating on an almost entirely volunteer basis. Our mission is to foster a new generation of farmers, scientists and activists to build a better food system and tackle climate change.
Our work is grounded in environmental farming practices, scientific research and community building, guided by Jewish values. We grow and distribute food to our local community and throughout Chicago, transition land into regenerative farming and agroforestry, host a live-in apprenticeship for young adults age 18-27, and facilitate cutting-edge climate change research trials.
We're almost halfway to our goal, but we still have $14,000 to go. Individuals can donate on our website Support Our Work — Zumwalt Acres or via check, Zelle or Venmo if they reach out to us at zumwaltacres@gmail.com. We are also available to answer questions via email (zumwaltacres@gmail.com).
While we’re on the topic… Local Food Forum needs financial support to become more self-sustaining. Every new paid subscriptions helps and is accepted with gratitude. And through December 10, 20 percent of every new subscription will be donated to fight pediatric cancer (this campaign is a celebration of my 20th anniversary as a cancer survivor).
Local Food Forum is here to serve and promote the local food community. Your paid subscription will help ensure that this will continue for the foreseeable future.
More from the Local Food Forum Help Desk
Sometimes the outreach requests we receive are physical rather than financial. For instance, Tuesday’s Local Food Forum included an inquiry from Bob Zeni, aka Chicago Tomato Man, about available greenhouse space for his tomato starter plants next spring.
Today we’re sharing a request for help from Bianca Bautista at University of Illinois Extension — Cook County, who needs to connect with someone who can “drive a large donated fridge from North Riverside to Humboldt Park for the asylum seekers at the Welcome Center in Roberto Clemente High School.”
Bianca says the refrigerator, seen in the photo above, is about 62 inches high, the width is 2.5 feet and the depth is 3 feet. If you have a vehicle that can accommodate the fridge and can help, click below to email Bianca.
Saturday: Southside Food Co-op Live/Online Event
Southside Food Co-op is a developing project to bring the benefits of a locally owned and operated cooperative grocery store to an underserved community on Chicago’s South Side. And you are invited to attend their live December update meeting, which will be held at 12 p.m. this Saturday at Dyett High School at 555 E. 51st St. in Chicago.
Here is the message from the organizers:
Join SSFC for our year-end gathering on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at Noon CST. We would love to have you there!
The event will take place at Dyett High School, located at 555 E. 51st Street. It's going to be a fun-filled day of communication and celebration.
As it's going to be a potluck-style gathering, we kindly request that each attendee bring a dish to share. Whether it's a savory dish, a refreshing salad, or a delectable dessert, your contribution will add to the festive spirit of the event.
We look forward to seeing you there!
If you can’t make it in person but want to learn more about this important project, click below to tune in via Zoom.
Sunday: Land Access Learning/Networking Event
If you are a farmer who needs farmland, a farmland owner seeking to sell or lease, or anyone interested in the critical issue of affordable land access, join a coalition of non-profits in suburban Crystal Lake this Sunday afternoon (December 3) for Common Ground: A Gathering of Land Seekers and Landowners.
The event will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. at Duke’s Alehouse & Kitchen, recognized as a leader in our region’s farm-to-table restaurant community. The cost to participate is $10 and travel reimbursement is available.
Here is the message from the event organizers:
Come to build community, connect, and find your common ground!
Whether you're looking for land to start or expand your farm business, looking for a farmer to purchase, steward, or lease your land, or just looking to learn more about land access, gather with us and get to know others in the community.
You’ll also have a chance to hear innovative land access stories and browse resources from over 10 organizations dedicated to helping land seekers and landowners.
Come prepared to share your story, make friends, enjoy free local appetizers, and fortify the fabric of the good food movement.
We hope that you’ll join us!
Event presented by Angelic Organics Learning Center, Illinois FarmLink, Northern Illinois Young Farmers Coalition (NIYF), the Center for Agrarian Learning (CAL) at McHenry County College, and The Land Conservancy of McHenry County and generously supported by Duke’s Alehouse & Kitchen, Compeer Financial, Food:Land:Opportunity, and Illinois Department of Agriculture.
Bob’s World, and Welcome to It
A lovely painted sky at sunset, Tuesday, November 28, 2023.