Comparing Apples and... Zucchini?
Move of Green City's Chef BBQ to September means different ingredients, tastes
In This Issue
• Apples and… Zucchini? September Green City Market BBQ Means New Options
• Reminder: Register for 9/17 Naturally Network Webinar on Power of Community
Chef BBQ: Comparing Apples and… Zucchini?
I did an interview a couple of weeks ago with Mandy Moody, executive director of Green City Market, about its big soiree coming up on the evening of Thursday, September 9: The Chef BBQ — making a comeback after the lost COVID year of 2020 — is one of Chicago’s best-loved food and beverage tasting events each year, and also is the nonprofit market’s biggest fundraising event.
My conversation with Mandy was so wide-ranging that I decided to split it in two. Part 1, published August 22, provided background on the BBQ and described how the revenues it produces are critical to funding the market’s programs (including the matching funds it provides to shoppers who use SNAP/Link food assistance benefits).
Part 2’s excerpted Q-and-A below explores the important community-building aspect of farmers markets, which was accented last year when they provided one of the few “normal” activities available during the pandemic shutdowns, and how holding the Chef BBQ in September rather than its traditional July date will make it a somewhat different event (hint: it has to do with what’s in season).
Click the button below to learn more about the Chef BBQ, including the chef/restaurants and other providers participating, and buy your tickets.
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Q: Delicious local food is the foremost reason that shoppers attend farmers markets such as Green City, but the sense of community, a common bond with local food lovers, is an important reason why so many people become regulars. That sense of community was really elevated last year.
My wife and I were being very careful about COVID, and I rarely left the apartment building. I described it as minimum security incarceration with good food. But once Green City was able to open in June 2020, it was really the only place I could go at that time, or felt safe to go, where I could see friends. It was socially distanced, we were all wearing masks, we couldn't touch the food, but it was still as close to the old normal as anything I did.
A: Yeah, and I think it's right there. No one really gets excited to go to the regular grocery store. It's just it's a chore. It's a task. It's something we have to do. Whereas the farmers market is the place where it’s a connection point. It's almost an act of self-care. That word gets kind of thrown out around a lot these days, but for some people, it really, really is that…
People, through COVID, were cooking at home so much more, and so I think we really had this whole new following of folks who are really understanding local food and the flavors. We say all the time, if we just get someone to the market and they have that first taste, you're a convert, right?
You're in that experience where folks are smiling at you. Even behind the masks, you can tell that folks are happy to see you and they're so proud of what they've grown or raised, and they want to share that with you in a way that you just don't get elsewhere. You just don't get that in the conventional shop.
Q: Now the biggest difference with this year's Chef BBQ is the date. It's always traditionally been in late July and invariably, it could be 75 degrees the day before and it would be the hottest day of the year for the BBQ. I will tell you that if it is 95 degrees with 90 percent humidity on September 9, you're just going to have to assume that somebody made the weather gods angry at some point. Statistically it suggests that there will be a more comfortable and ambient experience than it has been in past years.
A: Definitely, just being some cooler temps and, hopefully, fingers crossed no rain. [For the July BBQs], while we're setting up, it's always the rain. It always seems to go away for our guests, which is wonderful, but I know our volunteers and staff will appreciate a dry setup day, hopefully.
The other interesting thing, going back to the seasonality, is for folks who've been coming to Chef BBQ for years and years and years, this will be a different Chef BBQ. There's going to be different flavors and just a whole sort of different theme to the event, because we're more into fall. We're outside of the dog days of summer, and we're more into the fall harvest season. So I'm really, really excited to see what the chefs put on their plates this year, because it's a whole different ballgame.
September is quite different from July in terms of what's growing locally. So that's very exciting. We’ll probably see more apple dishes, maybe the squash. We do keep an eye on what folks are submitting and we make suggestions: Okay, we've seen a couple of these now. But what's so interesting is on paper, something can sound similar to something else, but the beauty of the chef’s artistry pairing with the true art of the farmers growing that product, something totally different can come out on the plate. You might see five or six apple dishes, but what you experience is going to be so different.
Something so cool about both Chef BBQ and the Green City Market is about experiences. I think food can really transport us in our memories. It really evokes strong feelings and there's a sense of nostalgia that can come from a dish… People remember those bites. It's just such a joyous experience. I'm getting goosebumps talking about it.
Naturally Network “Community” Webinar on 9/17
A reminder about the Naturally Network’s free webinar coming up on Friday, September 17 (3-4 p.m. central) titled Harnessing the Power of Community. Click the button below to register and hear from some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Natural & Organic industry, as they share stories of how they leveraged their communities — and how you can do the same to develop yourself and your business.
Hear from These Industry Leaders…
John Foraker, Co-Founder & CEO, Once Upon A Farm and the former groundbreaking CEO of Annie’s Homegrown
Pete Speranza, CEO of Wicked Foods
Ayeshah Abuelhiga, Founder & CEO, Mason Dixie Foods
And Naturally Network Hosts
Sharon Reddehase, Executive Director, Naturally Network
Jim Slama, Managing Director, Naturally Chicago
Naturally Network leaders from across the country (Austin, Boulder, Bay Area, Chicago, New York, North Bay, and San Diego)
This event is presented by KeHE Distributors (a co-founder of Naturally Chicago), New Hope Network, and New Nexus Group.
[Note: I am joining the Naturally Chicago Board of Directors. I previously helped launch Naturally Chicago and worked on it for nearly two years as an employee of Chicago nonprofit FamilyFarmed, which started the program in May 2019. Naturally Chicago recently separated from FamilyFarmed and is now a stand-alone organization.]