Farmers, Circle 12/15 (Maybe Twice)
Stateline Farm Beginnings Deadline, Resilience Fund Application Opens
When Life Gives You Eggs, Make a Frittata
I mentioned last week that I placed an online food order that included one dozen locally farmed eggs, and received three dozen. It was a wonderful deal, but a lot of eggs for two people.
Never fear, frittata to the rescue. Essentially a puffy baked omelet, an 8-inch frittata can feed you for breakfast (or lunch) for a good part of the week. This one has mushrooms, onion, bell peppers, tomato, parsley and some pre-cooked breakfast sausages. More below, including the recipe, after these important messages.
Farmers, Circle December 15 on Your Calendars
December 15 (Wednesday of next week) is kind of a big deal for local farmers looking to learn more to grow their businesses or seeking grant money for critical farm needs.
You have until that date to apply for Stateline Farm Beginnings, a training program led by Angelic Organics Learning Center.
Also that date, applications open for Resilience Fund Grants for Illinois Local Food Producers — managed by Illinois Stewardship Alliance with financial support from the Chicago Region Food System Fund — which will award a total of $175,000 to farmers for critical infrastructure needs.
Please look over the information from these organizations below.
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It’s not too late to register for the 2022 Stateline Farm Beginnings program.
Learn from regional farmers!
Forge friendships and collaborations!
Receive advice, instruction from industry professionals!
Solidify your holistic farm vision!
Get help with your farm business plan!
Break ground on your farm dream!
We have scholarship funding for BIPOC, veteran, LGBTQ+ applicants!
Go to learngrowconnect.org/sfb-app for more information and to apply!
Deadline: December 15th
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More cold storage, new hoop houses, new equipment — those were just a few of the investments farmers made last year with support from the Alliance’s Resilience Fund.
Those on-farm investments mean more local food available in communities across Illinois.
Now thanks to the generous support of the Chicago Region Food System Fund, the Alliance is proud to announce the return of the Resilience Fund.
Last year, the Resilience Fund awarded 27 local farms a total of $225,000 in grants. In all, 80 local food farmers applied for over $1 million in support, indicating an ongoing and unmet need for local food infrastructure development.
In the coming months, $175,000 will be awarded to local food producers for investment in critical infrastructure to increase the capacity and resiliency of our local food system.
Farms and farm collaborations will have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $10,000. Illinois local food farmers are eligible and encouraged to apply.
The Resilience Fund application will open on Wednesday, December 15, 2021 and will close on February 15, 2022. Decisions are anticipated by April 1, 2022.
More information about the fund will be available soon. You can see the previous Resilience Fund awardees projects here.
On behalf of the Alliance Board, staff, and members, our thanks to the Chicago Region Food System Fund for this incredible opportunity to expand local food in Illinois.
Sincerely,
Liz M. Stelk
Executive Director
P.S. Farmers, save the date: Resilience Fund applications will open on Dec. 15th. More information coming soon.
Fritta-da!
My go-to frittata recipe is from the book Cooking With Scraps by Lindsay-Jean Hard (Workman, 2018), which is filled with creative ways to upcycle food scraps and reduce waste. The frittata (recipe below) is one of the more conventional items in a book that includes edgier ideas such as Banana Peel Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting and Pumpkin Guts Butterscotch Scones.
This recipe can easily be made your own by mixing up the kinds of vegetables, cheese and dairy you use.
A knob of unsalted butter (though I use olive oil)
8 large eggs
1/3 cup dairy, e.g. plain yogurt, sour cream, milk (though skip this if you only have nonfat)
2/3 cup shredded or crumbled cheese
1/2 tsp. fine-grained sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Up to 3 cups roughly chopped and cooked vegetables of your choice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350
Grease a pie pan or oven-safe skillet with butter (or oil)
Place eggs, dairy, and cheese in a bowl, whisk and add salt and pepper
Scatter the vegetables in the pan and pour the egg mixture over the top
Bake until eggs are just set (usually 20 minutes in my oven)
If you like a toasty finish, turn on the broiler for a hot minute (I don’t bother)
Bon appetit, and I’d love it if you’d share your personalized masterpiece. Since this is a local food blog, I can’t be the only one who’s cooking.