Frontera Foundation Announces 2022 Grants
19 regional farms to receive up to $12,000 each for capital improvements
At the Cold Ball Game
The sky is steely gray. Temperatures are in the low 40s and it feels a few degrees colder.
In other words, a pretty typical opening day for the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. I actually live less than a mile from Wrigley (it’s just north of the scene in the photo) and I would have been sorely tempted to snag a ticket and go if it were sunny and 10 degrees warmer. Okay, maybe 20 degrees warmer.
But I determined a few years ago that sitting outside for hours in crappy weather just was no longer my idea of fun. So I’ll turn on the TV, and plan to catch a few games when I’ll be able to safely lose a couple of layers of outerwear. Soon enough I’ll be complaining that it’s too hot to sit outside for hours watching a game.
Meet 2022’s Frontera Foundation Farm Grantees
It is always a pleasure to share the list of recipients of the annual grants disbursed by the Frontera Farmer Foundation.
There are 19 regional farms on the list of recipients of this year’s grants of up to $12,000 per farm, to be used for infrastructure projects or purchases that help the farm businesses to be sustainable and to grow. That brings to about $3 million the total amount of money raised and shared by the Foundation since it was created in 2003 by Rick Bayless, a pioneering Chicago farm-to-table chef.
Right at the top of the alphabetical list are a couple of farms with which I have a personal acquaintance.
Avrom Farm of Ripon, Wisconsin, who I met when they started at Green City Market in 2019, is receiving a grant to Increase egg production by converting two broiler range coops to laying-hen range coops.
Avrom Farm is an innovator as a regenerative farm and one of the few farms in our region producing both meat and produce; it also made a rapid pivot to e-commerce and home delivery early in the pandemic, even aggregating products from other farms and producers. Owner Hayden Holbert participated in a webinar, titled Delivering on the Promise of Local Food, which I produced for Naturally Chicago in November 2020.
Broadview Farm and Gardens in Marengo, Illinois was launched five years ago by Tim and Delicia Brown and has quickly gained attention as a regional rising star. I wrote an article about Broadview, focused on their CSA program, for Buy Fresh Buy Local Illinois, which I republished on Local Food Forum.
The Foundation also noted that it is handling $28,000 in proceeds from the fundraising dinner, held Sunday at Frontera Grill, which will go directly to Tracey Vowell of Three Sisters Garden in Kankakee to help her recover from a fire that caused major equipment and product damage. Yesterday’s Local Food Forum carried Tracey’s note of gratitude to everyone who has rallied to assist her.
Here is the release from Frontera Farmer Foundation with the full list of grant recipients.
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Introducing the recipients of this year’s crop of Frontera Farmer Foundation grants!
We’re still tabulating but it looks like this year’s giving means the FFF has awarded about $3 million in grant funds since we officially started in 2003. We thank each and every one of our donors for making it all possible.
This year, the grant-giving committee selected 19 on-farm projects for capital development grants of up $12,000. They represent a broad and diverse array of projects, ranging from a beekeeper’s expansion of hives to a garlic farmer looking to erect a roadside stand. Soil health, too, plays a major role for this year’s grantees. Several projects are designed to reduce tillage and increase cover crops.
It is our hope these grant funds allow these family farms to take their next big step. Likewise, we hope these grants make it easier for all of us to support those who produce local food.
This year’s giving also included some $28,000 in an emergency relief for Three Sisters Garden, the Kankakee farm helmed by former Frontera Grill chef Tracey Vowell. Every penny of it made possible by guests and donors at a recent special fundraising dinner.
2022 Grant Recipients
Avrom Farm, Ripon, Wisc.
Project: Increasing egg production by converting two broiler range coops to laying hen range coops.
Broadview Farm and Gardens, Marengo, Ill.
Project: Purchase of a used box truck allowing for more distribution to more markets.
Cattail Organics, Athens, Wisc.
Project: Covering costs for a combination farm tool (stone burier, conservation tiller and bed maker) designed to reduce tillage, minimize environmental impacts on soil, increase capacity for growing cover crops and increase profit and productivity.
Chicago Patchwork Farms, Chicago, Ill.
Project: Purchase of a walk-behind tractor for use at the group’s urban farms throughout the city.
Cow Creek Farm, Paxton, Ill.
Project: Purchase of a mobile seed cleaning unit for community use, allowing farmers to save more of their own seeds, sell higher value crops and move toward direct marketing of their grain.
Down River Farm, East Peoria, Ill.
Project: Adding a high tunnel and adding more cold storage for storage of root crops.
Dream Apple Farm, Port Washington, Wisc.
Project: Purchase of a commercial grade apple peeler and slicer, electric food mill and commercial-grade food dehydrator.
Dream Farm, Cross Plains, Wisc.
Project: Purchase a milk transport tank and build a receiving room to transport milk from milk-house to micro-creamery.
Fulbuschel Farm and Produce, Elburn, Ill.
Project: Construction of a new 20’X100′ hoop house.
Garlic Breath Farm, Elburn, Ill.
Project: Construction of a roadside organic farm stand.
Garlic Underground, Crystal Lake, Ill.
Project: Purchase of a tractor to plant more diverse garlic varieties.
Green Fire Farm, Monticello, Wisc.
Project: Upgrading to single hoop building from portable pens for more efficient poultry pasture.
Harrison Market Pastures, Rockton, Ill.
Project: Build a subterranean walk-in cooler for cold storage & root vegetable storage.
Mushroom Mike, New Berlin, Wisc.
Project: Purchase of chamber sealer and freezer for bagged huitlacoche production.
Rainfield Farm, New Carlisle, Ind.
Project: High tunnel upgrades for year-round farming and upgrades to wash and pack area.
Root & Sky Farm, Marengo, Ill.
Project: Construct and install electric fence around the farm.
Sutter Produce, Sutter, Ill.
Project: Install a walk-in freezer for storing homegrown and locally sourced fruit for jams, jellies, fruit butters and pie fillings.
Three Bees Honey, Streamwood, Ill.
Project: Purchase of 10 new beehives, along with supporting equipment and supplies to increase honey yields and expand pollination.
Three Brothers Farm, Oconomowoc, Wisc.
Construct a walk-in cooler to improve egg inventory management.