It's August — Join the Market Throng
Big crowds and piles of beautiful food on July's final weekend, plus this week's sked
Looks Like This Local Food Thing Is Catching On
Just kidding, local food has been a big deal around here for many years. But all the admittedly anecdotal evidence I’ve seen says that the uptick in consumer interest in healthy, nutritious, sustainably produced and delicious locally produced food — which started in 2020 at the start of the pandemic — is continuing apace.
That crowd above was at Saturday’s Green City Market in Lincoln Park, which has been drawing throngs of local food fans since the beginning of its outdoor season.
It was a very long week and I didn’t stay long, but as you can see in my Green City haul above, I didn’t get cheated. From the left, summer Jersey Mac apples from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois); pork steak and ground chicken from Jake’s Country Meats (Cassopolis, Michigan); shishito peppers and Tropea onions from Froggy Meadow Farm (Beloit, Wisconsin); heirloom tomatoes from Frillman Farms (Prairie View, Illinois and Berrien Springs, Michigan); Parisian carrots from Nichols; eggs from Avrom Farm (Ripon, Wisconsin) and green beans from Smits Farms (Chicago Heights, Illinois).
I also made a quick stop at The Lincoln Park Farmers Market, three-quarters of a mile west on Armitage from Green City. This market is smaller and has a more neighborhood feel, but manager Elsa Jacobson says there’s a steady flow of customers and most vendors sell out what they brought.
I always enjoy meeting new vendors and especially enjoy meeting urban farmers who are growing in economically challenged neighborhoods on Chicago’s West and South sides. So I’m happy to introduce LaShawn Miller of Finding Justice A Flower and Vegetable Garden, located in the Austin community on Chicago’s western border. It was a pleasure chatting with her and I hope to visit the farm soon.
Celery is one of the least prolific crops in the Chicago region, so when I saw the bunch on the right at the Finding Justice stand, I snapped it up. Also at Lincoln Park, I picked up this big head of green leaf lettuce from Los Rodriguez Farm (Eau Claire, Michigan) and…
… these Sungold cherry tomatoes from Compean and Sons (Huntington, Indiana), which are almost impossibly sweet. Yes, I managed to buy from all four states in the Lake Michigan region, so I’m claiming extra credit.
Finally, a shoutout to my friend Tracey Vowell of Three Sisters Garden (Kankakee, Illinois), from whom I received my first delivery this year of her famous sweet corn on Saturday. I actually got a dozen ears, but it would have been too much work piling it up for one photo. Since they were delivering anyway, I also some basil, apple mint, Cherokee sweet mint, summer onions, cucumbers, and some small summer squash that apparently were camera shy.
Hungry for more? Here’s this week’s regional farmers market schedule. And by the way, National Farmers Market Week starts this Sunday!