In This Issue:
• What Market Monday Is
• A Little Nature Photography OK With You?
• Take a Quiz
Finding Farmers Markets Made Easier
One of the most important priorities for Local Food Forum is to make it easier for local folks to find, buy and prepare local food. That is why we are launching Market Mondays. Each Monday we will feature a list of Chicago-area farmers markets along with lovely photos (mostly by yours truly) of the products that are in season.
Once the market season starts in earnest (meaning May), we will list each market by the day of the week in which it is happening (and we’ll also post reminders each day on the Local Food Forum pages on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram). The list through April will be chronological by market opening date.
You live and learn: Being a city kid, I’ve always said the season starts when the Green City and Downtown Evanston markets kick off on the first Saturday in May. I did some homework and discovered there is at least one market away from the city limits that’s getting a head start. If you are near Grayslake… lucky you!
A couple of notes to farmers market managers and vendors. This feature is aimed at getting more consumers to your markets, so I would be super-grateful if you would let your followers know about Local Food Forum. If you have set an opening date and aren’t on the list yet, PLEASE let me know at bob@localfoodforum.com; I’ll get you into the next list and apologize in advance for the oversight.
No 2021 photos yet. The pix are from past years’ markets.
Saturday, April 10
Saturday, May 1
Downtown Evanston Farmers Market
Green City Market Lincoln Park Chicago (Saturday)
Sunday, May 2
95th Street Farmers Market Chicago (tentative)
Wednesday, May 5
Green City Market Lincoln Park Chicago (Wednesday)
Sunday, May 9
Logan Square Farmers Market Chicago
Wicker Park Farmers Market Chicago
Wednesday, May 12
Andersonville Farmers Market Chicago
Saturday, May 15
61st Street Farmers Market Chicago
Saturday, May 22
Saturday, May 29
Huntley Farmers Market [note below]
South Loop Farmers Market Printer’s Row Chicago
Tuesday, June 1
SOAR Farmers Market Chicago Streeterville
Thursday, June 3
Low-Line Market Chicago (Lakeview)
Saturday, June 5
Green City Market West Loop Chicago
Horner Park Farmers Market Chicago
Sunday, June 6
Glenwood Sunday Market Chicago
Mount Prospect Lions Club Farmers Market
Sunday, June 13
Jefferson Park Farmers Market (tentative) Chicago
Wednesday, June 16
Thursday, June 17
South Loop Farmers Market Prairie District Chicago
Friday, June 18
Gary Comer Youth Center Farmers Market Chicago
Saturday, June 19
Note: Huntley Farmers Market hosts an indoor/outdoor market on April 10 and May 8.
Hope You Like Waterfowl
If you already know me you almost certainly know that along with being a food fanatic, I’m an avid photographer of nature in Chicago. North Pond in Lincoln Park is a bird sanctuary, and since I moved to the city 10 years ago, it’s also been a Bob sanctuary, a precious place where I go to lose myself in nature.
North Pond also is on my long-ish walk from Lakeview to Green City Market. So I hope you’ll humor me when I occasionally post photos I took along the way. I joke about being a waterfowl paparazzo, so brace yourself for an excess of cuteness, as gosling and duckling season is right around the corner.
I took an early spring walk on Saturday and happy to share these photos of beautiful wood ducks. As is common with ducks, the males are the ones with the colorful plumage.
Take a Quiz
When can you expect to see the first baby waterfowl in the Chicago area?
a) mid April
b) early May
c) mid May
d) Memorial Day weekend
Answer: b) My first gosling photos in 2020 were taken May 2. You might spot a very early brood a few days earlier, but not much. Ducklings come along a little later.