Janie’s Mill Represents at Soup and Bread Dinner
Soup & Bread dinners, which take place at The Hideout bar and events venue at 1354 W. Wabansia Ave. in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood, have a long history of building community and helping the less fortunate.
Under its tried and true concept, eight or nine volunteers donate their own soups for the dinners, with donated bread from some of Chicago’s best bakeries. Proceeds from pay-what-you-can donations at the door go to selectednon-profits that help the hungry.
The next event, to be held next Wednesday (February 7) — doors at 5:30, soup at 6 — was brought to my attention by friend Tatum Evans, Marketing and Relationship Manager for Janie’s Mill, the pioneering regenerative grain operation based in Ashkum, Illinois. Tatum is one of the soup chefs for Wednesday’s event, and Janie’s Mill, as it did for the January 3 Soup & Bread, is sponsoring the donation by Publican Quality Bread, a leading purchaser of the mill’s flour (Middle Brow will also be donating bread for this event).
According to the organizers, the other souper chefs will be Ann Cibulskis, Cinnamon Cooper, Axios reporter Monica Eng, Ashley Huerta, John McKevitt (with his signature Wisconsin beer-cheese soup), Julie Sampson, Twilight Kitchen’s Christopher Sullivan, and Rebecca Wilson. Proceeds from the event will go to Soup for the Soul project in Chicago’s North Lawndale community.
Land Connection and Community Food Webs
The Land Connection non-profit, based in Champaign, Illinois, is hosting a book talk with Ken Meter, a renowned farm systems analyst and author of the book Building Community Food Webs.
The event will take place on Monday, February 19 at Turner Hall, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave. in Urbana, Illinois. The presentation, which begins at 6:30 p.m., will be preceded by a 5:30 p.m. reception. Registration is not required.
Here is how the Land Connection describes the even:
The Land Connection and iRegen are thrilled to welcome Ken Meter to present on his book, Building Community Food Webs.
Our current food system has decimated rural communities and confined the choices of urban consumers. While America continues to ramp up farm production to astounding levels, net farm income is now lower than at the onset of the Great Depression.
Additionally, one out of every eight Americans faces hunger. But a healthier and more equitable food system is possible. In Building Community Food Webs, Ken Meter shows how grassroots food and farming leaders across the U.S. are tackling these challenges by constructing civic networks. Overturning extractive economic structures, these inspired leaders are engaging low-income residents, farmers, and local organizations in their quest to build stronger communities.
Community food webs strive to build health, wealth, capacity, and connection. Their essential element is building greater respect and mutual trust, so community members can more effectively empower themselves and address local challenges.
Farmers and researchers may convene to improve farming practices collaboratively. Health clinics help clients grow food for themselves and attain better health. Food banks engage their customers to challenge the root causes of poverty. Municipalities invest large sums to protect farmland from development. Developers forge links among local businesses to strengthen economic trade. Leaders in communities marginalized by our current food system are charting a new path forward.
What to expect…
Do you occasionally shop the farmers market? Are you a person that eats with the seasons? Have you been looking for ideas on how to better support our community food system? This event is open to anyone interested in local food economies. We are certain you will enjoy the content Ken Meter presents on his research!
Registration is not required to attend.
5:30pm
Reception to meet Ken Meter and other food and farm system advocates.
Purchase a book or have a book signed.
Light refreshments will be served.
6:30pm
Presentation by Ken Meter on Building Community Food Webs.This event is presented with funding from Food:Land:Opportunity and the Kinship Foundation. Want to see more events like this in our community? Make a donation to The Land Connection!
The following is a link in case you are interested in Ken Meter’s book but won’t be able to attend the February 18 event.
UI Extension: Financial Planning for Urban Farms
Every dollar matters in farming, and that may be particularly true for small urban farms. If you are one of those urban farmers, University of Illinois Extension is presenting a series of three sessions to help you to better monitor expenses and create cost-effective production plans.
Conducted by Extension educators Kathryn Pereira and Zack Grant, the first two sessions will be held virtually on Thursdays February 29 and March 7 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. It is described by the organizers as “A 90-minute webinar on the planning topic and why/how to use spreadsheets, followed by discussion, Q&A and share out from practicing urban farmers.” The first session will focus on cashflow work sheets, the second on production planning.
The optional in-person work session wrap-up will be held on Friday, March 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 8753 S. Greenwood in Chicago. According to UI Extension, the work session “follows attendance at one or both virtual sessions. You will have the opportunity to input your own data into an Excel template, share results, and/or discuss solutions to problems that may be revealed after completing the worksheets. Instructors and students will collectively brainstorm solutions. Lunch provided.”
The cost to participate in this programming is only $10. Click the button below to visit the UI Extension site for more information and to sign up.