Local Food Friends, It's Party Time
Plus big news from our friends at the Pilot Light food education nonprofit
It’s Time to Party With Your Local Food Peers!
It should be obvious by now that I love to hang out with people I know who, in so many ways, are working to build a better food system. So I am happy to share these two upcoming events in which you (yes, you) can join the party!
If a day in the east-central Illinois country on one of our region’s foremost sustainable and humane livestock farms suits you, then mark your calendars for Saturday, August 27 and the Midwestern Farm-ily Reunion.
This fun gathering — organized by Northern Illinois Young Farmers Coalition and the Illinois Stewardship Alliance — with take place at Timberfeast farm in Chatsworth (it’s about 110 miles south of downtown Chicago, or a roughly two-hour trip by car).
Here are the details from the organizers:
Time: Arrivals suggested at 1, when the pond will open for swimming. Natural t-shirt dying and lawn games throughout the afternoon. Dinner and music will start around 5:30. Bonfire and storytelling into the night.
Price: Sliding scale from $0-$100 (details on Eventbrite)
Farm-to-table dinner: This multi-course meal will showcase the talents of chef Jeff Eichem and bread baker Jim Franks.
We are so excited to be working with the bounty of Illinois for this event. August is prime time to shine a light on what the Midwest does best — produce delicious food. Thank you to all our local farms and vendors! Timberfeast, Spence Farm LLC, Wild Trillium Farm, Silver Tree Spirits, Janie's Mill. If you would like to contribute to this bounty, send us a DM.
Pie Contest: And what would a family reunion be without a long, overflowing table of pies? Dig into your Grandma’s recipe box, dip into childhood memories of trying to spit cherry pits farther than the neighbor boys and channel that energy toward an award-winning pie. Local fruits, nuts and grains are encouraged, but we won’t exclude, say, a chocolate silk pie.
Camping: Everyone is invited to camp at Timberfeast. There will be plenty of hot coffee and pastries in the morning.
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Click here to go to their Eventbrite page and buy your tickets.
8/10: Join Me at a District Brew Yards Celebration
Yes, that is a glass of local craft beer. I’ve been kicking around the idea of gathering the Local Food Forum clan to raise a glass or two to our local food community. Well, whadda you know, an opportunity has fallen into my lap.
Most of my contract work is done for Naturally Chicago, the nonprofit that promotes the entrepreneur/packaged goods side of the Good Food and Natural Products industry. On Wednesday, August 10, starting at 5 p.m., we’ll be gathering at District Brew Yards in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood for a Craft Beer Social. And you’re invited.
District Brew Yards, located at 417 N. Ashland Ave., is a first-of-its-kind production brewery collection and pour-your-own beer hall. Admission to the event is free; beer is pay-as-you-go.
The event will celebrate the winner and other finalists in the Naturally Chicago Virtual Pitch Slam, which will take place earlier that afternoon. To register for the event (so we know how many people to expect), click the first button below. To learn more about the Pitch Slam and some of the great local products you can buy when you’re not cooking from scratch, click the second button.
Pilot Light is the chef-driven Chicago nonprofit that helps school systems integrate lessons about food into their overall curriculums. I have written often about my visits to their classroom programs — most recently on April 28 — and I am always struck by the energy and enthusiasm that the participating children show for these real-life learning experiences.
So I am happy to share the lovely two-minute video produced by The Food Network that features Chicago local food legend Jason Hammel of Lula Cafe and Marisol, who along with celebrity chef Carla Hall took part in a recent Pilot Light classroom event. Their commentary is great and I think you’ll share in the enthusiasm of the students as well. The video is presented by the Edward Jones investment services company.
Click the button below to go to The Food Network site and look for the headline that reads, “Food Makes Learning Fun!”
Also, Pilot Light has announced its 2022-23 cohort of Food Education Fellows. As you will see in the press release reproduced below, Pilot Light has expanded nationally from its initial base in the Chicago Public Schools system: six of the 26 fellows are in Chicago.
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PILOT LIGHT ANNOUNCES 2022-23 COHORT OF FOOD EDUCATION FELLOWS
August 2, 2022 (Chicago, IL) - Pilot Light announced today its 2022-2023 cohort of Food Education Fellows. All Fellows are PreK-12 teachers and proven leaders in their schools and communities who are ready to build the knowledge and skills to teach Pilot Light’s innovative model of integrated food education each week in their classrooms. Further, Fellows expand their networks to include local leaders in food, health, agriculture, and sustainability who support their students in making real-world connections to classroom learning. The Food Education Fellowship is now in its fourth year and has 50+ alumni across the country.
Food Education Fellows participate in monthly professional development and learning through Pilot Light–all aligned to Pilot Light’s Food Education Standards–which provide teachers with a holistic framework for food education in classrooms. Led by Pilot Light staff, the trainings also feature national leaders in fields related to the Standards. Through these experiences, the Fellows lead classroom lessons and experiences that inform their students’ relationships with food, build empathy, and opportunities for advocacy and engagement in their communities and food systems.
“As the Food Education Fellowship enters its fourth year, we are excited to welcome and learn collaboratively from a diverse group of K-12 educators across content areas like human geography, environmental science, and special education.” said Caitlin Arens, Director of the Food Education Fellowship. “Informed by the Food Education Standards, the Pilot Light model weaves inquiry-based learning into academic lessons and builds advocacy beyond the classroom. Each and every one of these teachers is committed to using food as a medium to foster and center student curiosity through engaging educational experiences around their students’ unique thoughts, habits, and choices.”
Photos and bios of the Fellows are available here.
The Pilot Light Food Education Fellows for 2022-23 are:
Amy Anderla, 6th grade, Tompkins Square Middle School, New York City, NY
Gina Cipriani, 1st grade, Smyth Elementary School, Chicago, IL
Genevievre Colianni, 3rd grade, Mounds Park Academy, Maplewood, MN
Alex Cowling, 6th-8th grades, Wilma Rudolph Learning Center, Chicago, IL
Lisa Ernst, 6th grade, Alice Fong Yu Alternative School, San Francisco, CA
Tameshia Farley, 7th-8th grades, Dickey Hill Elementary/Middle School, Baltimore, MD
Corrina Hargett, 9th-12th grades, Newport High School, Newport, OR
Regina Hawkins, Students ages 16-22, Southside Occupational Academy, Chicago, IL
Nahal Khalatbari, 6th-8th grades, Merrill Middle School, Denver, CO
Ann Kriebel, 3rd grade, West Lafayette Elementary School, West Lafayette, IN
Craig Lamm, 6th-8th grades, The Valley School of Southern Oregon, Medford, OR
Roya Lede’, Kindergarten, Villa del Rey Elementary School, Baton Rouge, LA
Resilda Nude, 3rd grade, Ida B. Wells Preparatory Elementary School, Chicago, IL
Elizabeth Palmer, 3rd-5th grades, Butler Elementary School, Springfield, IL
Deborah Riddle, Kindergarten - 3rd grades, Robert W. Fulton Elementary School, Chicago, IL
Andrea Rowe, 1st grade, West Jackson Elementary School, Hoschton, GA
Jeanne Salchli, 5th grade, PS 376 Felisa Rincon De Gautier School of Technology, New York City, NY
Anthony Schaff, 7th grade, Gulf Shores Middle School, Gulf Shores, AL
Lisa Schmid, 4th grade, LH Tanglen Elementary School, Minnetonka, MN
Kathleen Smallwood, 4th grade, Waters Elementary School, Chicago, IL
Amy Stamm, 9th-12th grades, Hampshire Educational Collaborative Academy, Northampton, MA
Yuri Taenaga, 10th-12th grades, STRIVE Prep SMART, Denver, CO
Melissa Tracy, 9th-12th grades, Odyssey Charter School, Wilmington, DE
Sia Willie, 1st grade, Wilmington Friends School, Wilmington, DE
Catherine Yackee, 9th grade, Brooks College Prep, Chicago, IL
The Pilot Light Food Education Fellowship seeks to build and develop a national network of PreK-12 teacher leaders and ambassadors across content areas in integrated Food Education. Since its establishment in 2019, the program has partnered with 51 teachers nationwide to reach students weekly with important food education that shapes the choices students make for themselves, their communities, and our world. The Fellowship is Pilot Light’s flagship program. For more information, visit: https://pilotlightchefs.org/what-we-do/food-education-fellowship-overview/.