More Green for Green City
Standout Chicago farmers market receives $100K Grant
More Green for Green City
Green City Market (GCM), a pace-setting Chicago farmers market for 23 years, announced this week that it is receiving a $100,000 grant for a mission we can all support: Increasing the visibility of the local food sector.
The grant is through Food:Land:Opportunity, a collaboration between Kinship Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust and funded through the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust.
According to Green City’s press release (republished in full below), the grant “allows GCM to strengthen supply-side business practices for local food producers through strategic media relations, marketing, and merchandising execution,” and will help ensure Green City Market’s vision of a future where sustainable farmers are thriving and a future where everyone — in the Chicago community and across the nation — knows who grows their food, how it's grown, and why this knowledge matters.”
I love all of our farmers markets but as I’ve mentioned a number of times, Green City has been our local market since we moved to Chicago in 2011 and it provided me with my earliest opportunities to build a network within the local food community. Congratulations to their team, and I’m sure that grant money will be put to very good use.
Here’s the full press release:
September 28, 2022 (Chicago) — Nonprofit organization Green City Market (GCM) has been awarded a $100,000 grant from Food:Land:Opportunity, a collaboration between Kinship Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust funded through the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust to increase the visibility of the local food sector in Chicago while improving the efficiency of the local food businesses run by Green City Market’s farmers and food producers.
Most know Green City Market for its nationally renowned farmers markets in Chicago. The nonprofit organization provides programming beyond its markets to lift up local growers and ensure the sustainable future of food.
“Local food is absolutely essential to our community,” said Green City Market’s executive director Mandy Moody. “The Food:Land:Opportunity funding allows GCM to increase our community’s knowledge of the value of the local, sustainable food sector and how to support it — especially the farmers who feed us all.”
This is the second consecutive year that GCM has been awarded Food:Land:Opportunity funding, and GCM is pleased to be able to continue its work of deepening support for 50+ farmers and food producers through media relations, marketing, and merchandising strategies.
This grant allows GCM to strengthen supply-side business practices for local food producers through strategic media relations, marketing, and merchandising execution.
“Food:Land:Opportunity is happy to support Green City Market's efforts to provide marketing and communications for farmers and to help the public understand and value locally grown food," said Lenore Beyer, Director of Conservation Initiatives at Kinship Foundation. "This type of increased and improved public outreach is crucial to creating a resilient local food economy.
Through GCM’s continued work, this grant will help ensure Green City Market’s vision of a future where sustainable farmers are thriving and a future where everyone — in the Chicago community and across the nation — knows who grows their food, how it's grown, and why this knowledge matters. It will also allow GCM to continue their efforts to make certain that local, sustainably grown food is available for all in generations to come, regardless of zip code or income level.
Learn more about Green City Market’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit mission deepening support for sustainable farmers, educating our community, and expanding access to locally-grown food, and how you can help the organization grow.
The Weekend’s First October Farmers Markets
Yep, October starts tomorrow. By the end of the month, most of our region’s farmers markets will have called it a season. All the more reason for you to check the schedule, get out to a market near you, and support our local farmers by buying their beautiful, fresh, delicious, healthy and sustainably produced food.