Real Organic Project Virtual Event Has Amazing Lineup
Real Organic Project was started in 2018 by farmers to, in their words, protect the meaning of organic. “We grow food in the soil, not hydroponically,” says the non-profit organization’s website. “We raise livestock on pasture, not in confinement. In this time of concern about the erosion of integrity in the USDA, Real Organic remains exactly what organic was always intended to be.”
Given the commitment of many Local Food Forum readers to sustainable and regenerative farming practices, I am pleased to share info about Real Organic Project’s two-part virtual symposium, titled “Break ‘Em Up: The Chickenization of Organic.”
Part 1 of the event will take place on Sunday, March 17 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. central time. Part 2 will be on Sunday, April 7, also 2-4 central.
More details about the amazing lineup to come, but first, tickets are on sale priced at $30 to participate on one of these dates and $60 to participate in both. And… if you use the promo code WAKEUP by 11 p.m. central this Saturday (2/24), you will get a 20 percent early bird discount.
The ticket page also has details about the topics that will be discussed in each day’s program.
As for the speakers lineup, it is headlined by Good Food movement leaders such as Alice Waters, Dan Barber, Michael Pollan, Vandana Shiva, Zephyr Teachout, Eliot Coleman, and many more.
Whether you already support Real Organic Project or want to learn more, you would do well to consider attending one or both sessions.
CSA Club: Convenience Through Produce Prep
Last year, Ben Herrera and Lisa Chou — both friends of Local Food Forum — started a new, Chicago-based business called Gard Mo Cottage Food Kitchen.
The core of the startup is the CSA Club, which takes the Community Supported Agriculture concept a step farther. It provides subscribers with convenient, hand-cut seasonal produce items grown by Nichols Farm and Orchard in Marengo, Illinois. They also turn some of the produce into value-added preserved products that reduce food waste and make those delicious local tastes available year-round.
Says the CSA Club website:
CSAs are amazing. But they can also be a lot of work. Cleaning and prepping raw veggies can take hours before they are even ready for the fridge, let alone cooking with. And sometimes it’s hard to know what to do with so many veggies, especially when it’s a lot of one in particular or something you’ve never cooked with.
The CSA Club makes it easy.
As part of the CSA Club, we will wash, prep, and pack all veggies for you. You’ll have fresh seasonal produce to cook with, minus the extra work. Spend more time enjoying cooking with delicious produce, and less time cleaning and prepping it.
And now for the big announcement (content from Gard Mo).
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Sign-ups are now open for the 2024 CSA Club season! Over 75 different varieties of vegetables and produce, all from Nichols Farm and made convenient for you by Gard Mo. For a limited time, get free delivery when you sign up!
New to this year:
Half Share option
There will be two choices for members this year: full share and half share. The half share will be exactly that; all the same veggies as the full, just half the quantity. We think this will be an awesome option for one-person households that might have been overwhelmed with a full share.
Recipes for each share available for all members
The recipes will utilize many items from your share, plus Gard Mo Larder items that will be available as an add-on purchase.
Season starts earlier and has one additional pickup
12 biweekly pickups from the middle of May to the beginning of November. We'll be able to enjoy spring treats like asparagus that we missed last year by starting in June.
A summer full of delicious produce is ahead of us. Click the button below to sign up for the 2024 CSA Club season!
Seed Swap Saturday at Lake Forest’s Elawa Farm
Elawa Farm, located in the northern Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, is a public-private partnership dedicated to the preservation and stewardship of a unique combination of natural setting, designed landscapes and buildings of architectural and historic significance. Its mission is “to steward a historic farm that enriches the greater Lake County community as a center for experiential learning to broaden access to education, nutritious food, and our local food system.”
You can learn more about Elawa Farm by visiting this Saturday (2/24) between 9 a.m. and noon at 1401 Middlefork Dr. for their annual Seed Swap. According to the organization:
Elawa Farm will be hosting our annual seed swap where experienced and new gardeners can gather to bring excess seeds, plant cuttings, and gardening books to swap with one another, just in time for the growing season. This free event offers the opportunity for attendees to cultivate a network of people interested in gardening and share seeds that support a more diverse and resilient local food supply.
\Click the button below for more information about Elawa Farm.
And as a bonus, here is a map of seed swaps taking place in the Chicago region, shared by Sarah Batka. Local Foods Small Farms Program Coordinator for University of Illinois Extension Cook County.
Bob’s World, and Welcome to It
Yes, Hobbes would make an awful cute sous chef. And no, he’s not supposed to be on the counter.