Short Drive to Saturday's Farm Crawl
Fun event from Cook County Farm Bureau and other busy-week reminders
In This Issue:
• This Saturday: Join the Cook County Farm Crawl
• Green City Chef BBQ Thursday (Final Reminder)
• And Even More (Farm) Events!
This Saturday: Join the Cook County Farm Crawl
This Saturday, have some fun (and buy some delicious food) on farms by participating in the Cook County Farm Bureau’s 2021 Farm Crawl. There are 23 farms, greenhouses and stores participating in the event, and you just have to visit one (or more, of course) to be eligible for a drawing for same-as-cash farm bucks.
Here’s how this works:
1) Download your Passport from the Cook County Farm Bureau site.
2) Have it signed or stamped at each participating location that you visit.
3) Submit your Passport to the Farm Bureau by September 22 to be eligible for the drawing for farm bucks, which can be spent at any of the farms/businesses on the Passport.
One participant, Farm on Ogden, is right in the heart of the city of Chicago. According to its website, Farm on Ogden “a multi-use facility located in Chicago's Lawndale neighborhood, supports and sustains a healthy urban community by bringing food, health, and jobs together in one location. Windy City Harvest, the [Chicago Botanic] Garden’s urban agriculture program, in partnership with Lawndale Christian Health Center take a ‘whole person’ approach to community health and wellness.”
[Local Food Forum on August 4 published an article that outlines the amazing range of projects presented by Windy City Harvest, a program of Chicago Botanic Garden.]
The others are in near-in suburbs of Chicago, so it’s an easy way to get to know your farmers where they farm.
Green City Chef BBQ Thursday (Final Reminder)
Don’t miss your chance to participate in Green City Market’s Chef BBQ fundraiser Thursday evening. Indulge in delicious offerings from more than 70 restaurants (made with ingredients from market vendors) and beverage providers — while supporting the nonprofit market’s operations and its matching funds program for food assistance recipients so they can buy even more fresh, healthy food.
To learn more about the Chef BBQ and the market’s missions, check out Local Food Forum’s interview with Green City Executive Director Mandy Moody in the August 25 and August 30 issues.
And Even More (Farm) Events!
Finally, there are three great events that plow deeply into farm knowledge, which we wrote about in the September 1 issue (check it out for more details, and click the links below to register).
✶ Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.: Regenerative Grazing Field Day in Gays, Illinois (downstate near the city of Mattoon), presented by the Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District, The Land Connection, University of Illinois Extension, and The Pasture Project at the Wallace Center.
✶ Thursday, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.: Buying Rural Farmland 101 (online webinar), presented by Liberty Prairie Foundation.
✶ Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.: Soil Health and Farm Fertility Field Day in Crystal Lake and Woodstock, Illinois (northern Illinois). Presented by Upper Midwest CRAFT.