The Mid-May Chicago Region Market Schedule Keeps Growing
This week's schedule shouts out three markets on Chicago's South Side
As more and more seasonal local food hits the Chicago region's farmers markets, Local Food Forum's market finder just keeps growing.
The biggest wave of openings is still a few weeks away in June. But as you'll see in the list published in this Local Food Forum article, by the end of this next week, more than 30 communities will enjoy convenient options to buy delicious, nutritious, sustainably produced local food directly from producers.
This week's listing provides an opportunity to highlight markets that provide affordable local food access to residents of underserved Chicago communities: 61st Street Farmers Market (at the border of the Woodlawn and Hyde Park neighborhoods); Growing Home Inc.'s Englewood Farm Stand; and the Stein Learning Gardens at Saint Sabina (Auburn Gresham).
Steve Archer II was recently hired as Stein Gardens' executive director. Steve is an inspirational figure who I met in January 2024 when he received the Illinois Farmer Veteran of the Year Award from the Illinois Farmer Veteran Coalition at the Everything Local conference in Springfield.
Read more about Steve in this article, and use the listings to make your farmers market plans for the week. Support our local farmers!
Farmers Market in Populous Palatine Echoes Suburb's Farm Town Past
Home to Just Over 1,000 People a Century Ago, It's Now Home to 68,000
Today, few people today recall when densely populated suburbs such as Palatine — located just 35 miles northwest of downtown Chicago — were rural farm towns. Straddling the border of Illinois' Cook and Lake counties, Palatine in the 1920 census had a little more than 1,200 residents. Even as late as 1950, the population was just more than 4,000.
But suburban sprawl kicked in, exploding in the 1990s. Today, Palatine is home to about 68,000 residents. And the place to find farmers in Palatine is at the farmers market held in the parking lot of the city's Metra commuter train station on Saturdays.
Ed Kugler — manager at Ravinia Farmers Market in the north Chicago suburb of Highland Park — is making the rounds of other Chicago region farmers market for his Farmers Market Reporter series, which Local Food Forum is carrying. He visited the Palatine Farmers Market, and we have photos to prove it.
Honk If You Love Goslings
Chicago's Annual Goose Population Explosion is Under Way
It was a beautiful day outside on Sunday and, chored out by mid-afternoon, I decided I needed to be in it. I also know that this point in May is often prime time for the annual baby goose spectacle at North Pond in Lincoln Park, so I hopped on a bus to check things out.
As you'll see in the photo display, my instincts were correct in the cutest possible way. So many fluffy goslings. Check out the photo display in this Local Food Forum article... and scroll to the end and you'll see some really cool herons as well.
BTW, North Pond is a short side trip from Lincoln Park Zoo and the Lakefront Trail any day, and from Green City Market from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It has been a special place for me since we moved to Chicago in 2011, and it's a great place to chill out that's just steps from the city's bustle.