Dispatches from Chicago's south side.
 |
| Site of the Whole Foods Englewood farmer's market |
 |
| Division of Self-Help FCU |
The information for south side area farmer's markets provided by Greater Chatham Alliance. They want to especially highlight those markets that allow for the usage of LINK cards:
There are quite a few Farmer's Markets on the South Side this summerConcerned Citizens of Chatham: Southside Farmer Markets
Well it's been going on since July 15th and the end of the season is near. I bring it up on this blog so that maybe if you read this blog you can help this farmer's market go out with a strong bang this year. Hopefully it may come back next year if Seaway wants to continue to play host to this market.
Chicago’s Green City Market was among a group of nationwide farmers markets that received a total of $4.5 million in federal funds to promote the growth and sale of local produce.Now if we can get in on some of this action!
The year-round farmers market in Lincoln Park was awarded a grant of $76,300 as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” program. Among the 86 programs in 37 states to get funds, Green City Market was the only recipient in Illinois.
“This will certainly change the face of Green City Market,” Executive Director Lyle Allen said of the grant, the largest his organization has ever received. It equals 20% of Green City Market’s 2009 budget.
Mr. Allen said most of the grant will be used to create a scholarship program to help farmers gain certified sustainable or organic status. Green City Market will require all vendors to be certified as sustainable or organic in 2012. Some of the funds will also help low-income individuals buy fresh produce through a federal government assistance program.
The line of people waiting for a free box of fresh food in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood stretched at least 10 people deep.Roseland. Perhaps a place that is more
Inside were cardboard boxes filled to the brim with apples, mangoes, a can of soup and bags of oatmeal, beans and baby carrots.
Ah, fresh food. And Pullman and nearby Roseland certainly lack it, activists say.
"There's nothing here in the community for us to shop at," said Saiesha Anderson, 28, who suggested that city officials transform the vacant lots and boarded-up shops in Roseland and Pullman into groceries stocked with fresh foods.
Rev. James Meeks called Roseland and Pullman a "food desert." The closest store with fresh produce is a Jewel at 11730 S. Marshfield Ave., which could be a few miles from some people's homes depending on where they live.
That's a long haul to the store in the low-income areas, said Meeks, a state senator.
On Sunday, his church, Salem Baptist in Pullman, held the second Fit Fest to highlight the lack of healthy food stores in Roseland and Pullman and the rising health-care concerns in the black community.
"In our neighborhood, the only thing you can buy is something greasy in a bag," Meeks said.
The Growing Home Farm is located at 5814 S. Wood. This would be a great place to pay a visit, yes?
The Wood Street Urban Farm is a USDA Certified organic production farm in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood. It was started in 1992 by Les Brown, Director of Policy for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, who passed away in 2005, as a training program for the homeless and jobless. Today, the Wood Street Urban Farm employs 30 part-time workers, including ex-offenders, and provides job training while helping to alleviate the food desert problem in the area. They estimated they'd grow about 10,000 lbs of produce this year on just 2/3 of an acre. You can see a photo gallery at the Sun-Times website and a segment from CLTV below that profiles the urban farm.
...
You can support Growing Home by purchasing their organic produce every Wednesday. 100% of the proceeds goes to improving their job training program and the costs of operating their farms sites. They're also in need of office supplies and equipment like; Flash drives, filing cabinets, book shelves, copy machines, notebooks, binders, staplers and farm tools. You can contact the administrative office at 2732 N. Clark, Suite 310, Chicago, IL 60614. Tel 773-549-1336
WVON-AM will be at the Farmer's Market and the proceeds from this event will directly benefit the Chatham Business Association. Well let the charm offensive commence!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, July 21, 2009: Walmart will host a farmer’s market this Saturday at the site of the proposed store in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood. Taking place from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., the farmer’s market will offer a variety of fresh, quality produce at Walmart’s signature low prices. All proceeds from the Walmart Fresh Farmer’s Market will directly benefit the Chatham Business Association.
“I am pleased Walmart will offer quality fruit and vegetables in our community this week to benefit the Chatham Business Association,” said Ald. Howard Brookins (21st Ward.) “We are looking forward to a fun day.”
The farmer’s market is the first to be held by Walmart in the Chicago area. WVON-AM 1690 will broadcast live from the event. Entry and parking is free. Cash only will be accepted. For more information, visit www.chicago.walmartcommunity.com
WHAT: Walmart Fresh Farmer’s Market
WHERE: At the site of the proposed store at the corner of 83rd & Stewart in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood.
WHEN: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Saturday, July 25
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to hold a farmers market on Saturday at the vacant site where it wants to build its second city store as it steps up pressure on the city to allow it to expand.WVON is broadcasting from a farmer's market at the site of the proposed Wal-Mart? Oh dear, there is an outright push to get this store built!
The truckloads of fresh fruits and vegetables, supplied by Wal-Mart vendors, are slated to be for sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and radio station WVON-AM 1690 will be broadcasting from the event, according to Wal-Mart.
The move is the latest salvo in the world's largest retailer's five-year battle to build a supercenter store, a format that sells groceries, in the Chatham neighborhood on the city's South Side.
As the jobless rate rose this spring, Wal-Mart resurrected its lobbying campaign in City Hall pitching the 400 jobs it would bring to the city's South Side.
You can get more information on farmer's market around the city here. Also obtained from the city website is the Seaway Bank farmer's market which is listed under independently run.The weather finally has turned. My sweaters are in storage. And the Green City Market is open for the summer season.
And now, a confession: I rarely go to the market. It runs on Wednesdays, when I am at work downtown, and on Saturdays, when I try to avoid Lincoln Park traffic gridlock.
Indeed, I'm always a little bitter about this. But this year, while I'm on maternity leave, I vow not to miss out.
If you've never been to the market at the south end of Lincoln Park, go. Now. (For our guide to all of the Chicago area farmers markets, turn inside.)
It is a community unto itself, a bustling, happy place where farmers offer you bites of peaches dripping with juice, where dairy vendors wax poetic about their cows, where you might discover you actually like Swiss chard. You'll spot chefs doing cooking demonstrations and musicians strumming guitars.
It may sound hippy-dippy, but even if "sustainable" and "locavore" aren't in your vocabulary, who can argue with a perfectly ripe, truly red strawberry?
My alternative in recent years has been the Thursday farmers market at Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington, a brisk 10-minute walk from the office. There are fewer vendors, and the vibe is different than at Green City, with workers on their lunch hour, many of whom seem more into getting a little sun than perusing baby arugula.
But the market works for me. I need my produce fix, especially in the summer. And I'd much rather talk to the farmer who grew the imperfectly shaped but juicy tomatoes than bag a bunch of waxy, tasteless ones at my supermarket.
Seaway Bank Farmers Market
Seaway National Bank Parking Lot
87th & Langley (8700 S-645 E)
In ChathamWednesdays
July 16-October 1, 20089 a.m.-2 p.m.
Markets and Date are subject to change without notice.
There's also a website listed on the page I got this info from but of course all you got to do is look in the local business links section in the sidebar to know how to get there.
