The Butcher's Karma
Good Food Festival Dinner and a Movie |
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Trailer for The Butcher's Karma
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Join the Good Food Festival and Conference at Uncommon Ground for a delicious night that includes: - The world premier of The Butcher's Karma
- Three course dinner, featuring locally sourced meat
- Wine from Candid Wines
- Q & A with stars of Chicago's sustainable meat world Rob Levitt of The Butcher and Larder, and Black Earth Meats.
James Beard award-winning video producer, Michael Gebert of Sky Full of Bacon was so inspired by the sustainable meat talk given by Rob Levitt, Paul Kahan and Bartlett Durand at last year's Festival that he wanted to explore their stories further. The Butcher's Karma gets inside the thoughtful minds of these three local meat purveyors and takes you behind the scenes to show their unique visions of why locally farmed and sustainably raised meats are truly Good Food.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Reception: 6:30pm
Uncommon Ground
1401 W. Devon
The nation's greenest restaurant!
Tickets: $50, all inclusive: three-course plated menu and wine, tax and gratuity included.
On-site ticket purchases are not available. |
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FamilyFarmed.org's Food Hub Guide Released by State Economic Development Director
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 On January 12, 2012 Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Director Warren Ribley addressed the annual Illinois Specialty Growers Association conference in Springfield. At the conference, Dir. Ribley highlighted ways the state is working to increase markets for local foods.
"More people today want to know where their food comes from. Making food grown and produced in Illinois more accessible helps Illinois residents eat locally and helps boost our economy," said Director Ribley. "The tools we're introducing today are a step toward building an expanded, locally-produced food supply that benefits more people in Illinois."
Food hubs are processing and distribution centers where independent, local farmers can market their products to larger entities like schools and government agencies, making locally-grown food more widely available. The lack of a food hub network in Illinois has been a barrier to increasing markets for small farmers.
To help meet the demand, FamilyFarmed.org has partnered with DCEO, Illinois Department of Agriculture, and the University of Illinois' Business Innovation Services to create the guidebook, "Building Successful Food Hubs: A Business Planning Guide for Aggregating and Processing Local Food in Illinois."
The guide serves as a resource for communities, businesses, not-for-profits and others interested in establishing food hubs. The guide includes descriptions of key functions, best practices, and "how-to" strategies for establishing and operating food hubs that are based on successful food hubs operating in other regions, specifically adapted for application in Illinois' food system.
"The demand for local supply in Illinois far exceeds supply, and food hubs are an excellent way to aggregate product and sell to wholesale buyers," says Jim Slama, president of FamilyFarmed.org. "This guide is a resource for prospective food hub operators and we are pleased to make it available."
The guidebook, "Building Successful Food Hubs: A Business Planning Guide for Aggregating and Processing Local Food in Illinois," is available for free for download by clicking here.
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On-Farm Food Safety Project Update |
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On-Farm Food Safety DC Press Conference Speakers. From left to right: David Gombas, Jim Slama, Kathleen Merrigan, Michelle Smith, Steve Murray, Phil Petrilli, and Marc Zammit |
The On-Farm Food Safety Project is now available. The project was launched at a national press conference at USDA Headquarters on December 15th. Joined by a broad coalition of industry, non-profit, and government stakeholders, USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan unveiled the online tool to help farmers create customized food safety plans.
"Farmers want to work the land, they don't want to spend days upon days trying to figure out paperwork," said Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan.
Steve Murray, a produce farmer from Bakersfield, California used the tool to create a food safety plan and was one of the speakers at the USDA press conference. Mr. Murray commented, "If developing a food safety program were easy, everyone would be doing it, but they're not -- partly because developing a food safety program is difficult, and partly because it's expensive. If I can do this, anyone can do this. I was able to fill out the tool in a half a day. It's comprehensive, easy to use, you build it yourself, and you have ownership over your food safety plan. Using this tool has saved my farming operation a large amount of money."
The press conference received wide media coverage including an Associated Press article that was featured in the Washington Post, the Sacramento Bee, and Yahoo! News. The project launch was also featured in Food Safety News and Sustainable Food News. Additional On-Farm Food Safety Project media coverage can be viewed here.
Jim Slama, FamilyFarmed.org's President, will be speaking at the 2012 Southern Wisconsin Vegetable Workshop providing more information about this project. Stay tuned for future On-Farm Food Safety Project workshops and trainings.
The project's team is continually welcomes all comments and feedback. Click here to email your questions and comments.
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Good Food Financing Conference
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The Good Food Financing Conference brings together national and regional leaders in farming, food production, and finance to create channels for small farms and food businesses to access capital to finance growth.
Does your farm or food business need funding?
A primary component of the event is the Financing Fair, which gives farm and food businesses the opportunity to present their businesses to potential investors and other stakeholders.
FamilyFarmed.org is currently accepting applications from farmers and food businesses to participate in the fair. Deadline for submission is February 15.
The Good Food Financing Conference, part of the Good Food Festival - Chicago, is hosted by FamilyFarmed.org.
Stay tuned for exciting announcements about our Saturday Festival programming!
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Localicious Gala
Save the Date!
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The Localicious Gala at the Good Food Festival and Conference - Chicago celebrates of the farmers that grow our food and the chefs that transform it.
Over 20 restaurants will present fabulous seasonal food and drink to satisfy your palette.
Entertainment from Sunnyside Up.
Stay tuned for exciting updates.
goodfoodfestivals.com/chicago
Localicious Party
March 16, 2012 - UIC Forum
7:00pm - 9:30pm
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Citizens Against Superbugs
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 Applegate, a leading producer of organic and natural meats and cheeses, has joined forces with STOP Foodborne Illness to form Citizens Against Superbugs - a grassroots campaign designed to raise awareness about the overuse of antibiotics on industrial farms and its link to antibiotic resistant bacteria or superbugs.
Help maintain antibiotic effectiveness for human medicine, and sign the petition today.
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Frontera Farmer Foundation Now Accepting
Applications
| Rick Bayless' Frontera Farmer Foundation is now accepting applications for its 2012 farmer grants. Midwest, small, sustainable farmers supplying the Chicago are encouraged to apply.
Grants of up to $12,000 will be awarded for capital improvements. Farmers must have been in business for three years to qualify. These and additional grant eligibility requirements are listed in detail on the grant information page, here.
Deadline for applications is February 28, 2012.
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Just Label It!
Campaign
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Through public comments to the FDA, Just Label It hopes to achieve what over 90% of Americans support - labeling genetically engineered (GE) food so consumers can have a choice.
This level of support from the public is almost unheard of, and yet the FDA still stands next to their claim that GE food is "substantially equivalent" to non GE food and doesn't need special labeling.
Supporters of the campaign believe the US should follow the lead of other developing countries in labeling GE. These countries include the European Union, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Russia, and even China.
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Good Food Festival Opportunity
| FamilyFarmed.org is looking for volunteers for the upcoming Good Food Festival March 15 - 17.
Multiple positions available, same-day free admission. Groups are welcome.
Click here for more information and to submit your request.
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