| 2012 Good Food Festival and Conference - Chicago a Success! |
 T he 2012 Good Food Festival and Conference - Chicago was a huge success. With three days of fantastic programming culminating in the Saturday Festival, the 8th annual Good Food Festival and Conference was the place to be!
The Thursday Good Food Financing Conference kicked off the event with some of the biggest Illinois stakeholders tackling the issues of business funding. Speakers included Stephen McDonnell, Applegate CEO, Coleen Callahan, USDA Rural Development, Warren Ribley, Department of Commerce and Economic and many more.
The Trade Show, School Food, and Food Policy Summit welcomed participants to a day focused on implementing strategies to make local, sustainable food widely available.
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� Grant Kessler
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The Saturday Good Food Festival was a jam packed celebration of Good Food. With 150 exhibitors, 17 workshops including 4 three hour Gold sessions, Chefs at Play demonstrations, and the the Kid's Corner, families and individuals spent the entire day at the Festival. A huge thanks to our wonderful sponsors, exhibitors, volunteers, supporters, and staff without whom we simply couldn't have produced such a high quality event. Click here to read more about the festival highlights!
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Cultivate a Better World -
Chipotle Mexican Grill
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 | | Back to the Start |
FamilyFarmed.org was pleased to show the Back to the Start Video at our recent Good Food Festival and Conference. The video, produced by Chipotle, tells the story of one of their meat farmers who turned his back on large scale industrial farming to return to using a pasture based system.
It features Willie Nelson singing Coldplay's song, Back to the Start, and has been an international sensation with over 6,000,000 views on YouTube. After its showing on the Grammy's, Newsweek claimed that it stole the show and revolutionized the way advertising will be done in the future. For those who haven't seen it yet, its worth a view.
Check it out!
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Farewell to Michael Altenberg
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FamilyFarmed.org is deeply saddened by the recent death of Chef Michael Altenberg and extends condolences to his his wife Julie Fabiszak and sons Elias, Henry, and Isaak. Altenberg was the pioneering chef/owner of Bistro Campagne and an early proponent of farm to table dining in Chicago.
 According to Tribune Restaurant critic Phil Vettel, "Altenberg, 48, was a first-rate chef; his resume reads like a history of Chicago fine dining. He was head chef at Avanzare, Cassis, Gordon and Montparnasse restaurants; he worked at Le Francais in the Jean Banchet days. He opened Campagnola in Evanston, Crust pizzeria in Wicker Park and Bistro Campagne, all as owner/partner."
Altenberg began purchasing sustainable, organic, and local ingredients for his restaurants before it became trendy, and paved the way for many farmers to grow their business by selling directly to his restaurants. Crust was the first certified organic restaurant in the Midwest and Bistro Campagne in Lincoln Square, continues to serve great food sourced primarily from local and organic farmers. He was featured on Check Please! with rave reviews, and you can see the segment video featuring Chef Alenberg and the Bistro, here.
FamilyFarmed.org was privileged to work with Altenberg on numerous occasions. He was extremely supportive of organizations working on sustainable agriculture, including us. On one occasion, FamilyFarmed.org had the opportunity to host the VIP dinnner for Jim Hightower's Rolling Thunder Tour. Two weeks out, we were still looking for a venue and I called Michael to see if he had any suggestions. Fortunately, the dinner was scheduled to take place on the night he was planning to open Bistro Campagne, so he offered to open his restaurant for us. Guests included Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe, Ben Cohen from Ben and Jerry's, Illinois Congresswoman, Jan Schakowsky, California Legislator, Tom Hayden, and more. All the food was local and organic and at dessert 90 year old Studs Terkel excused himself to leave and walked out to a three harmonica salute and a standing ovation. It was a charmed evening and launched the Bistro's legacy as a leading Chicago restaurant for Good Food!
Michael will be deeply missed!
Jim Slama
President, FamilyFarmed.org
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| Chicago Food Day 2012 |
Food Day - the national campaign for healthy, sustainable, affordable, and fairly produced food - is back! Food Day will again take place on October 24, and they're ramping up organizing in Chicago.
You're invited to attend the greater Chicago Food Day 2012 planning meeting on Wednesday, April 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in downtown Chicago at 100 W Randolph St. (room 9-031).
Food Day seeks to create a stronger, more united food movement. In 2011, Food Day brought together tens of thousands of Americans at over 2,300 events in all 50 states. Food Day 2012 is all about celebration-of food and what our food system does right--and activism--to address the pressing food issues we face.
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Support the Good Food Festival Exhibitors
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2012 Chicagoland
CSA Guide
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FamilyFarmed.org and The Local Beet have collaborated to bring you the 2012 Chicagoland CSA Guide. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an invaluable tool for farmers preparing for the growing season. Customers buy "shares" of the harvest before the season starts, which gives farmers the resources they need to start planting. Customers then receive market baskets of that week's harvest.
The types of CSAs available and the specific details vary widely by farmer, and the 2012 Chicagoland CSA Guide has the information to help you choose. The guide includes a large number of farms and lists their delivery locations, the type of CSA offered, organic certification, and contact information.
Don't see your farm on the guide?
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Know Your Farmer,
Know Your Food Compass
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 Under Secretary Vilsack, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has championed local food through the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food project. The project supports various efforts to increase the production and consumption of local food, and support the economic viability of family farming.
By working directly with farmers to build sustainable businesses and create the necessary infrastructure, like food hubs, the project is making large strides in their local food goals.
Now the USDA is making it easy to experience the impact of this project through the online portal |
Chicago Green Festival
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Join us at FamilyFarmed.org Pavilion at the 2012 Chicago Green Festival. The nation's largest and most trusted environmental consumer event returns to Chicago's Navy Pier May 5-6, 2012.
Festivities include kids' activities, a vegetarian food court, environmental films, an organic beer & wine garden, the T.H.R.E.A.D.S. Eco-Fashion Show produced by Conscious Living TV, test drives of Ford's new electric and hybrid cars, and a marketplace of over 300 eco-friendly businesses, featuring the latest and greatest in sustainable products and services!
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USDA/DCEO
Food Hub Partnership
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The USDA and DCEO have joined forces to to develop food hub infrastructure across the state of Illinois.
They are currently seeking partners to work with them on this important project. Food hubs are essential infrastructure that support local food by helping farmers get goods to market.
If you're interested in working with the USDA and DCEO, apply to become a food hub partner!
Click here for information about the project, including the different program areas of the project.
Click here for the application checklist, if you're interested in partnering.
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