Join us for our Chef in Residence workshops for an authentic and unparalleled Farm to Table experience co-led by a celebrated international chef and culinary instructor, and a passionate Mundelein food educator and intuitive cook. Terri Salminen and Lindsey Shifley are both Super Ambassadors with the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution.

Workshops will feature different seasonal menus based on farm-fresh ingredients and emphasize different cooking techniques. Each begins with a guided walk to the Prairie Crossing Farm to pick up farm fresh certified organic vegetables while learning about organic agriculture principles. Participants return to the Byron Colby Barn kitchen to prepare (and eat!) a light and fresh summer appetizer, a colorful main course with an accent on vegetables, and fruit-based dessert.

Click here for additional information and online registration. Registration is limited, so don't delay!

Beginning in April, the Prairie Farm Corps began meeting once a week for team building, orientation, greenhouse work, field preparation, and transplanting before the core summer program begins mid June. Participants in this youth development program are involved in all aspects of a sustainable agriculture business from seed to market.
 

Each participant also receives their own garden plot, to integrate what they're learning on the farm and translate their skills to a scale they can replicate at home. Crew members and leaders selected crops to grow in their personal garden plots, transplanted seedlings they started in the greenhouse, and direct seeded some fast-growing crops directly into the garden soil. Their  plots are looking great, and they are ready to enjoy their harvests this season - while applying the skills they are learning in the Prairie Farm Corps.  
 

Beginning June 25, visit the Prairie Farm Corps at the Libertyville Farmers Market on Thursdays from 7 a.m. - 1 p.m. to purchase certified organic vegetables. Stop by each week for a seasonal selection of certified organic vegetables - in addition to receiving delicious and healthy vegetables, your purchases also support this youth development program.  

Do you want to volunteer in a meaningful way? Come glean at the Prairie Crossing Farm!

Our gleaning program enables volunteers to harvest produce that would not otherwise be harvested from one of the independent farm businesses at the Prairie Crossing Farm. The vegetables are then delivered to a local food pantry for distribution to their clients.

A "test" gleaning recently resulted in 40 pounds of lettuce and green onions for Roberti Community House and Holy Family Food Pantry in Waukegan. Roberti House sent bags of lettuce home with the 26 kids in their after school program, made salads with their meal at the house, gave lettuce bags to their neighbors, and distributed some to their cooking group. The kids were also inspired to harvest some of their own lettuce growing in the back yard at Roberti House.

Sandhill Family Farms was recently featured in a Chicago Tribune article highlighting their partnerships with several area congregations for their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Click here to read the Chicago Tribune article.  

Sandhill serves a crucial role at the Prairie Crossing Farm as the mentor farmer for the Farm Business Development Center, and a demonstration of a successful for-profit organic farm business. The Liberty Prairie Foundation's partnership with Sandhill extends beyond their long-term lease at the Prairie Crossing Farm. Sandhill provides technical assistance for the overall farm management, and is a leader and a partner in many of the Foundation's food systems initiatives. Congratulations to our partners at Sandhill Family Farms!

Radical Root Farm, Libertyville's first certified organic farm, has expanded their farm stand hours to also include Friday evenings in June from 3 - 7 p.m. They are also open Saturdays (May - Dec.) from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Locally grown products available for sale include seasonal certified organic vegetables and pastured eggs produced on-site by Radical Root as well as goat milk soap from Gretta's Goats, pastured pork, grass-fed meats, grass-fed butter, and more.

Radical Root is located at the centennial Casey Farm at 31330 N. Milwaukee Ave., just south of Casey Road. Their entrance is across the street from the dog exercise area at Independence Grove. Stop by on Friday evenings and/or Saturday mornings to shop local and support organic farms in the community!

Radical Root owners Alex Needham and Alison Parker are alumni of the Farm Business Development Center, a Liberty Prairie Foundation program that supports the development of successful family farm businesses. Radical Root's transition to Casey Farm was made possible through an innovative partnership between Conserve Lake County, the Lake County Forest Preserve District, and the Liberty Prairie Foundation. 

7 p.m. Aug. 6 - 9

Come see the Citadel Theatre's production of Shakespeare's As You Like It on the Prairie Crossing Farm.

As You Like It is a favorite of audiences everywhere. Known as his pastoral comedy, it is perhaps known as much for the famed soliloquy "All the World's a Stage" or "The Seven Ages of Man" as for its storyline. The most musical of Shakespeare's plays, As You Like It features a number of songs which highlight the pastoral atmosphere and the changing of the seasons.
 

As You Like It is directed by Frank Farrell. Farrell performed as an actor in Goodman Theatre's As You Like It years ago; and directed Citadel's outdoor Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream this past summer. Farrell was a founder of Chicago's first year-round Shakespeare company (Free Shakespeare, 1983) and of Chicago Theatre Hikes (2001) - which pioneered outdoor theatre in the Chicagoland area.

Click here for information and ticket sales for Shakespeare on the Prairie. Tickets are $15 per person (in advance and at the door) and free for children under age 7. We look forward to this unique cultural event at the farm! 

Celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the first Prairie Crossing home with its original architects and planners! Learn the thought that went into the development of this nationally recognized conservation community and the architecture of individual home models.

"Prairie Crossing at Twenty: From Pioneering Design to Vibrant Community" features presentations and discussion by the architects and planners of Prairie Crossing, including developers George and Vicky Ranney. Blair Kamin, Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic of the Chicago Tribune, will moderate the discussion. Following the presentation at the Barn, tours of select private homes and community buildings will be provided by the original architects as well as tours of Prairie Crossing and its unique, defining features.

While this event is most appropriate for adults, youth ages 12 and older who are interested in architecture are welcome to attend with their parents. Advance registration is required. Click here for additional information and registration. 

We invite you to learn how ideals for community, land, water, and architecture were woven together in the design of Prairie Crossing. This event is sponsored by the Prairie Crossing Homeowners Association and Liberty Prairie Foundation.

The Prairie Crossing Farm is a working organic farm nestled inside the Prairie Crossing community in Grayslake, Illinois. The Prairie Crossing Farm is owned by the Liberty Prairie Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

The Foundation operates a variety of programs at the Prairie Crossing Farm to advance our mission. The Farm Business Development Center, an incubator program, prepares beginning farmers to meet the demand for locally-grown organic food in the Chicago region. The independently-owned Prairie Crossing Farm businesses serve customers throughout the Chicago region.