The Liberty Prairie Foundation supports educational programming at the Prairie Crossing Farm to educate and inspire people to value healthy food, land and community through experiences on our farm.
 
We provide leadership and financial support for local food system development, social entrepreneurship, land conservation, environmental education, and civic engagement.
 
Experience the changing seasons with a series of fun and educational events at the Prairie Crossing Farm.
Fall Festival at the Prairie Crossing Farm                   
10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Sat., Oct. 3
  
The Liberty Prairie Foundation and Prairie Crossing farmers welcome you to the Liberty Prairie Foundation's final on-farm event of the season - the Fall Festival from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Sat., Oct. 3.
 
Celebrate another successful year producing sustainable local food, supporting the social entrepreneurship of the independent farm businesses at the farm, providing environmental education, and more at the Prairie Crossing Farm.
 
Free hayride tours with Jeff Miller of Sandhill Family Farms will depart at 10:15 and 11:15 a.m. from the Yellow Farmhouse parking lot. Parents are required to ride the hayride with their children and provide supervision. Come learn about organic agriculture on a working farm!
 
Stock up on fall vegetables, other farm products, educational activities, sweet treats, and more with a pop-up market featuring:
Click here for additional information and join us for a celebration of local food!
"Farmland Mingle" at Farm Aid 30                      
Join the Liberty Prairie Foundation inside HOMEGROWN Village at Farm Aid 30 this Saturday at Northerly Island!
 
Experience the "Farmland Mingle" game and help farmers seek land to grow food for the Chicago foodshed. This land access game illustrates the challenges of finding long-term land access in the Chicago region and the relevant factors for a farmer's business.
 
Land access is critical. Our experience with Farm Business Development Center alumni illustrates the challenges farmers face when trying to find land to grow their farm business. Many have left the Chicago region in search of more affordable or longer-term land access in Wisconsin or other areas of Illinois.
 
When sustainable farmers leave due to a lack of long-term land access, our region suffers a substantial economic loss. More than 90% of food consumed in Illinois is produced elsewhere. Without greater access to long-term leases, farm businesses will continue to leave the region, taking with them money that could have been circulated in the local economy.
 
We are engaged in a 3 year Land Access pilot project to increase sustainable local food farming on public and privately owned lands in northeastern Illinois. The Liberty Prairie Foundation and Openlands are partnering on this innovative project, which is generously funded through Food:Land:Opportunity-Localizing the Chicago Foodshed, a multi-year funding initiative of The Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust.

Click here to learn more about our Land Access project, and join us this Saturday at Northerly Island for HOMEGROWN Village at Farm Aid 30! 
Gleaning at the Farm                       
 
Volunteers in the Liberty Prairie Foundation's gleaning program harvest produce that otherwise would not be harvested from one of the independent farm businesses located at the Prairie Crossing Farm.
 
The fresh vegetables are then delivered to local food pantries including the Northern Illinois Food Bank, Avon Township Food Pantry, COOL Food Pantry, and Roberti Community House for distribution.
 
As of mid-September, volunteers have harvested 2,908 pounds of fresh produce! Gleaning is a meaningful volunteer experience that makes a measurable difference in the community and provides a "behind the scenes" view of organic agriculture.  
 
Thank you to Sandhill Family Farms for allowing gleaning in their fields and to our dedicated volunteers! Join the gleaning crew on Sunday afternoons at our NEW TIME from 2 - 6 p.m. - click here for gleaning information and dates. The last gleaning date of the season is Oct. 25!
Farm/Community Connections                     
Eric Carlberg, Prairie Farm Corps Director and Educator, will be participating in an upcoming staff training at the Lake County Health Department. 

The Liberty Prairie Foundation has been partnering with the Health Department to distribute fresh vegetables grown by the Prairie Farm Corps to recipients of Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers. Beginning in 2013 in Round Lake, this program was expanded in 2015 to also distribute in Waukegan. Click here to learn more about our WIC program.
 
To deepen their understanding of the Prairie Farm Corps youth growing the vegetables for the WIC distribution, leaders from the Health Department visited the farm this summer. They enjoyed a farm tour, discussion with the Prairie Farm Corps participants, and healthy lunch prepared by participants from vegetables grown on the farm.

The Oct. 29 program is for dieticians working at the Lake County Healthy Department and includes a basic overview of today's farming landscape. We
are grateful for our continued relationship with the Lake County Health Department, and their interest in sustainable local food.
Prairie Farm Corps at the Libertyville Farmers Market                
  
While many youth organizations sell candy or wrapping paper, the Prairie Farm Corps sells certified organic vegetables!
 
When you purchase vegetables from the Prairie Farm Corps, not only are you getting competitively priced locally grown organic produce, you are also supporting a youth development program.
 
The Prairie Farm Corps recruits diverse youth, some from lower-income families, for this paid program. Participants are involved in all aspects of a sustainable agriculture business from seed to market. The program integrates personal/professional development with farm work, and provides hands-on experience cooking fresh vegetables and building healthy eating habits.
 
Visit the Prairie Farm Corps each Thursday from 7 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Libertyville Farmers Market. The last market for the season is Oct. 22!
Good Food Business Accelerator                   
  
Are you a Good Food business serving the Chicago foodshed who wants to launch or expand?

FamilyFarmed's Good Food Business Accelerator is now accepting applications from food and farm entrepreneurs who want to participate in the program's second cohort. Application deadline is Sept. 18; the program begins late fall.

The Good Food Business Accelerator provides mentoring, strategic support, and access to capital for new or growing Good Food businesses. FamilyFarmed is recruiting qualified Fellows to participate in a program that builds business skills, pairs them with industry-leading mentors, provides strategic support, and connects them to potential customers and investors.

Fellows access FamilyFarmed's network of leading regional trade buyers including Whole Foods Market, UNFI, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Goodness Greeness, Chicago Public Schools, Lettuce Entertain You, Sysco, Aramark, Compass Group. The accelerator is based at 1871, Chicago's engine of business and technology innovation. Click here to learn more about the Good Food Business Accelerator.
One spot left for Stateline Farm Beginnings Course                      
Stateline Farm Beginnings is a farmer-led training and support program designed to help people plan and launch sustainable farm businesses. 
 
233 individuals from across southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois have graduated from the course since its inception in 2005. The course, offered at Angelic Organics Farm in Boone County, Illinois, attracts both rural and urban participants, with students hailing from Chicago, Rockford, Milwaukee, Madison and nearby communities.

 

Students in Stateline Farm Beginnings work on a financial plan to launch a new farm business or to improve their farm's success. They get hands-on learning from a large community of local farmers, and are invited to participate in a summer mentorship specific to their needs. The class starts in October 2015 and runs for about one year.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Click here for additional information about Stateline Farm Beginnings. 
About the Prairie Crossing Farm      

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.

 

The Foundation supports educational programming at the Prairie Crossing Farm to educate and inspire people to value healthy food, land and community through experiences on our farm. Educational programming includes the Prairie Farm Corps youth development program, seasonal events, and more.
32400 North Harris Road
Grayslake, IL 60030

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