Tim Magner is a co-founder, with Elena Marre, of Nature’s Farm Camp, a five-day, four-day summer camp that provides children with hands-on experiences about food and nature. Magner has entertained, educated and inspired kids in a variety of capacities for more than two decades, including as a camp counselor, a children’s book author, and operator of Truck Farm Chicago.
The movement to change the food system is growing stronger every day, and millions of Americans are now demanding a food system that conveys wellness instead of disease, and delivers food that is good for us, good for the people who produce it, and good for the environment.
The damaging impact of “chemical drift” is one of the most critical issues for farmers who practice organic or other sustainable growing methods, some of whom shared their stories of dealing with this problem at the recent Good Food Festival & Conference.
by Bob Benenson, FamilyFarmed There is ample statistical, financial, and anecdotal support for the contention that the Good Food movement is, indeed, a movement — one that is expanding markets for healthier food, produced more sustainably, more humanely, and with greater fairness to small farmers, entrepreneurs, and farm workers. This Good Food sector is engaging the interest and participation of millions of Read more about Policy Makers Increasingly Recognize That Good Food Is A Movement[…]
The rapid growth of the Good Food movement was reflected at FamilyFarmed’s annual Good Food Festival & Conference, which took place last Thursday through Saturday — not only in the big attendance turnout, but in the intensity of interest among the general public in eating better foods and, in many cases, making those better food themselves at home.
Illinois Sen. Richard J. Durbin visited FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Festival & Conference Friday afternoon, praising the advances made by the Good Food movement. His visit came hours after an appearance at the event by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Would you like to hang out with and learn from some of Chicago’s best-known chefs? And have you ever wanted to be a kid again? You might, then, be a little jealous of the Chicago schoolchildren who get to participate in the chef-driven Pilot Light educational program.
by Bob Benenson, FamilyFarmed Bread, especially bread made with wheat flour, has come under scrutiny in recent years. Some nutritional experts and consumers have turned against it, viewing it as the root of a variety of health issues, from gluten sensitivity to weight gain. These sentiments spawned a rapid rise in interest in gluten-free bread Read more about Chicago Baker Greg Wade: Making Interest in Good Bread Rise Naturally[…]
Unlike a certain purple dinosaur, Chicago’s Purple Asparagus — a nonprofit group that uses fun and age-appropriate activities to teach kids about Good Food — is named for a real plant that is a springtime delicacy. That is kind of the point. Teaching children from very young ages about the benefits of real, whole, wholesome food is crucial to their developing healthy eating habits as they grow up, and that is the core of Purple Asparagus’ mission.
Across our country, more and more schools have begun to source foods locally and to provide educational activities to students — a movement often called “farm to school.” Farm to school is growing, with major benefits for children, schools, families, farmers, food manufacturers, communities, and businesses.
The stories of immigrants achieving success by making the foods of their native lands are parts of the history and social fabric of the United States. But Jenny Yang of Chicago’s Phoenix Bean tofu has an immigrant food story with a modern twist. While millions of people have come to America to escape poverty or oppression, Yang first came to the U.S. from her native Taiwan a quarter-century ago in pursuit of higher education.
Americans are increasingly health-conscious and concerned about what foods they are putting into their bodies. While there are plenty of nutritious and tasty whole foods out there, it is easy to fall back on the old, less healthy habits of doughnuts or candy bars or chips.
This is an issue that dailyServing, a Chicago-based food startup, aims to address.
A mosquito-borne illness picked up during a horseback ride in Haiti turned critical for contributing writer Kora Lazarski. It prompted her to think profoundly about the impact of man on nature, and ultimately led to the career she is pursuing in the natural foods and products industry.
Concerns about the routine use of antibiotics in livestock production is rising among consumers, prompting an increase in both market demand and supply of meat labeled as “antibiotic-free.” And efforts to get the attention of policy makers to this issue are increasing.