Good Food Festival

Pasta Power: Sarah Grueneberg’s Golden On Good Food Festival Chef Stage

Sarah Grueneberg, award-winning chef-owner of Chicago’s award-winning Monteverde restaurant, will receive FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Chef of the Year Award — and conduct a cooking demo — at the 2018 Good Food Festival, part of our 14th Annual Good Food EXPO. And as if Sarah were not enough reason to make your way to the UIC Forum on Saturday, March 24, wait until you see the rest of the lineup for our popular Chefs at Play stage. Mind blown.

Chef Paul Kahan’s Enduring Bonds To His One Off Hospitality Family: A Frontera 30 Story

Chefs Erling Wu-Bower of Chicago’s Nico Osteria and Cosmo Goss of The Publican are two of the biggest young stars on the city’s and nation’s restaurant scene. So when they went to their boss at the hugely successful One Off Hospitality Group — James Beard Award winning chef Paul Kahan — a few months ago to tell him that they planned to open their own restaurant, Paul says, “Man, my brain exploded.” But Paul himself had benefited from the nurturing and encouragement of the chefs from whom he learned, such as Rick Bayless, and he and his business partners are helping Erling and Cosmo plan and develop their restaurant. All three chefs will participate on Sunday in the Frontera 30th Anniversary Celebration fundraiser at The Art Institute of Chicago.

Farm bill

The Future of Good Food in an Era of Political Change

A new federal farm bill is on course to be enacted as early as next year. Sustainable farmers and Good Food advocates would have needed to be on guard to protect these programs under any circumstances. But with the volatile political environment in Washington, D.C., supporters of these programs will need to be especially engaged. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has been the leading federal policy advocates for the Good Food movement for 30 years. Wes King, an NSAC policy specialist explains the political landscape for the 2018 farm bill and what advocates need to do to prepare.

James Beard Awards, Welcome Back … What’s New in Chicago Good Food

Last year, FamilyFarmed welcomed the first-ever James Beard culinary awards to Chicago with an article providing the sweep of Good Food activities in our hometown. So with the JBF Awards coming back to town on May 2, the best second helping we could think of is this rundown of the biggest Good Food developments in Chicagoland over the past year.

City of Chicago Represents at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Trade Show and Industry Conference

FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Trade Show and Industry Conference Friday — the middle of three days of the organization’s 12th annual Good Food Festival & Conference — got off to a rousing and inspiring start with an Opening Symposium featuring leading voices from across the local and sustainable food business and advocacy sectors. Steve Koch, deputy mayor of the city of Chicago, delivered a keynote speech.

Good Food Business Accelerator panel

Best in Business Highlight Thursday’s Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference

FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference is coming up Thursday at Chicago’s UIC Forum, and it is a must-do for anyone with an interest in the business of the fast-growing Good Food movement. The event — which makes up the first day of the three-day, 12th annual Good Food Festival & Conference — has an amazing lineup of farm and food entrepreneurs, industry leaders, thought leaders and policy makers.

Sen. Durbin and Jim Slama at Good Food Festival & Conference
Willie Nelson marching in support of family farms

Sustainable Food News: Michigan Good Food Fund to Put $30 Million into Expanding Access

by Sustainable Food News, guest contributor Sustainable Food News reported on June 17 about the Michigan Good Food Fund, which is expected to raise $30 million to provide capital to and assistance to businesses working to expand access to Good Food in underserved communities. This program, created with initial funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Read more about Sustainable Food News: Michigan Good Food Fund to Put $30 Million into Expanding Access[…]

Grown in Detroit stand at Eastern Market

History-Laden Eastern Market Delivers 21st Century Economic Vitality to a Recovering Detroit

The Good Food movement is playing a major role in Detroit’s rising reputation as a “comeback city.” Eastern Market, one of Detroit’s oldest and most historic institutions, is at the core of these efforts to build a thriving local food system, and it recently opened a community kitchen to provide resources for food entrepreneurs.

Wolfram Alderson