S2G — Good Food Business of the Year — Marries Values to Innovation

Seed 2 Growth Ventures — known more familiarly as S2G — is breaking new ground as a Chicago-based venture capital firm providing capital to cutting-edge food, restaurant and agriculture businesses in the Good Food sector. This innovative “Soil to Shelf” investment model is the reason why FamilyFarmed will present S2G Ventures with its 2017 Good Food Business of the Year Award on Thursday, at its annual Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference at Chicago’s UIC Forum.

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.

FamilyFarmed Conference To Explore: Does Good Food = Local Food?

“Good Food movement” and “Local Food movement” are virtually synonymous to a lot of people. Yet the rising tide of consumer demand for Good Food is prompting more and more retailers, wholesalers and chefs to think globally while they act locally. This issue will be examined by the “Does Good Food Need to Be Local” panel at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference on March 16.

Free Admission, Rick Bayless Demo Highlight FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Festival

FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Festival — our big public celebration of the rising Good Food movement – is coming up on Saturday, March 18. And along with our typical lineup of great programs and features, we have new big incentive to attend: Admission is free!

I Heart Keenwah: The Untold Story of Quinoa

Most quinoa is used in savory dishes or as a side dish. But I Heart Keenwah, a Chicago-based producer that will again be exhibiting at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Festival & Conference March 16-18, is making its mark with a line of quinoa-based snack foods and sweet treats (their current line of products is listed at the end of this article).

Rumi Spice: Making Afghanistan and the World Better, One Saffron Thread at a Time

Those of us who are fully engaged in the Good Food movement get to work with a whole lot of bold people. But the co-founders of Rumi Spice, veterans of the Afghan war, are in a league of their own: They pay Afghan farmers a premium to grow flowers that produce saffron rather than the opium poppies that produce deadly heroin and finance terrorist organizations.

The Zen of Slow Cooking and the Spice of a Busy Life

The spice mixes and recipes developed by the zen of slow cooking help busy people make easy slow cooker meals that enable them and their families to have delicious dinners waiting for them when they get home. And owners Meg Barnhart and Jane McKay continue their mission to provide employment and cooking lessons for developmentally challenged adults.

Good Food Business Accelerator’s Third Year Off to Strong Start

Nine competitively selected Fellows are participating in the third year of FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Business Accelerator, and they represent a wide range of exciting entrepreneurial ventures: from unique pies and clean meals to tea-infused energy bites and indigenous wild rice cereal, and from locally sourced juices and sparkling fruit tonics to pickled produce and sippable soups.

Oregon Fishing Communities Build Business by Getting Along Swimmingly

Farms running community supported agriculture businesses, or CSAs, have multiplied across the United States in recent years. Under this practice, farms are able to raise revenues for their plantings by selling subscriptions to consumers, who receive boxes of products from the farm over the course of the season. Now the concept has spread to another food sector: sustainable seafood. And, as this article about southwest Oregon shows, businesses and other economic development boosters are working together to build a growing seafood market.

Young Farmer Finds Inspiration Right at Home in Indiana

FamilyFarmed’s Good Food on Every Table website is launching a new series titled “Growing Young Farmers.” This series will provide a platform for members of this new generation to discuss why they have chosen farming, the opportunities that motivate them, and the challenges as well. And we could not be happier to kick off the series than with this following essay written by Kara Gunthorp of Indiana’s Gunthorp Farms, a leader in sustainable livestock production.