You would be hard-pressed to find a business that is more local, more community-based, and more dedicated to revitalizing economically challenged neighborhoods than Chicago’s Urban Canopy.
By Joel Blechman, FamilyFarmed When I tell people I’m the director of the Good Food Business Accelerator, which FamilyFarmed launched last fall, I’m frequently asked, “What does that mean?” Accelerators — which provide mentorship, networking opportunities, and other assistance to promising entrepreneurial businesses — compose a fast-rising sector that is promoting economic development in the Read more about Good Food Business Accelerator Fellows to Show Their Skills at April 27 Demo Day[…]
The week that organic advocates descend upon Capitol Hill has come to be regarded as Organic Week in D.C., and for good reason. We always have a battalion of organic stakeholders armed with expert knowledge and a passion for the organic community.
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.
The Band of Farmers Talent and Fashion Show takes place at The Hideout in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago tomorrow (Saturday, March 28). This show is the most fun a farmer (and a fan of farmers) can have without playing in the dirt.
Anne Alonzo, administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, says there is a lot of passion for sharing Good Food by supporting strong local and regional food systems — something she experienced firsthand during her trip last week to Chicago, where she spoke at the Good Food Festival & Conference presented by FamilyFarmed.
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.
Rob Levitt, who co-owns Chicago’s popular The Butcher & Larder meat shop with his wife Allie, was very generous with his time prior to his charcuterie workshop at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Festival Saturday. It turns out that Rob is also very generous with recipes.
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.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday told attendees of FamilyFarmed’s 11th annual Good Food Festival & Conference that he backs the goals of the Good Food movement for a healthier and more sustainable food system, and pledged to do everything he can to help.
Almost every major city has a convention center. And in recent years, concern has risen — among the managers of these show places and the organizations with which they partner — about reducing the costs and the environmental and social impacts of waste resulting from the big events they stage.
There are plenty of business success stories that emerge in the food world. To be a Good Food success story — like the four featured at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference in Chicago Thursday — has a special requirement: a commitment to the values of local, sustainable, natural, and healthy food that is the foundation of the fast-growing Good Food movement.
FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Festival & Conference kicked off a packed three-day schedule Thursday with its Good Food Financing & Innovation Conference. The program featured an introduction to the nonprofit organization’s new Good Food Business Accelerator.
Each of the many individual elements packed into the Good Food Festival & Conference would make a great stand-alone event.
T.J. Callahan, the founder and owner of the Farmhouse Tavern restaurants in downtown Chicago and suburban Evanston is a bit wary of the “farm to table” label, which some critics say has been overused to the point of becoming a cliche. “Farm to table, it’s such a nebulous kind of concept,” Callahan said in an interview with Good Food on Every Table. “So we’ve called ourself, from day one, a ‘Midwestern craft tavern.'”
Finding sourcing for financial capital has been one of the major dilemmas that many startups (and even some better-established players) face in the fast-growing Good Food movement. Fortunately, the money gap is starting to be filled by venture capital groups that see the business potential in the Good Food movement. Chicago’s SLoFIG, an acronym for Sustainable LOcal Food Investment Group, was one of the first to see — and seize — the opportunity.
Paul Fehribach of Big Jones restaurant in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood will receive FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Chef of the Year award during the Good Food Festival, Saturday, March 21 at Chicago’s UIC Forum. He earned the award because of his culinary skills — steeped in the traditions of Southern cooking — and also because of the strong values that prompt him to seek out locally and sustainably produced ingredients, including many rare or heirloom varieties.
We have been writing so much about FamilyFarmed’s 11th annual Good Food Festival & Conference March 19-21 that we want to make sure that the main events designed for the general public do not get lost in the shuffle. So here is our list of the top 10 reasons you should attend the Localicious food and drink tasting event and the Good Food Festival.