Geneva Green Market: Geneva, Illinois - A Local Food Green Farmers Market

Edible Chicago is a publication dedicated to providing its readers with “a direct connection to the local producers who can provide a bounty of fresh ingredients for consumption.”  Their mission is to educate people about local food and the benefits that local food brings to their communities.  Edible Chicago “values local, seasonal, authentic foods and culinary traditions.” The magazine helps bring the farmer and community together to utilize natural, healthy resources to enhance the quality of food consumed every day.

The Geneva Green Market is a local distributor of edible Chicago in the Fox Valley area.  Copies are available at the market, Thursdays 7:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., 75 N River Lane in Geneva.  For more information about Edible Chicago, please visit their website, www.ediblechicago.com.

Lyon Fishery Farm raised Trout of Sandoval, IL

Lyon Fishery is offering trout through Curd and Whey this Thursday at the Geneva Green Market.

There is a demand by environmentally conscious consumers for fresh, healthy, good tasting food products high in protein, low in fat & cholesterol and contaminate free.

The general perception of farm raised products is positive. Compared to wild caught species, farm raised aquaculture products are considered fresher, higher quality & have greater price stability.

Rob Murphy will be demoing this Thursday and answer question about farmed raised trout.

Humidity isn’t the only thing that August has to offer in Kane and Dupage County. Come and check out a new variety of fresh produce available at the market! Here’s a short list of the fruits and vegetable available in August from Dekalb County, Dupage County, Kane County and Kendall County farms:

Vegetables:

• Cauliflower
• Corn
• Cucumbers
• Green beans
• Onions
• Squashes
• Zucchini

Fruits:

• Apples
• Berries
• Melons
• Tomatoes

Summer season is here and the Geneva Green Market is in full swing.  The month of July in the Fox Valley growing region offers a wide variety of produce that will tantalize your taste buds and diversify your garden.  Come to the market to find fresh, local food to enhance your every-day meals! Here’s a brief sample of the fruits and vegetable available in July from Dekalb County, Dupage County, Kane County and Kendall County Illinois farms:

Veggies:

• Beans
• Bell peppers
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Eggplant
• Onions
• Radishes
• Squash

Fruits:

• Blueberries
• Cherries
• Peaches
• Raspberries

The Chicago Tribune featured a cover story with Chef Jeremy Lycan, of Niche Restaurant and vendor Heritage Prairie entitled “Support Your Local Farmer - Movement to eat food grown within 100 miles of home is gaining traction” in the July 6, 2008 issue:

Growing concern about such “food miles” has inspired many consumers to become locavores.

Betsy Zinser, 44, of Batavia began her pursuit of locally grown food two years ago after finding that a bag of broccoli in her freezer was produced in China.

Deri Gray, 47, a dedicated locavore in Geneva, said the ability to trace her food to its origin has given her peace of mind, particularly while health officials have been focused on tomatoes as they probe a nationwide salmonella outbreak.

“I knew right away the tomatoes I got here wouldn’t be tainted,” Gray said outside the Heritage Prairie Market in Elburn. “It hasn’t been touched commercially, so there’s nobody in between contaminating it with any disease.”

Many locavores cite a different reason for their dietary decision: Locally grown food is fresher, more nutritious and tastes better. That may explain why many chefs in the Chicago area’s trendiest restaurants feature locally grown ingredients.

“We’re finally getting back to craving the flavor and textures of produce that’s extremely fresh,” said Jeremy Lycan, chef at Niche Restaurant in Geneva.

Lycan gets his rib-eye from Dietzler Farms, a 750-acre farm in Walworth County, Wis., about 65 miles from his restaurant. And he gets garlic and beets from Heritage Prairie Market.

The Geneva Green Market, NFP group is devoted to education of the health-giving nature of locally grown food, local sustainability, and conservation of resources. We are located at the Geneva Green Market, a green Farmers Market in Geneva IL. The Market has local Farmers with in 200 mile radius of Geneva IL. These farmers are dedicated to bringing the freshest from their fields directly to your plate.

Harry Brockman, a farmer in central Illinois who won the National Sustainability Award, stated in his book, Organic Matters:

“It sounds naïve, perhaps even self-important, but in my very small way, I am working to save the world. And every time you eat truly organic food that is grown and sold locally, you too, are working to save the world.”

We feel our farmers at the Geneva Green Market share this sentiment—come be a part of saving the world, one plate at a time.

Karen Stark
Geneva Green Market, NFP

Where:
75 N RIVER LANE, GENEVA IL 60134

When:
Thursdays
June 26 through October 30, 2008
7:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Contact:
email us
630.208.9321

Location is at 75 N. River Lane , in the picturesque park along the west side of the mighty Fox River.

Farmers and products vendors from within 200 miles of Geneva, IL are invited to join the Geneva Green Market.

Chef Jeremy Lycan of Geneva’s Niche Restaurant (recently named one of the top 100 restaurants by Chicago magazine), and Mark Weaver of Geneva’s Inglenook Pantry (recently written up in The Chicago Tribune for their “to-die-for Chicken Tetrazzini”) are both actively involved in getting local chefs to support the Geneva Green Market and buy fresh, locally grown product, as well as offering the public educational information and demonstrations on cooking with fresh produce.

The Geneva Green Market also supports Geneva merchants who offer “green” products, and will actively help those merchants get the word out if they have green products available.

Farmers’ market produce is renowned for being locally-grown and very fresh. People argue farmers’ markets allow farmers to pick produce at the peak of flavor, preserve the nutritional content of fresh produce, and since locally-grown produce does not travel as far to get to your table, the difference in mileage saves fossil fuels.

Farmers’ markets often feature produce grown naturally or organically, meats that are raised humanely on pasture, handmade farmstead cheeses, eggs and poultry from free-range fowl, as well as heirloom produce and heritage breeds of meat and fowl.

Farmers’ markets advocates help farmers stay in business as well as preserve natural resources. Wholesale prices farmers get for their produce are very low, often near the cost of production. Farmers who sell direct to the public without going through a middle man get a better price. It can be shown that the preservation of farmland is important for the health of the environment and water supply. According to the American Farmland Trust, sustainable and managed farms conserve soil and clean water and provide a habitat for wildlife. Moreover, modern farmers’ markets help maintain important social ties, linking rural and urban populations and even close neighbors in mutually rewarding exchange …

Local food (also regional food) or the local food movement is a “collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies - one in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular place” ^[1] and is considered to be a part of the broader sustainability movement. It is part of the concept of local purchasing and local economies, a preference to buy locally produced goods and services. Those who prefer to eat locally grown/produced food sometimes call themselves “localvores” or locavores …

[ source: Wikipedia.org ]