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

Karen Stark has a challenge for all suburbanites: eat only locally produced meats, grains, fruits and vegetables this Thanksgiving.

It certainly sounds like a daunting task until Stark, a Geneva mom and coordinator of the town’s winter farmers market, explains that within a 100-mile radius of the ‘burbs you can find farmers raising free-range turkeys and beef, growing sweet potatoes and pumpkins and milling flour for biscuits and pie crusts. Cast the net a little wider and you can enjoy wild rice from Minnesota and cranberries from Wisconsin bogs and chestnuts from Michigan. (read more)  …”Give thanks for food”.

Who: Terra Brockman, Author
What: Book Signing
When: Saturday, December 19th 2009
Where: Community Winter Market at Inglenook Pantry, 11 N 5th St Geneva IL 60134

Terra Brockman was raised in central Illinois, where four generations of her family have farmed. Terra’s younger brother, Henry, grows 650 varieties of vegetables on about 12 acres (between Peoria and Bloomington). There, he and his family with apprentices have bucked the traditional agribusiness conventional wisdom by farming in a way that’s sensible, sustainable and focused on producing healthy, nutritious food that doesn’t damage the land.

Terra Brockman tells the story of her family and their life on the farm in the form of a year-long memoir that takes the reader through each season of life on the farm.

For more information about Terra Brockman or her book, please visit her website at www.terrabrockman.com

Community Winter Market at Inglenook Pantry
11 N 5th St
Geneva IL 60134
630-377-0373
http://www.genevagreenmarket.org/directions

What was formerly known as the Geneva Winter Market is now the Community Winter Market sponsored by the Geneva Green Market, NFP. The Community Winter Market will feature fresh, local food throughout the winter and is scheduled to be open from 9 am through 1 pm on Saturdays, beginning November 7. It will be located at Inglenook Pantry, 11 N 5th St, Geneva IL 60134.

On Saturday, November 21st, the Community Winter Market will be hosting its annual Thanksgiving Localvore Challenge. Participating vendors will have the majority of the ingredients you will need to eat an entirely local Thanksgiving dinner. Sign up early for local free-range turkeys.

For the months of November and December the market will be held every Saturday for the first three weeks of each month. Check out the web site for future days in 2010.

Featured farmers/producers:  Curd and Whey Cheese Shop, Erehwon Farm Esther’s Place, Farm direct Black Angus, Grandma’s Farm Fresh Eggs, Hasselmann Family Farm, Inglenook Panty, Robinson Family Farm, Stojan’s Vegetables, Tomato Mountain Farm, Twin Gardens, and Webb Family Farm.

What was formerly known as the Geneva Winter Market, has become the Community Winter Market sponsored by the Geneva Green Market, NFP. You’ll still be able to purchase fresh, local food throughout the winter. Once the Geneva Green Market has ended for the season, the Community Winter Market is scheduled to be open from 9 am through 1 pm on Saturdays, starting November 7. It will be located at 11 N 5th St, Geneva IL 60134.

On Saturday, November 21st, the Community Winter Market will be hosting its annual Thanksgiving Localvore Challenge. The vendors will have the majority all the ingredients you will need to eat an entirely local Thanksgiving dinner. Sign up early for local free-range turkeys.

Irv Pavlik will be a feature musical guest at the Thanksgiving Festival,  Saturday November 21 and Holiday Festival on December 19.  Check out his music on youtube http://www.youtube.com/irvpav

Nancy’s Way brings the market full circle. You’ll find fruits and vegetables sold at the market in Mark and Connie’s pies and quiches. Meat in their hot lunches have been purchased locally. Whatever they can’t find at the market, they purchase from organic sources. They also provide chemical free vegetables as well.

Inglenook is also hosting the Geneva Winter Market starting its third season in November on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Peaches that you are currently seeing at the Green Market, will show up in pies and cobblers throughout the winter. Even if you haven’t been canning and freezing this season, you will still be able to eat locally year round.

Be a part of the “Localvore Thanksgiving Challenge“, and get your locally grown ingredients for your favorite recipes at the Geneva Green Market – Thanksgiving Festival on Sunday, November 23, 2008. The Geneva Green Market makes it easy for you to prepare a feast that is 100% locally grown and produced. The Thanksgiving Festival is a wonderful alternative to a trip to the grocery store. Not only can you find everything you need for Thanksgiving, but local artisans will be selling beautifully crafted and socially responsible Christmas and hostess gifts.

Betsy Sanchez will be baking Walnut Cranberry Linzer Tarts, Pumpkin Pecan Tarts, Pumpkin Cake Roll, Swedish Cardamom Rolls (Bullar), Swedish Cardamom Braids (Pulla), Butter Braids, Biscotti for purchase.

The Location is at Inglenook Pantry, 11 North 5th Street, Geneva IL 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Localvore Brunch will be served with the farmers’ products from 9:30 to 2 p.m., so you can make Thanksgiving shopping an afternoon experience for the whole family.

If there is a particular ingredient that you are looking for, you can make a request by 1 p.m. at the Geneva Winter Market on Saturday, November 15th. Call to pre-order pies and make brunch reservations at 630-377-0373.

You can pre-order a Heritage Bourbon Red Turkey from Caveny Farm Heritage poultry at www.cavenyfarm.com. They will be available for pick-up at the Thanksgiving Festival; also local artisans will be selling their wears.  Klean Kanteens, $15.50-$20.00 will be for sale from Dianne Peterson’s wood toys and silks.

Local Wines

Little Traveler is your destination for some interesting and tasty wines to complement your holiday table.  We will have available for tasting a tart and refreshing Cranberry Wine and a soft delicately sweet Pear Wine from Lynfred Winery in Roselle, Illinois and from August Hill in Utica, Illinois.
We will also have available for sampling Traminette, similar to a Gewurtztraminer and Trapolino, a light bodied red served slightly chilled.  For those of you that lean towards a sweeter varietal, we will have their Sweet Catawba, remincsent of citrus and fruit candy.  It is just about time to warm up the Glogg and we will be bring along Glunz Family Winery’s Glogg, from Grayslake, Illinos…..perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness to warm you up on these cold winter nights.

Because we are only tasting these at the Geneva Green Market Thanksgiving Festival,  The Little Traveler is offering a $5.00 discount coupon good for your purchase of a bottle wine at The Little Traveler during November 24 – November 26, 2008 so you can enjoy these libations during your Thanksgiving Feasts and beyond.

Meet the Local Author – Book signing – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Talk Turkey to Me”, by Renee Ferguson,
“Now coming to a town near you”, by Gina Olszowski

If you are wondering where to get locally grown food in the winter, look no further than Geneva, IL!

Geneva Winter Market will be open Saturday, November 8 and 15 and will be held every Saturday after November 29 Until December 20. from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. (Thanksgiving Festival held on Sunday, November 23, 2008) at the Inglenook Pantry, 11 North 5th Street. There will be an assortment of winter vegetables, herbs, apples, mushrooms, eggs, cheese, milk and various kinds of meat on a weekly basis. It will then start up again, after the holidays.

Heritage Prairie Market is an indoor market that is open all year, it has longer, daily hours providing the benefits of locally grown and produced foods.

Store Hours
Monday to Friday 9:00am to 6:00pm
Saturday 9:00am to 4:00pm
Sunday 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Phone us at 630 443 8253
or email us at info [at] hpmfarm [dot] com

Heritage Prairie Market is located just west of Randall Road
on Highway 38.
2N308 Brundige Road
Elburn Illinois 60119

There are Winter Farmers’ Markets & Meals sponsored by Churches’ center for Land and People (CCLP) in Chicago held by at various churches dedicated to provide a space for local farmers to sell their produce. This website http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/M19510 gives a list of when and where the markets will be held from week to week.

In Chicago, the Green City Market takes place each Wednesday and Saturday from 8 am-1 pm at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (2430 Cannon Drive). They plan on changing their location in January. To stay posted checkout http://www.chicagogreencitymarket.org

The Dane County Farmers’ Market is held in Madison, Wisconsin year round. For the exact times and place visit http://dcfm.org/wandw.asp

Many farms offer produce subscriptions, where buyers receive a weekly or monthly basket of produce, flowers, fruits, eggs, milk, meats, or any sort of different farm products.

A CSA, (for Community Supported Agriculture) is a way for the food buying public to create a relationship with a farm and to receive a weekly basket of produce. By making a financial commitment to a farm, people become “members” (“shareholders” or “subscribers”) of the CSA. Most CSA farmers prefer that members pay for the season up-front, but some farmers will accept weekly or monthly payments. Some CSAs also require that members work a small number of hours on the farm during the growing season. A CSA season typically runs from late spring through early fall. The number of CSAs in the United States was estimated at 50 in 1990, and has since grown to over 2000.

Here in Geneva Illinois, and the Fox Valley, we have many choices with CSAs. Some continue into the fall.

Erehwon Farms:
Seven weeks of wonderful fall produce such as winter squash, pie pumpkins, carrots, radishes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce, parsnips, tatsoi, Read more

About three years ago, Mark and Connie Weaver decided to extend their commitment to feeding their family with locally grown, organic foods to Inglenook Pantry patrons. They believe that good quality, healthy foods should be as readily available when dining out as they are when choosing what to eat at home. Inglenook offers this standard of quality in a variety of venues from concession stands to deluxe catering. Each week at the Geneva Green Market, NFP, Inglenook Pantry offers a variety of foods made from locally grown foods including quiche made from local vegetables and Rob Murphy’s cheeses and pies made from Hillside Orchards’ fruit.

Mark and Connie are continuously active members of their community. They support local farms and businesses by not only purchasing local products for their restaurant, but also providing a space and running the Geneva Winter Market, co-running the Geneva Green Market, NFP and supporting the Geneva schools in numerous ways. The Inglenook Pantry is truly the definition of a sustainable restaurant.

INGLENOOK PANTRY
Connie & Mark Weaver
N 5th Street
Geneva IL 60134
630.377.0373