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

Micheal Pollan was recently a featured gust on on point with Tom Ashbrook, discussing his latest work –  Food Rules.

Pollan says that inspiration for his latest work came from a doctor-actually, a couple of them. ”They had read my last book, ‘In Defense of Food’, which ended with a handful of tips for eating well: simple ways to navigate the treacherous landscape of modern food and the often-confusing science of nutrition. “What I would love is a pamphlet I could hand to my patients with some rules for eating wisely,” they would say. “I don’t have time for the big nutrition lecture and, anyway, they really don’t need to know what an antioxidant is in order to eat wisely.” Pollan listened.

Listen to the complete interview On Point with Tom Ashbrook: Michael Pollen on food rules for a better life. Pollan’s previous works include “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto”, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”. “Second Nature” and “A Place of My Own” and is a regular contributer to the New York Times Magazine.

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”.

This year’s Thanksgiving Localvore Challenge has three turkey vendor options. To place your order either sign up at the Geneva Green Market or contact the vendors directly. Bourbon Reds are $5 per pound,  the Broad Breasted Whites are $4 per pound and the Black Spanish breed $6 per pound.

R Family Farm

R Family Farm
Poplar Grove, IL 61065
815.519.4341 – Cindee
cjrobinson0217 [at] msn [dot] com

• Broad Breasted White Turkeys $4 a lb
  
• Bourbon Red $5/lb
• Delivery Charge to the Community Winter Market, Geneva,  IL.  $1 per pound ($15 maximum) or you can pick up at the R-Family Farm’s Open house, Poplar Grove.
  

R Family Farm raises Broad Breasted White and Bourbon Red Turkeys. Cornish Cross Broilers, and assorted chickens for eggs, goats for milk and meat, and Berkshire pigs.  All of the animals are raised out on pasture, as nature intended.  We also grind and mix our own feed here on the farm.  Each set of animals has their own “mix”.  The chickens and turkeys get raosted soybeans, flax, kelp, a probiotic, and other good things.  The broilers and turkeys are raised in hoop houses to keep them safe from foxes.  The hoop houses are moved every day to fresh grass.

Bourbon Red turkeys are a heritage breed and are excellent in taste. The Bourbons are a very slow growing bird and take 26-28 weeks to reach full growth and will reach up to 14 pounds.

The Broad Breasted White Turkeys are very fast growing and only take 16 to 18 weeks to be ready to eat.  They grow 12 to 30 pounds.  We use NO hormones,  No steroids, and NO antibiotic in any of our feed!  The turkeys are processed at an Amish federally inspected facility.

Hasselmann Family Farm

www.hasselmannfamilyfarm.com
Milledgeville, Illinois
815.493.8630 – Scott
hasselmannfarm [at] gmail [dot] com

Family run farm located in beautiful northwestern, Illinois near the town of Lanark, two hours northwest of Chicago. As fourth generation farmers, they raise Berkshire hogs, Milking Shorthorn cattle, Suffolk sheep, Moscovy ducks, chickens, goats, and Broad Breasted White turkeys.

All their livestock and produce is raised outdoors on pasture in harmony with the natural environment. Their pigs can be pigs and play in the mud and their chickens can be chickens and scratch in the soil.

• The Broad Breasted Whites are $4 per pound
• Delivery Charge to the Community Winter Market, Geneva,  IL.  $1 per pound ($15 maximum)

Grandma’s Farm Fresh Eggs

Sugar Grove, IL 60554
630-466-4616 – Bonnie/Paul
grandmasfarmfresheggs [at] yahoo [dot] com

Grandma’s Farm Fresh Eggs will also be selling turkeys. Our family primarily raises chicken eggs, turkey eggs, quail eggs - all are allowed on pasture or fed hay and grains when not on pasture. Talk to them directly at their booth at the Geneva Green Market to find out more information or via email.

• Black Spanish Heritage Breed $6 a lb includes delivery to the Community Winter Market

We, at CC Angus Beef, pride ourselves in offering you a grass-fed/grass-finished Angus beef product direct and at its very best. CC Angus Ranch works with tenderness proven sires and nature to produce a lean, succulent, and tender beef the way it was meant to be. Our animals are fed good forage in rotational grazing, stockpiling, and presetting bales.

They are raised humanely without the use of hormones, growth implants, or antibiotics.  With the use of probiotics to enhance food safety and grass finishing we believe that we are providing you with a higher nutritional product with more Omega 3 fatty acids, more CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), less saturated fat and higher levels of Vitamins A, B, and E.  CC Angus Ranch is located 6.6 miles South of Mineral Point, WI in the heart of Beef country.

Visitors are welcome! For more information visit us on at www.ccangus.com

In case you missed it, The GGM appeared in the Chicago Tribune on July 22nd in “Chicago area green markets growing…” The article discusses different approaches to sustainable farming including organic, naturally raised and where you can find sustainable food in the Chicagoland area:

… Fresh, local and sustainably grown also are at the heart of the Geneva Green Market, which opened in 2007, according to Karen Stark, co-founder with Connie Weaver. Farmers must come from within 200 miles and fill out a “sustainability” statement with their application.

Raised on a Minnesota dairy farm, Stark is passionate about the market and extended it indoors last winter. “Even though we do a kids corner and chefs’ demos, this is teaching people about the food. It’s not about entertainment value,” she said. “It’s about sustaining your lifestyle with the most nutrition value in your food you can possibly buy locally”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires farmers to be certified by a third party to use the term organic. Non-organic farmers use a variety of terms to show their practices: “sustainable,” “chemical free” and “naturally grown.” Or “healthy farming practices used,” “no spray,” free-ranged,” “pastured,” “grass fed” and “no antibiotics or hormones.” In those cases, it is up to the consumer to decide what is acceptable…

For the full article visit the Chicago Tribune: “Chicago area green markets growing…”

On June 25th, Sassy Cow Creamery is coming to the Geneva Green Market. Joining in Geneva’s Swedish Days celebration, Sassy Cow will be making cow puppets in the kids’ corner and Georgine Bosak will be making strawberry ice cream from local strawberries and Sassy Cow cream for the chef demo. Our cheese vendor, Curds and Whey, sells Sassy Cow’s locally-produced, organic milk weekly at the Geneva Green Market.

Sassy Cow Creamery is comprised of two small family dairy farms and is located about 15 miles north of Madison, Wisconsin. The dairy farms produce both traditional and organic dairy products, and unlike most dairy farms all of cows are grass-fed, even for traditional milk. The families that own and run Sassy Cow care for all of their cows humanly. Milk that is sold at the Geneva Green Market comes from cows that have been fed on organic pastures and have not been treated with antibiotics. For more information visit Sassy Cow Creamery.

Come shop for your Thanksgiving dinner ingredients, pick up pre-ordered grass fed turkeys from Caveny Farms and crafts that make great Christmas gifts. There will be locally grown, organic food and craft vendors.

Enjoy a locavore brunch before or after you shop!

Sunday, November 23, 2008
Hosted by Inglenook Pantry
11 N 5th Street
Geneva, IL 60134

Thanksgiving Market: 9:00 a.m. thru 3:00 p.m. Localvore Brunch served 9:30 am to 2:00 pm.

Note: We are also still looking for craft vendors. If you would like to participate in this market contact Karen at (630) 208-9321.

Curds and Whey Cheese Company owner, Rob Murphy, works directly with cheese makers to bring outstanding regional, artisan and select international cheeses and butter to Geneva. One submission to vitalinfo at AOL raves, “Curds and Whey is as well stocked as any cheese stand I know. Rob is passionate and extraordinarily knowledgeable. His stock is not wholly focused on local cheeses, but is almost entirely focused on artisan and farmhouse cheeses. As such he has several local cheeses.” For this Oak Park resident Curds and Whey was well worth the hour drive.

Murphy’s commitment to quality cheeses has led him to value dairy products that have come from grass-fed, hormone-free cows. He now carries Sassy Cow Creamery Farmstead Organic Milk, which is a small family-owned dairy farm and creamery located right outside of Madison, Wisconsin. Log on to sassycowcreamery.com to read how this up-and-coming organic dairy farm meets Murphy’s high standards. Curds and Whey is Geneva’s own trustworthy dairy supplier. To find out just how much of a genuine asset that is log on to cornucopia.org, where you will find accurate and detailed information on many of the organic dairy suppliers in the nation.

The New York Times featured an article on the trend of local food and community supported agriculture, or CSA, entitled “Shoppers buy slices of farms” by Susan Saulny in the July 10, 2008 edition. Highlighted in the piece was Geneva Green Market vendor Erehwon Farms:

“The CSA provides a base that’s certain, and we get the money when we need to spend the money,” said Beth Propst, who farms the fields at Erehwon, using the abbreviation for community-supported agriculture. “Having the money upfront and guaranteed, that gets us through at least the beginning of the season.”

Tim Fuller, Propst’s longtime companion and business partner in running the farm, said: “People are coming to us. We do very little marketing except for explaining what we do. It’s amazing.”

With a wry smile, Fuller said he considers himself both personal farmer and personal trainer, because shareholders under his direction are going to break a sweat.

“There’s always pressure on,” he said. “This is a complicated business, growing so many crops. We do everything by hand for more than 100 different crops.”

“I think people are becoming more local-minded…” said Nichole Nazelrod, program coordinator at the Fulton Center for Sustainable Living at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, a national clearinghouse for community-supported farms. “People are seeing ways to come together and work together to make this successful.”

Cattleana Ranch in Omro, Wisconsin, Thomas and Susan Wrchota offer grass fed meat and organic produce through a community-supported arrangement.

“We don’t do millions in revenue, but we make a living, which is rare,” he said. “Our goal is to provide a full portfolio of products for folks who want sustainable products. Up until about five years ago, we had to do a tremendous amount of guerrilla marketing. The consumer who is interested now, they’re doing their homework. They know the health and taste benefits.”

Some shareholders said they found the arrangement a bargain compared to grocery shopping… Most agreed that the urge to buy and spend locally to avoid the costs and environmental degradation that come with shipping and storage was behind the decision to join. Shareholders can pick up their goods at the farm or at a store across the street.

“From a ‘going green’ standpoint, it’s an appropriate thing to do,” said Gerard Brill, a musician who bought a share of Erehwon. “Like everything organic, it’s not a bargain, but what price do you put on being healthy? Considering all things, it’s actually a very good deal.”

• Locally-grown food does not cause as much pollution (global warming) due to less travel time.
• Keeping family farms alive keeps rural landscape alive, supporting less urban sprawl.
• Spending your money where you live keeps your community thriving.
• As a tourist looking for local flavor, this makes your visit more authentic. If you come to the Fox Valley area, you’ll want to taste what we grow.
• Geneva is particularly blessed with a booming community of small farms and food producers. Try our seasonal produce.
• Think of the health and safety of you and your family. Small, local farms are less likely to use hormones and more likely to raise grass fed or free-range animals, and organically grown vegetables.
• If you know your farmer, you know where to ask questions; the shorter the route from the farm to your table (at home or in a restaurant), the more knowledge you have at hand, and the more flavor you have on your plate.