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

The Geneva Green Market, the area’s only Farmers Market requiring all produce and products be locally grown within a 200-mile radius of Geneva IL, is kicking off their second season on Thursday, June 26 at their permanent location along the west side of the Fox River at 75 N. River Lane in Geneva from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Join us for opening ceremonial plantings at 9:00 a.m. with Geneva officials and friends, followed by cooking demonstrations and more…

Visitors will see familiar faces from last year and some new vendors as well. Products include field-fresh, minimally processed, sustainably grown, produce ranging from vegetables, herbs and fruits to meats and dairy products and more!

OPENING DAY SCHEDULE

• 7:00 a.m. Market Opens
  9:00 a.m. Local City Officials and Dignitaries to Participate in Planting Ceremony of the Geneva Green Market
  9:30 a.m. James Beard Award Nominee, Chef Jeremy Lycan’s Cooking Demonstration with Locally Grown Food
  10:30 a.m. Kid’s Corner - Illinois Natural History Survey Mobile Classroom
  11:30 a.m. Chef Jeremy Lycan’s Cooking Demonstration with Locally Grown Food

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES:

• 9:00 a.m. The Illinois Natural History Survey Mobile Classroom & Traveling Science Center
  9:00 - 11:00 p.m. Guided Tours of River Park
  12:00 p.m. The Illinois Natural History Survey Mobile Classroom & Traveling Science Center

Parking is plentiful, and the weekly Geneva Green Market is located one block east of Route 31 and one block north of Route 38. For more information, please contact Karen Stark - email us here!

By Emily Morin

Spring is here and it’s time for a fresh start. Here are some easy things you can do to make that possible and that will save you some green.

1. Unplug electronic devices when you’re not using them.
2. Use biodegradable trash bags instead of plastic bags.
3. Replace your light bulbs with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs.
4. Fix any leaky fixtures in your house.
5. Store refrigerated food in glass containers instead of plastic containers.
6. Use cloth diapers instead of disposable diapers for young children.
7. Purchase reusable bags for grocery shopping.
8. Use yard and non-protein food waste as natural mulches or fertilizers.
9. Hand-wash your dishes instead of using a dishwasher.
10. Recycle!

• 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.

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 ]

Thursday, June 26 through October 30, 2008 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., locally grown, minimally processed produce and products will be available at the Geneva Green Market to chefs, foodies and everyday people.

Interested farmers—please call 630-208-9321 for the 2008 season. We are in the process of sending out information to local farmers, please call or email us to receive information. Thanks and have a great growing season!

What:
“Let’s Paint the Town Green”

When:
Monday, February 25, 2008
7:00 pm

Where:
Batavia Public Library , League of Women Voter meeting

Sponser:
BCEC: Batavians for Clean Energy and Conservation

Monday, February 25, 2008, BCEC is presenting “Let’s Paint the Town Green” at the League of Women Voter meeting at the Batavia Public Library at 7:00 pm. BCEC will highlight many of the great green things that are happening throughout our community and offer green living ideas that we can easily incorporate into our own lives.