A decade of local food
There are those in our community who will always lament what Champaign-Urbana does not have in the way of terrain and culture. But in the last nine years it has become increasingly difficult for these individuals to complain about a lack of local food and local cuisine.
Those who complain that we do not have the Bay area's Cow Girl and Strauss Family creameries need only look to Prairie Fruits and the new Kilgus Dairy near Fairbury. The next time you are at a party and hear the fooderati whining about an alleged lack of good local cheese, feel free to tell them that Cow Girl carries cheeses from Prairie Fruits at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, no less.
And, where ten years ago, there was only one community supported agriculture project, today there are three. In that time, Prairieland Community Supported Agriculture not only grew to provide food to 150 households, it also helped usher in the next generation of farmers at Moore Family Farm.
Today, if you don't feel like cooking local food, you can sign up to receive pre-cooked local meals from the Food Nanny. Having a party? Bob Rowe at Classic Events Catering can set you up with local food, as well.
The Market at the Square in Urbana, long considered one of the best in the state, continues to grow, along with the winter market inside Lincoln Square Village. And, there now is talk of a market beyond December, as well. The Urbana markets were joined by the return of the downtown Champaign Farmers Market this year, as well as the ongoing and less formal market in the parking lot at Country Fair.
Local meat was once a "who you know" affair requiring the purchase of a half or whole animal and a chest freezer. Now, anyone can purchase local meat and poultry through the farmers market and venues like Common Ground Food Coop and World Market, which even carries local halal products.
Similarly, there are three area farms licensed to sell eggs to local stores and restaurants. And while Champaign residents are still held hostage by ridiculous 1997 rulings, many residents of Urbana take advantage of laws allowing them to raise their own eggs.
Tomahnous Farm of Mahomet grows and mills local wheat. Local honey also is in good supply, as is sorghum molasses. And though it is harder to come by, we have some nationally famous maple syrup from Spence Farm.
The number of restaurants featuring local food has taken a beating, as has the entire restaurant industry in recent years. However, it is not unusual to find ingredients sourced from Blue Moon Farm, First Fruits, and Moore Family Farm at places like Great Impasta, bacaro, Timpone's, and the deli of Common Ground Food Coop, among others.
Common Ground has become the destination for local groceries thanks to its move to Lincoln Square Village in 2008. But it is heartening to see stores like Strawberry Fields, Jerry's IGA at Roundbarn, and County Market on Duncan stocking some local products, as well. This is because any time a store opts to carry local items instead of those from major distributors like SuperValu and United Natural Foods International, it risks losing discounts on the rest of the goods it stocks.
Could there be more local food? Certainly. But, every year it gets easier for C-U residents to eat at least some local food every day.
24 comments
Paul Simpson
Nice summary Anna. I will like to add the Maple Sirup from Funk’s Grove as a nice addition to that produced from Spence Farm. And it;s a little easier to come by in that they actually have some to sell :).
Aaron
...“However, it is not unusual to find ingredients sourced from Blue Moon Farm, First Fruits, and Moore Family Farm at places like Great Impasta, bacaro, Timpone’s, and the deli of Common Ground Food Coop, among others.“
Among what others? The ones you list are the only ones I’ve ever heard of. And what’s being done to make these local goods more readily available to the many underprivileged, unemployed and low-income people in the community that too often get ignored by local commerce, government and media pieces like this one which either presume that everyone has the means to afford locally produced food or ignore the fact that the piecework distribution network for these products basically sucks?
Wow, Aaron. About a 9 on the tension scale there, eh?
As for what’s being done to make these goods readily available to the “underprivileged” (sic), etc etc:
How about a Farmer’s Market that is FREE and located in the city center each Saturday for 9 months of the year? Almost of the produce there is exceptionally priced.
Ass meets chair — sit down.
Aaron:
As more people return to eating out, other restaurants likely will return to the list. I didn’t feel like kicking them when they are down.
And while I wish there was some kind of comprehensive gleaning and distribution program for local produce, in the interim, many farmers market vendors accept food program vouchers. The excess produce from Prairieland Community Supported Agriculture (half a ton+ I know because I help deliver it) goes to a host of charities and the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. There also are at least three shares of PCSA that go to A Woman’s Fund and the Greater Community AIDS Project. Additionally the Foodbank collects excess produce from the Market at the Square and the U of I. Many gardeners donate their excess produce, as well. And these are just the programs and activities that I am aware of. Obviously the need is not being fully met, but it isn’t as if no one is working on this issue.
vf
Verify that all that Anna says about what is done with the producelocally is true. Only a few years ago, foodbanks, etc. got very little fresh produce. Now they get quite a lot and it is distributed through a number of venues.
Aaron
Yes, Seth, a lot of tension. This has been a bad year economically, and I’m personally feeling it. While I would love to shop excusively at the Farmer’s Market (which I agree is wonderful in theory), the prices are only exceptional in the worst sense of the word. I understand the economics involved and why they’re priced that way, but personally, I feel the pain of those prices even if you do not. And many other people do as well. I’d like to hear some specific numbers about how much local produce is available through shelters/pantries in the area. If I do need to start getting my food that way, I’d really like to know which shelters/pantries are going to have mostly local fresh stuff, and which ones are going to have mostly canned Del Monte and Dole. My frustration with this article Anna is with the complete lack of statistics involved here. We have “a decade” in which we can definitely say there is some kind of trend, but you and Seth, as journalists, should find the numbers for us and put them out there, so we can see for ourselves. Contact the food bank and get a spreadsheet—they actually do have all that data, and they do have to answer to the public. I’d be far more impressed and much less tense if we were talking about a real sea-change here and not a locatarian fad.
There was also a farmer’s market over the summer every Thursday at the CU Public Health District. The CUPHD folks even grow some of their own veggies and spices to hand out to shoppers every week. It was wonderful!
Aaron
To add some hard info here (per my own request):
A source at the EIFB says “The volume of donated product from local sources simply is not there.“ According to her, the Food Bank moves approximately 5.5 million pounds of food through a network of 220 different outlets. Of the staple foods in that volume—“dairy, meat, eggs, and sometimes (rarely) cheese”—about 7400 pounds are from local sources. This works out to about 0.13%—a tenth of a percent! Is that higher than it was 10 years ago? Maybe ... would be interesting to know how much.
Aaron,
Sounds to me like you’d fit in well at Smile Politely. Let us know when you’d like to contribute: editors @ smile politely dot com.
All of us have jobs outside of this magazine, and while we try to be as thorough as we can, gathering data and whatnot is fairly time consuming.
Beyond that, you are correct, some of the produce is a little high, but quite seriously, if you consider the idea of spending $7 or so on a value meal at a fast food restaurant (which I never do), the amount of fresh local food you can get for the same price is not only comparable, but also, refreshingly adequate.
It’s likely more about changing your expectations, and not solely about changing what’s already happening. That’s a harsh truth, but a very real one.
Thanks Paul and Emma for the great additions. Aaron please let us know when you are done spitting on the local farmers who do not have the ability to donate entire semis of food to EIF like Frito Lay, but are kind enough to donate a portion of what they grow even though some could be classified as low-income themselves. Although I have written about the local soup kitchen, food charity was NOT the intended focus of this article. Perhaps you might like to write your own article for SP, which will mean donating your time like the rest of us.
He did donate his time. And I think it’s hard to argue with his point.
But lets not overlook the fact that it’s a lovely social occasion for the beautiful people.
Actually he made one phone call for his own selfish means to someone at EIF who is already busy doing the work of two or three people as he/she is trying to keep people who actually need food in this community fed. And, what he doesn’t know about about food pantries and programs in this community could fill a book. Further, I don’t think of the people who pick up produce at PCSA each week as the beautiful people (though having saved a local farm from financial ruin they are beautiful souls) as much as I think of them as people who have made good food a priority in their lives.
Steinwhiner
As someone who has just moved back to the area after a ten year absence, I’m wondering if anyone might know where to get fresh local meat, rather than frozen? And are any of the options grass finished? What’s the deal with Old Time Meat Shop or whatever it’s called?
Short of processing it yourself, not really. Any farmer with an IL brokers license has to pickup and deliver frozen. Moore Family Farm is grass all the way through for beef and lamb. Old Time buys a lot of meat from Arthur, some of it is raised in confinement, some not.
Aaron - I think 7400 pounds a year is a great start. After all, that’s what’s being DONATED. EIFB could be focusing on buying from local producers, but the local market is such that that’s probably not the best value for them. While I would love for everyone to (be able to) eat locally, I think it’s more important for food banks to have enough food to provide to their consumers.
Aaron
I don’t think I said anything derogatory about the local farmers, or even local produce. I think both are great. My main criticism is that this article smacks of elitism in a very bad way, in a way that is painful to someone who doesn’t have the means to shop exclusively at the local co-op or farmer’s market, or to eat at bacaro. For the record, I’m a co-op share owner and do support the farmer’s market to the extent that I can afford to, and Seth, I do not eat fast food and rarely eat out anymore either. That said, my opinion is not an exception when it comes to the majority of the people in this community—you might refer to them as “townies.“ If you would work harder at presenting balanced reports that take into account the problems and future hurdles as well as applauding and patting your own back, you would gain a lot more respect from the rest of the Frito-lay eatin’ crowd. And that will lead to greater demand for these products, which is the whole reason they’ve seen increased market share anyway. So don’t undermine your own cause by “spitting” on your readers!
d
Aaron:
I’m sure others here will correct me if I’ve misunderstood, but this article is a wrap up (for the decade and the year) regarding local food. I don’t think it has much to do with serving the “underpriviledged unemployed and low-income people in the community”—instead I think you are expecting a different article.
If you feel strongly about this subject, why don’t you join the roster of Smile Politely writers and make your voice heard. BTW, most people aren’t going to read comments, they read the articles.
It sounds like you (as well as many other in this community and around the world) are suffering the effects of the recession. Join the crowd. However to attempt to co-opt this article by making it something it isn’t is mean spirited at this time of year.
I don’t think you are in the majority here, nor can you speak for them. I know I can’t, and I won’t try. What it mostly sounds like to me is you feel sorry for yourself because you can’t eat at bacaro as much as you want. Jeez.. there are people in this town who can’t afford to eat period, who have life threatening diseases and can’t afford their meds, who don’t have a roof over their heads and who have kids to boot.
I’m just saying… that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.
d
I’ll just go ahead and confirm/continue my interpretation of the comments: Aaron is not, based on his comments here, crazy. My tolerance for crazy is, I would argue, FAR lower than the average SP editor.
I don’t know why Anna rails against Aaron. Are they not fellow travelers?
Maybe there’s a story there.
Aaron
Am I really co-opting anything? I appreciate the suggestions to write for Smile Politely, but I thought the whole idea of comment threads was for others to make their voices known without being required to write the articles. And since when is debate mean-spirited? It seems very much in the spirit of a community discussion to me. The article itself invites dissent, after all, by immediately calling out anyone who would offer up critique of local “culture.“ Yes, it’s true that “there are those in our community who will always lament what Champaign-Urbana does not have in the way of terrain and culture”—and for good reasons too. A local culture that is constantly patting itself on the back in its free media is a culture in complete denial of an insidious inferiority complex. And the petty victory claimed is that “in the last nine years it has become increasingly difficult for these individuals to complain about a lack of local food and local cuisine.“ Is that an accomplishment? Who *are* these individuals anyway? Who are they if not those who loudly proclaim the abundance of elite eats? I’m sorry, but if you’re at a party with them, you probably *are* them. And the lack of good local cheese is not just alleged, it’s verifiable. “Lack” is different than just “scarcity”—lack implies a comparison, and in the case of this town, the comparison is probably with SF, or LA, or Berkeley, maybe even Chicago. This town *is* lacking when compared with those cities. Just accept that fact and start to look at changing the realities instead of imagining that it’s just as bountiful and just as diverse. It’s not.
Mike
Aaron -
Why not a pat on the back for a decade of progress? Sure, there’s room for improvement, but you want it all and want it now, huh?
I’d say a belly full of Dole is a huge step up from an empty belly, eh? I’d put you in the “elitist” category when it comes to food. You just can’t afford it right now. Hopefully you’ll find yourself in a better situation soon. Personally I don’t give too much of a shit about the fuel just as long as hunger pangs aren’t keeping me from getting on with things that are important to me. So down some Ramen noodles and focus your energy on doing something positive to “change the realities” if it’s that important to you.
I’ve got to agree with Seth on checking your expectations. The market does not exist here to support the same things as the major metropolitan areas, and so most reasonable people are happy to see at least minor choices when it comes to things like this.
Plenty of locally produced whine here. Oh man.
d
Aaron:
Definition: co-opt: “Take or assume for one’s own use.“
An article titled “A decade of Local Food” is about local food. It is most likely not about whether or not food pantries have local food, or even about whether people can afford local food over that which is mass produced. If you are attempting to steer the discussion away from what the article is about and push your own agenda, you have taken and assumed it for your own use.
Drawn your own conclusions. I’m sure I won’t convince you as “a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.“
d
Aaron —
I wasn’t stating that people should choose fast food, or that you do. I was using the cost as a frame of reference.
As for your wishes for a more balanced style of reporting — this article was placed in the Food & Drink section of the magazine, generally reserved for positive affirmations regarding what is happening in the Food & Drink community, locally. I am Anna’s editor at Smile Politely, and she is one of our most cherished writers. We love her.
If what you want is a balanced report — or what sounds more like an expose´ on the pitfalls of local foods being readily available to the poor and indigent — then fucking do something about it.
We founded Smile Politely exactly for that reason: so people like you can get on board and make shit known. And it can, via this website. We’re easily the most well-read online magazine in downstate Illinois. Shit man — Roger fucking Ebert linked to us in his Twitter today. But by just anonymously complaining, you aren’t really doing anything to solve the problem. In fact, you are kind of causing more of one.
So, don’t go pointing the finger at me or anyone else with the notion that it’s somehow our responsibility to do anything for anyone: it’s not. No questions asked.
We do what we do to the best of our ability, and if we don’t cover everything always, that’s a symptom of being an all-volunteer run magazine. I have bills to pay and local food to buy, and I can’t earn enough to put my wife through grad school and stuff local Brussels sprouts up my ass by writing about shit that, quite honestly, doesn’t really seem like that big of an issue, when you weight it on the scales.
Feel free to email us anytime, “Aaron.“ For realz. Much loves.
The harsh words in the comments are totally unnecessary. Aaron raises legitimate issues, perhaps somewhat indelicately, that are beginning to be discussed throughout the country, and the world for that matter. As to our own local foods initiatives, can’t we agree that much good has happened in the last decade, but that there is an enormous amount still to do, against difficult conditions.
My son recently sent me this interesting discussion about another local foodshed, the SF Bay.
Jason Corbun the moderator, asked everyone what their elevator speech would be if they caught Obama and could pitch him in 30 seconds on a good food policy (or something like that). Kimi Watkins-Tartt responded “Affordable housing,“ and proceeded to explain that unhealthy food is only part of a much bigger problem of economic underdevelopment (maybe not her words) in low-income neighborhoods. That its not just about getting farmers markets and salad bars at schools, but having locally owned grocery stores run by local people who employ local people, which requires affordable housing so that people can afford to buy local food, healthcare with preventitive care, etc. *Please join us for a panel discussion at UC Berkeley on November 20 at 7p.m. and please circulate this announcement.
<div class=“ecxgmail_quote”>
**Closer to Home: Eating from Local Foodsheds** *is a panel discussion at UC Berkeley that investigates the opportunities and challenges of eatin locally grown food from the perspectives of public health, food access, school food service, and regional farmland vitality.
*Panelists:*
Ann Cooper, Director of Nutrition Services, Berkeley Unified School District;
Paula Jones, Director of San Francisco Food Systems, SanFrancisco Department of Public Health;
Jeremy Madsen, Executive Director, Greenbelt Alliance;
Kimi Watkins-Tartt, Director Community Health Services, Alameda County Public Health Department.
*Moderator:*
Jason Corburn, Assistant Professor in the UC Berkeley Department of City and Regional Planning and a member of the Global Metropolitan Studies Initiative.</div>
Andrea Antulov
Aaron… Ammons?
“Snarl Politely” needs writers too, due out this summer, needs writers too. LOL
The more the elite grows the better, the more plentiful and the cheaper selections at Schucks in the local and organic aisles. So they serve some purpose if not on purpose.
And its always been mean spirited, its a private party.
The local coop you are a member of is going above and beyond helping people much to the dismay of the majority of their membership and possibly endangering its own survival. Its not how many pounds you give a way but the knowledge of making lentils attractive that will count in the next decade.
On that note let me say the new V. Picasso on Main street in Urbana rocks! Two people, lunch and tip $15, and they made lentils taste good.
Most Recent Food Comments
Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.
@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.
“more beer is drank” Awesome. Way to go “editors.“
You left out the best part—you have to REMEMBER your number after the beer chugging! Yeah, I’m a member.
Great article, man. Like you, I didn’t really know Daniel all that well, but I felt the impact of his death. I too was inspired by him and it pleases me to see that he continues to live on in the spirit of the community.
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<div> A beautiful recap of the evening and thank you for sharing why you find what the Fund is doing is inspiring. I haven’t been able to write too much about my feelings about the community’s loss of Dan yet either, but Dan has also inspired me…
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That is perhaps the best article you have ever written… a love letter to Champaign-Urbana and the people who call it home.
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Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.
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@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.
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I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…