There are fewer and fewer farmers across America, statistics show, yet Chicago is seeing more and more of them, thanks to an expanding network of farmers markets in the city and suburbs.
This year, urban foragers also will find expanded product offerings at many of Chicago’s 28 market sites. They also will be able to visit a new, weekly, year-round farmers’ market staffed and directed by farmers, as well as a revitalized Chicago Green City Market featuring products from farms that practice sustainable agriculture.
The bottom line appears to be that, with so much shopping to do, lovers of fresh, locally grown produce may not have time to cook the items they purchase.
At the Department of Consumer Services, assistant commissioner Connie Buscemi forecasts more variety in this, the 23rd year of the City of Chicago Farmers Market program.
“Each year tends to be more successful (better attended) than the last,” she explains. “At first we allowed only produce and items such as jams and honey. Gradually we realized the scope was too narrow, so we added a new dimension with baked goods, meats and cheese and coffee. The more diverse selection has brought us a new base of customers. But we haven’t moved away from the farmers. Their fruits and vegetables are still the heart of the market.”
The Department also is providing support and encouragement to the newest market in town, CHIC Farmers’ Market, an outdoor/indoor venture conducted every Sunday by 20 or so member-farmers in the parking lot and lobby of the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, 361 W. Chestnut St. A truncated market operation was held there on a biweekly basis during the winter.
Giles Schnierle, a cheese wholesaler who represents a number of Midwestern cheesemakers and is a principal in the new market, explains, “We will be outside as long as the weather permits and have 20 farmers signed up, with more expected as the season goes on.”
Originally named “The Farmers’ Farmers’ Market,” it was formed after the Green City Market ruled out the participation of several people, including Schnierle, because they were not farmers, and several farmers because they were not doing sustainable or organic farming.
Schnierle says the new market will offer only fresh produce and expects to rotate farmers during the summer to feature products at the peak of their season. In addition to seasonal produce, he said the market will sell cheese, pasta and sauce, salsa, handmade soap, venison and elk and expects to develop a showcase for local chefs to sell prepared food at a Chefs’ Galley inside the Institute.
As for the Green City Market, “I hope they succeed,” he concludes. “How could one more market in this city be a bad thing?”
Linda Calafiore, a member of the Chicago Green City Market executive committee, would agree. “But we have a long way to go to have the market well attended,” she concedes. Green City is held on Wednesdays, which is not the best day for shoppers, but it allows the farmers to also deliver to restaurants (most of which would not take fresh perishables on Saturday or Sundays).
This 4-year-old market, now at a location in the south end of Lincoln Park between Clark Street and Stockton Drive, has a core group of 12 to 15 farmers. Beyond the uncommon, largely organic produce, offerings include organic breads, hormone-free beef and pork, rainbow trout, Midwestern caviar and flowers.
The market has taken three steps in an attempt to woo a wider public. Hours have been pushed forward to 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., making it possible for customers to shop before work. A restaurant chef will give a demonstration each week at 10:30 a.m., followed by a discussion of sustainable agriculture issues. Also, a Friends of the Market program allows pre-order sales each week from its own Web site: www.chicagogreencitymarket.org.
As for who is eligible to sell at the market, Calafiore cites the guidelines that only producers could be vendors and those producers must be “farmers committed to sustainable agriculture.” This means “choosing to raise products in harmony with nature, showing care and respect for the earth, assisting in protecting farmland for future generations and reducing reliance on chemicals.” A farmers committee reviews applications.
“Farmers are our first priority,” Calafiore declares. “We hope this exposure brings them sales.”
