Greg Trotter

Ravenswood Community Services hosts a food pantry at All Saints Episcopal Church in Chicago, where people came for groceries March 12, 2019.

Commentary: Food pantries aren’t just about the food, especially during this pandemic

March 25, 2020 at 7:24 p.m.

At All Saints Episcopal Church on Chicago's North Side, shallow ruts mark the soft wooden floors from the grocery carts of those who come for the weekly food pantry. On...

A family makes a purchase with an Illinois LINK card, through which SNAP benefits are accessed, at SZ Food Mart in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood in January.

Limiting SNAP benefits would make food insecurity worse, not better

May 31, 2019 at 9:17 p.m.

On a recent morning, I talked to a student at Harold Washington College with dreams of studying business and engineering. About an hour later, I spoke with an 88-year-old poet...

Bill Newlands, new CEO of Constellation Brands, best known for its Chicago-based Mexican import beers, is photographed Nov. 5, 2018.

Q&A: Constellation Brands’ new CEO Bill Newlands talks Corona, wine and weed

December 12, 2018 at 2:30 a.m.

Bill Newlands has come a long way since flubbing the pronunciation of the word “zinfandel” early in his long career as an alcohol executive — an experience he can laugh...

Tony Hasapis smells a batch of coffee being roasted at Two Brothers' brewing warehouse in Warrenville on Nov. 1, 2018.

???????As craft beer sales slow, Two Brothers and other brewers launch into spirits

December 12, 2018 at 1:16 a.m.

On a recent autumn morning at Two Brothers Brewing, co-founder Jason Ebel stood next to a 300-gallon still and explained the intricate art of making whiskey, a new enterprise for...

A skateboarder gets a high-five as commuters depart the CTA "L" Damen station in Wicker Park on June 20, 2018.

This is America to me

May 31, 2019 at 9:19 p.m.

This week, I saw a Jewish man on a Metra train, hunched over what appeared to be a prayer book, his lips silently moving, the words inscrutable to me. I...

Oreos and Ritz crackers could get more expensive next year. Here’s why.

December 12, 2018 at 5:51 p.m.

Those Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers could hit the wallet harder next year. Parent company Mondelez International plans to raise prices on a wide swath of products in the U.S....

This year, McDonald's expects to modernize more than 4,000 U.S. restaurants, bringing the total number of remodeled sites to about half of the company's 14,000 U.S. restaurants. The modernized stores include touch-screen kiosks, more modern decor, table service and delivery.

McDonald’s plans new menu items to lure customers, acknowledges short-term pain from renovations

December 12, 2018 at 3:49 p.m.

McDonald’s is trying to avoid losing customers as it undertakes the “largest construction project” in company history, CEO Steve Easterbrook said Tuesday. New menu items could help. Easterbrook hinted at...

At PrairiErth Farm outside of downstate Atlanta, Ill., greenhouse manager Dylan Grose, left, and crew person Becky Creekmore remove plastic mulch so they can dig up sweet potatoes, Sept. 27, 2018.

Fewer consumers opting for that weekly box of veggies, so local farmers are struggling to survive

December 12, 2018 at 3:20 p.m.

In the heart of corn and soybean country, Hans and Katie Bishop of PrairiErth Farm are cultivating an unconventional dream, one pesticide-free, dirt-encrusted sweet potato at a time. They left...

State Sen. Daniel Biss and consumer rights advocates are turning up the pressure on McDonald's in a collaborated effort to reduce the use of antibiotics in the meat supply chain.

McDonald’s under pressure to phase out antibiotics in beef, pork

December 12, 2018 at 3:45 p.m.

State Sen. Daniel Biss and consumer rights advocates are turning up the pressure on McDonald’s in a collaborative effort to reduce the use of antibiotics in the meat supply chain....

Pilotworks, a shared kitchen for small food businesses that opened this year in the former Le Cordon Bleu cooking school on Chicago's Near North Side, ceased operations Saturday.

Pilotworks, the shared kitchen in the former Le Cordon Bleu school, abruptly closed Saturday

December 12, 2018 at 2:01 p.m.

Pilotworks, a shared kitchen for small food businesses that opened this year in the former Le Cordon Bleu cooking school on Chicago’s Near North Side, abruptly closed Saturday. Pilotworks, which...

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