Shop for St. Patrick’s Day with Our Local Calendar
We recently popped into Chicago’s Downtown Farmstand. Even in these last grasps of winter, they had local food, and not only did they have local food, they had seasonally appropriate local food. They had several white cabbage for sale and they had well more than several potatoes, not just white but sweet and blue and I think a red or too. What better way to shop for a St. Patrick’s Day meal.
WHAT TO BUY NOW
Besides potatoes and cabbage, we think you can find a few other local foodstuffs. There are, here and there, indoor grown vegetables: lettuces, spinach, micro-greens, mushrooms, cucumbers, herbs, rocket; very limited supplies of root vegetables : beets, carrots, celery root, sunchokes, and storage crops stalwarts like onions, apples, and winter squash.
Do resist the tyranny of the fresh. We expect you can find frozen and dried fruits from Seedlings at various markets. Tomato Mountain does all sorts of things with its Wisconsin tomatoes, not just salsas; I love the pickles made by River Valley Kitchen. The Downtown Farmstand sells Three Sisters Garden dried beans. Use the local.
WHERE TO FIND LOCAL FOODS
These stores specialize in local foods:
- City Provisions Deli
- Downtown Farmstand
- Green Grocer
- Dill Pickle Coop in Logan Square
- Marion Street Cheese Market
It’s open! Eat locally butchered meat at the Butcher and the Larder.
C&D Pastured Pork’s sales around town.
We bet, if you look around, you can also find local apples and potatoes, maybe onions at various grocery stores. I know that the Angelo Caputo’s in Elmwood Park still has Michigan apples.
WHAT TO DO NOW
Saturday - March 5
Chicago - Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse presents a Gardening Exchange Event – The opportunity to take basic organic gardening classes (a mix of free classes and class @ $5), purchase compost and seeds, and find gently used gardening and cooking tools at bargain prices - Kilbourn Park Organic Greenhouse – 3501 N. Kilbourn, Chicago – 1 PM – 4 PM
Chicago – Winter market associated with Faith in Place at Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church – 9147 S. Jeffery Blvd - 10 AM – 2 PM
Geneva – Geneva Community Market – Inglenook Pantry – 11 N. 5th Street, Geneva – 9 AM – 1 PM
Sunday – March 6
Chicago – Logan Square Farmers Market – 2135 N. Milwaukee – 10 – 2 PM – All sorts of things on for Sunday including Otter Creek cheddars, Mint Creek lamb, and Tempel Farms eggs; Otter Creek Organic Farm also has grass fed beef and pasture raised organic pork and chicken – Congress Theater, 2135 N. Milwaukee – 10 AM – 2 PM
Wednesday – March 9
Chicago – Soup and Bread at the Hideout benefiting local food pantries – 1354 W. Wabansia, Chicago – 530 PM – 730 PM
WHAT TO DO SOON
Saturday – March 12
Oak Park – Winter market associated with Faith in Place at Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church - 405 Euclid Ave – 9 AM - 1 PM
Chicago – Green City Market – Theme: Meat & Potatoes – 8 AM – 1 PM – Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Sunday March 13
Chicago – Glenwood Sunday Market, Winter Market – 6900 N. Glenwood Avenue (the annex space of the Glenwood Bar) – 9 AM - 2 PM
Slow Food Chicago Book Club – Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Vegetable Miracle – at First Slice Pie Cafe (4401 N. Ravenswood Ave.) at 2:00 p.m. To learn more, or to purchase the book, visit here. RSVP for the event by emailing sfchicagoevents@gmail.com
SAVE THE DATE!
March 17 – 19 – Familyfarmed.org Expo including Financing Farm to Fork, Chicago Food Policy Summit, Localicious Party and Consumer Day.
March 19 – Equinox Farm Dinner – Heritage Prairie Farm – Elburn
April 30 – GreenNet’s 19th Annual Green & Growing Urban Gardening Fair – Garfield Park, Chicago
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