It’s always great to visit a farm and get to know the farmers who grow our food. But there’s no better time than September and October, as the heat of summer gives way to the cool comforts of autumn, and…
This year’s National Farmers Market Week is August 6-12, and Illinois Farmers Market Association (ILFMA) joins markets from across the country in celebrating the positive impacts farmers markets have. Farmers markets provide access to delicious, nutritious locally produced food, support…
Over the past few decades, chefs and restaurateurs in locations throughout the state have also been serving diners with fresh, delicious, sustainably produced vegetables, fruit and produce from farms close to home. In this article, Buy Fresh Buy Local Illinois…
June is National Dairy Month, and our Buy Fresh Buy Local Illinois article highlights two of our state’s outstanding sustainable dairy farms: Marcoot Jersey Creamery in Greenville and Kilgus Farmstead in Fairbury. No two farms are exactly alike. So if…
There was a popular song in the 1960s that starts “Let me tell you ‘bout the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees...”. Well, it’s finally spring, so Buy Fresh Buy Local Illinois is here to tell…
It is well known that farmers of color are under-represented in the ranks of our nation’s farmers. But in recent years, a growing number of Black, Asian, and Hispanic people have joined the overall young farmers movement and are experiencing…
What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)? It is a system in which a farm sells its products by subscription to local consumers, most of whom who purchase prepaid shares in the farm's output that they receive periodically throughout the growing…
Don’t you just love the aroma of artisan bread, fresh and warm from the bakery or your home oven. Makes you want to eat it right away, by itself or with some local creamery butter. And increasingly, that artisan bread…
It is holiday gift season. And it is easy for Illinois residents to find and purchase delicious homemade food products to present to family and friends as unique gifts. That because the state’s new Home to Market Act, enacted in…
You don’t need any hints to figure out why our November article is about locally raised turkeys. Thanksgiving, aka “Turkey Day,” is coming up on November 24, and according to the Nielsen consumer research firm, more than three-quarters of all…
To the casual shopper, a food cooperative, or co-op may look like any small independent grocery. But it is so much more. And that is why our latest Buy Fresh Buy Local Illinois article is celebrating October as National Co-op…
Agritourism is a big thing throughout Illinois’ growing season, with visitors welcomed to places such as flower farms and berry patches. But the draw is greatest in the late summer and early fall when apple orchards and pumpkin patches are…