Savor Autumn in Illinois with Agritourism Adventures
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 ...
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August is THE month to visit a local farm market
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 ...
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Savor the Seasons with Farm to Table Restaurants
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 ...
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‘Whey’ Cool: A Look at Two Sustainable Illinois Dairies
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 ...
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Flowers and Bees: The Essence of Spring from Local Illinois Farmers
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 ...
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More Farmers of Color Joining Illinois’ Agricultural Legacy
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 ...
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In a Time of Multiple Food Options, CSAs Remain a Vital Part of the Local Food Mix
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 ...
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Amber Waves of Local Grain as More Farmers Offer Healthy, Sustainable, Tasty Options
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 ...
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Not Your Usual Holiday Gift: Surprise Family and Friends with Delicious Food Products (and Learn About Illinois’ New Farm to Market Act)
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 ...
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Delight Yourself and Your Guests at Thanksgiving with a Sumptuous, Pasture-Raised Local Turkey
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 ...
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Celebrating National Co-op Month with a Look at Two Community-Building Grocery Stores
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 ...
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Agritourism Abounds as Folks Head to Illinois Farms for Fun in the Fall
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 ...
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