I absolutely love Chicago. I am proud to say that I have lived here all of my life. With that said the winters here are a little rough - lots of cold and lots of snow. However, starting tomorrow, we get to officially break out from the cold winter and welcome the fantastic weather (hopefully - fingers crossed) that spring has to offer. Along with the warmer weather comes one of my favorite things - fresh produce.
As some of you may know, in addition to being the operational guru here at VDC, I am also the resident culinarian. I am a classically trained chef and a fantastic cook. When I cook, I really take the time to find the best ingredients I can. This is much easier in the spring/summer/fall months as the Chicago area has some fantastic local produce farmers.
One of my favorite organizations is Growing Home Inc. They are a nonprofit organization that utilizes organic agriculture as a vehicle for employment, job training and community development. In addition to providing these social services to the community, they also grow and sell their own organic produce. Growing Home currently provides some of Chicago's best restaurants with produce. Their produce is also offered at local farmers markets and through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Here is a pdf list of the crops offered by Growing Home and which months they are usually available.
I am really looking forward to participating in the CSA program this year. The program allows me to get some great produce and allows Growing Home the opportunity to grow their social enterprise. I am really hoping to create some new and fantastic dishes using their organic produce. It's shaping up to be a great summer.
For more information on Growing Home, please call (773) 549-1336 or visit www.growinghomeinc.org.
(Photo: Growing Home Inc.)
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