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I’m fortunate to work across the street from a great farmers market: On Tuesdays from May through October, nearly two dozen vendors set up tents at Federal Plaza, just across the street from MPC’s offices in the Marquette building. I can see the market from my window, so on most Tuesdays, I swing by the market for juicy Michigan peaches, sweet Indiana corn, Wisconsin cheese (it reminds me of my roots), or savory foccacia baked by a family company right here in Chicagoland.
Local food is now trendy, but as trends go, it’s a good one. Whether you buy local for convenience, freshness, or taste; because you want to put your hard-earned dollars to work support local farmers and businesses; or to do what you can to reduce your carbon footprint (save for the occasional mango, of course), you may not realize you’re also building community.
Community gardens and farmers markets are a great example of Placemaking, a common sense approach to planning that focuses on the importance of lively neighborhoods and inviting public spaces. Through Placemaking Chicago, MPC is helping communities create great places, as well as working with city and suburban officials to incorporate Placemaking principles into their plans.
The 61st Street Farmers Market, which springs to life on Saturdays on a corner lot between Chicago’s Hyde Park and Woodlawn neighborhoods, is a great example of how an underused space can become a vibrant place that strengthens a community. The market is independently-run by a group of neighbors who founded it because they had “suffered for a long time from not having a place to buy food nearby,” said Kate Miller, who helps run the market. Connie Spreen, executive director of the Experimental Station, the nonprofit organization that hosts the market, calls it an “integrative institution. People are mixing here in a way they never could have otherwise,” she said.
That’s definitely a sign of a great public place – and a sentiment many of the contestants in our “What Makes Your Place Great?” contest have cited as supporting evidence for why their nominee is the best place in Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. (To see and vote on this year’s nominees, visit PlacemakingChicago.com/places.)
Incidentally, of the 75 contest entries we’ve received over the past two years, there have been more submissions for community gardens than any other type of public space, parks included. Clearly, there’s something magical about mixing food with people in a public place. But there’s more to it than that. As a policy advocate, I’m aware that zoning, regulations and laws can help or hinder urban farming and local food systems. A recent article in Grist gave a great rundown on what smart cities are doing to “(un)pave the way for urban farmers and locavores:”
- In July, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued an executive directive with 16 mandatory actions various city agencies must take, including auditing all city-controlled land to identify sites suitable for local food production and directing the Parks Department to make gardening materials accessible to people who want to grow their own food.
- Portland, Ore., is collecting household food waste curbside (using bins like Chicago’s Blue Bins) in a citywide composting program.
- Detroit has some 40 square miles of open land, and Mayor Dave Bing has expressed his desire to convert those vacant lots into farms.
- Sacramento food activists recently were successful in overturning a 1941 ban on front yard food gardens.
- In August, Seattle approved new legislation allowing any would-be urban farmer to grow and sell food.
The article gave our region a nod for the Chicago Food Policy Advisory Council, a network of individuals and organizations “improving access for Chicago residents to culturally appropriate, nutritionally sound, and affordable food that is grown through environmentally sustainable practices.” For instance, the council was instrumental in passing an ordinance that allows Chicago homeowners to raise chickens in their backyards – which may seem small, but those who’ve tasted farm fresh eggs or watched a chick hatch count it as a sweet victory.
I’d love to hear comments from people who are growing and selling local food in Chicago. What policies are broken that need fixing? How are your gardens and farmers markets turning strangers into neighbors?
And what’s your best recipe for summer squash?