Cultivating Our Communities
Cultivating Our Communities shines a light on how food connects us to, and grows, our communities.
Illinois Farm Bureau’s Cultivating Our Communities campaign is a partnership with Illinois Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, the Illinois Specialty Growers Association, and the Illinois Department of Agriculture that highlights the diversity of Illinois agriculture.
2022 Campaign
In 2022, we visit with four farm and food businesses and the markets they sell through to learn how each serves the community.
Rolling Lawns Farm and Harvest Market
In this #CultivatingOurCommunities feature, we follow milk from Rolling Lawns Farm in Greenville to The Milk House, where it’s made into tasty dairy treats. We’ll also take you to Harvest Market in Springfield, a grocery that sources from local farms and food businesses to give customers a unique shopping experience.
Star Farm Chicago and Green City Market
In the second stop on our #CultivatingOurCommunities journey, we visit with Star Farm Chicago founder, Stephanie Dunn, about how she and other urban agriculturalists grow their businesses in the heart of the city. We’ll also visit Green City Market in Lincoln Park, where Star Farm farmers provide fresh, affordable food to their local community.
Learn more at Illinois Partners
Rendleman Orchard and Feeling Illinois
In the third stop on our tour, we highlight how Rendleman Orchards is paving the way for providing nutritious foods to communities across Illinois. Their produce is raised, harvested, packaged, and shipped to food banks through Feeding Illinois' Farm to Food Banks program, where it’s distributed to communities in need.
Learn more at Illinois Partners
Farmhouse Meat Co. and local livestock farmers
In this Cultivating Our Communities feature, we highlight Hancock County’s Farmhouse Meat Co., a meat locker and storefront that helps livestock farmers provide farm-fresh meat to communities in the Tri-state area.
Search for Food and Farm Businesses
Since 2020, we’ve showcased more than 85 food and farm businesses through Illinois Farm Bureau Partners and FarmWeekNow.com articles that demonstrate the many ways these businesses uplift rural, suburban and urban communities across our state. Click the links to learn more, or search for #CultivatingOurCommunities features on this interactive map.
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