Jazzy Fresh: Market Stand in Seward Park

Posted on August 29, 2011 by

Jazz rhythms filled Seward Park Friday night during the last of a five part music series hosted by Alderman Burnett (26th ward). City Farm, Clybourn & Division, is another kind of green space right across from Seward Park. Alderman Burnett—dedicated to promoting healthy initiatives in his ward—invited us over to tell people about City Farm.

City Farm is an inspirational model for urban agriculture and furthering local fresh foods initiatives. City Farm transforms derelict lots into productive centers of activity—but it is more than just a local food source, it is a place for learning about healthy foods.

Children at the Seward Park Jazz Festival learned about leafy greens and sampled freshly harvested cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. They were amazed to learn that all the food was grown right across the street, right in their own neighborhood.

Children gather around the market stand as Dan shares tastes from City Farm's harvest.

And as Alderman closed out the evening, he reminded the crowd that “this isn’t Cabrini-Green anymore” and put special emphasis on the importance of developing community. What’s more, projects like City Farm add something special to neighborhoods and are place where people can come together around a cause we can all celebrate: healthy and delicious food.

 

We invite you to come visit our farm on September 24 for Urban Harvest. Food prepared by chefs using City Farm produced will be served along with beer and wine. Activities for kids include hay rides and a farm scavenger hunt. Compost and soil demonstrations will intrigue the hobbyist and gardeners alike.

Buy your tickets today!

Posted in City Farm, Urban Agriculture | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Get Fresh With Collard Greens from City Farm

Posted on August 22, 2011 by
Dave digging those Collard Greens

There's more than one way to have fun with collard greens! Dave digging into the collard greens growing at City Farm.

It’s not broccoli or cabbage, but it is in the same family. These dark leafy greens are chocked full of vitamin C and are a farm favorite! Our production assistant, Dan, is sharing a recipe for collard greens.

Ingredients
1 bunch collard greens (get them fresh from our Market Stand!)
1 or 2 smoky chicken sausages or vegetarian alternative
¾ vegetable or chicken broth
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp smoked paprika (regular paprika will do)
1 large pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Sautee the sausage in olive oil with salt, pepper and paprika until lightly browned. Meanwhile separate collard leaves from stems. Chop stems and sautee with sausage for about 3 min. Slice leaves thinly and add to pan. Add about half of broth, stir, and cover. Simmer on low-med heat for about 15 minutes, or until greens reach desired consistency. Add additional broth as needed to keep simmering liquids in the bottom of the pan. Serves 4 as a side.

Enjoy! Share your comments below!

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It’s Happening Again! Urban Harvest at City Farm

Posted on August 8, 2011 by

Because it was so awesome last year, we’re doing it again in 2011! .

UPDATE: Get your tickets online at www.UrbanHarvest2011.com!

Urban Harvest 2011

Save-the-Date!

Meet the staff and explore the grounds of the urban oasis at this benefit bash. Kid-friendly actitivies take place from 4-6 p.m. At 6 p.m. the party takes on more of a festival feel with live bluegrass music and appetizers from local chefs using City Farm’s produce, plus New Belgium beer, and wine.

When: September 24, 4:00 to 9:00pm
What: A good ol’ fashion farm gathering to support the Resource Center’s City Farm

Activities: Hay rides, Green boxes, tastings, and more!

Why: Come for the amazing food, view of the city and to meet the great people behind City Farm.
Bonus: We’ll be making a BIG announcement about the farm… you’ll have to come to find out!

Online ticket sales start on August 22. Sign-up for our e-newsletter to make sure you get the evite!

The farm in the glow of the city on a warm fall evening (Urban Harvest 2010)

You can check out more photos from last year’s farm-fun-day-extravaganza! here.

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A new member joins the Resource Center team!

Posted on August 8, 2011 by

Kevin Pierce, Resource Center COO

The Resource Center is proud to announce a new Chief Operating Officer has joined the team!

He’s an architect, an advocate for urban agriculture and a green-minded Chicagoan—and now he is the Resource Center’s new Chief Operating Officer. Join us in welcoming Kevin to the team.

We are all excited to have Kevin in this new role where, among many things, he will help direct relationships and program development. Read the full announcement here.

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The Wheezy Waiter Wins City Farm: A Lettuce Slam on the Farm (and more…)

Posted on July 7, 2011 by

Under the moniker Wheezy Waiter, Craig Benzine broadcasts his fast-paced, oddball humor to the world. And the Wheezy Waiter brought his fun shenanigans to City Farm. Hilarity ensues. But rest assured, it was for a good cause. The video was submitted to the eco|imagination Tag Your Green media project. Check it out.

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Creating Creativity 2: Brainstorming Tips and Hints

Posted on June 28, 2011 by

Editor’s note:  More from Shuai, our blogger and all things creative and DIY.

 

Brainstorming is the first and (in my opinion) the most important step to creativity. To have a great brainstorming session, hundreds of ideas should be generated. They will, of course, get distilled down to a couple that you can test and try. But you need to at least push out 100 ideas before all the boring ideas get taken and then the really creative wonderful ideas come flowing out. Here are a couple of tips and hints I learned about brainstorming and idea generation from my creativity class:

high ceilings for high lofty brainstorming
1) The setting: pay attention to where you are and how you arrange the furniture! Check out my previous post for more details about how your environment can determine the way you think.

brainstorming technique stickies wall lots of ideas
2) The method: I like large areas for brainstorming. This can include giant pieces of butcher paper where I can draw and write on, large whiteboards, a big window or wall for you to put stickies on (of all different colors, of course). Another way that I’ve brainstormed used mindmap technologies: https://bubbl.us/ (it’s very simple to use).

3) Define a problem: You want the problem to be small enough to solve but also large enough so you aren’t trapped by the question.

time for brainstorming 30 min max kitchen timer
4) Define a time: around 15 to 30 minutes is just about perfect for a brainstorming session. Too short and you don’t get to the good ideas, too long and you get tired and fatigued and hate all your ideas.

idea generation, just keep going, different planet, change space time continuum, brainstorming
5) Now… GO! GO! GO! Throw out all the ideas you can think of, throw out more ideas after that, throw out the most horrible idea you can think of, build off of that idea to get to a brilliant one. There are no bad ideas. No negativity, just keep generating more ideas! And don’t stop until the timer goes off. If you run out of ideas, think about things from a different angle. How would an ant look at the problem, how about an eagle, what about an atom, what about Barack Obama, how about a 5 year old girl, what if you could manipulate the space-time continuum, how about if you could be on a different planet, keep going….

6) After brainstorming: Take a breath, you’ve generated about a bazillion ideas, good job! Now, organize your ideas into groups to try to find some themes and distill out the best ideas. One way to do this, if you have a team to brainstorm with, is to have each person on the team place a mark on 4 of their favorite ideas, the best ideas should have multiple marks.

7) now pick the best ideas and prototype and test them! Have fun with it

And once again, good job on the brainstorming! :)

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Musicians + City Farm = a CLUCKIN’ Good Time!

Posted on June 20, 2011 by

A few weeks ago, a local freelance photographer (and Resource Center employee!) Kristin Hartigan (Kat/Eye Studios) used City Farm as the unique backdrop for an up-and-coming local band. Paige DeChausse of American Idol is starting up a brand new band & wanted to have a totally DIFFERENT look, Kristin automatically suggested City Farm. A unique urban feel for a Chicago artist.
Let us know what you think of using City Farm as a photo studio!

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The Resource Center Guarantee: It Will Be Recycled

Posted on June 14, 2011 by

What happens to your recycling after it leaves your hands? So you did your part: you dutifully cleaned your bottles and cans and kept them separate from your garbage, then you put it out for pick-up or hauled the stuff to one of the many drop-off sites. Then what? Does that tomato sauce can really get recycled? Or, does it end up in a <gasp!> landfill? The answer may surprise you.

Anywhere from 7 percent to 85 percent of materials that enter the single-stream recycling process—the kind where you put all your recycling together into one bin—end up in landfills either because of contamination or failures with mechanical sorting processes. So in the best case scenario, using the single-stream method, one out of every ten cans you put into the bin ends up in the landfill. Just because it goes in a blue bin doesn’t guarantee it will be recycled.

The Resource Center does it differently, and the results? Director of Recycling Collections, Mike McNamee, takes us on a tour of the sorting facility and explains why individuals make a difference every step of the way. People, not machines, guarantee that it will be recycled.

 
Mike McNamee tours the sorting facility

Mike McNamee shows how paper embedded with crushed glass can cause problems for recyclers. At the Resource Center, crushed glass is removed before the material is sent to the processor.

When paper and glass are co-mingled (thrown in and crushed together), glass gets embedded in paper. The crushed glass can wears down the grinders at the processor. Mike discusses the importance of ensuring the paper is free of such containment.

Because the Resource Center uses the “three-stream” collections method—glass goes into glass bins, paper into paper bins and cans go into another bin—the chance of contamination is greatly reduced. That’s why we can guarantee that 99 percent of what we pick-up does in fact get recycled. That means each can you carefully separate from your garbage and put into a bin will end up into something new. The other way, the automated single-stream process, accepts a certain percentage of material loss to increase efficiency. If you care about recycling—if your business is processing these materials—it is a difference that matters.

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Creating Creativity

Posted on June 13, 2011 by
Editor’s note:  Shuai, a volunteer blogger and DIY guru, has been blogging for the Resource Center since 2010. In that time, she has shared countless ideas with our readers on how to make things better. A little inspiration and a wealth of creativity is the beginning of a path toward re-envisioning materials, re-making our world through creative reuse. Thank you Shuai!

head with light bulb. creativity. creative

I’ve been taking a class on creativity, and I thought I would share some of the things I’ve learned. If you want more information, you should check out our blog posts here.

Creativity can be learned. This is very very important. Some people think they are just not creative. No! that’s definitely not true. I used to think I was strictly right brained, all math and science and no creativity, but then when the materials inspired me, I began to see them in new and interesting lights. So take some creative workshops, go to some arts and crafts fairs, and then go to our Creative Reuse Warehouse and see what inspires you!

Creativity depends on the space. If you are in a place with a low ceiling, you’ll only look at things microscopically, and when you are in a place with high vaulted ceilings, you tend to see the big picture. Creativity also depends on what’s around you, what position you are in, what the temperature is, how the tables and chairs are arranged and how the light hits you. So take a look at where and how you are most creative, and then try to extend it to other parts of your life. Take a look at my post on how I extended my creativity space from just my closet to my whole apartment:

Rethink everything. Even the way you present ideas don’t always have to be in boring times-new-roman or powerpoint. Have you heard about prezi.com? They are WONDERFUL! Their new platform is going to change the way people present things! Check it out!

When you are brainstorming, no idea is a bad idea, just roll with the punches and build on each other. And you’d be surprised what kind of amazing ideas you can get building off of horrible ones! For instance, in my class, we designed the worst vacation every: everyone got sick, there were no supplies, and they were lost in the middle of the rain forest. And then we turned this idea around into a “survivor style family adventure where you reinforce family bonds through trials and take care of each other and forage for food.” Doesn’t that sound like fun?

Constraints help creativity. For instance, if you ask me to write a blog post about creative reuse, I might not be able to think up a random idea. But if you ask me to write a blog post about how to creatively reuse candy wrappers, well, I came up with these.

Creativity involves taking risks and even failing. But failing isn’t bad, it just means you tried to be creative and need to learn from your mistakes and try again.

To be continued…

Posted in Creative ReUse | 1 Comment

Homegrown with City Farm: A Recipe for Fresh & Local

Posted on June 9, 2011 by

Our beets get around town. But they don’t have to travel far to get onto your table or into the kitchen of Chicago chefs, like Jason Hammel and Amalea Tshilds of Nightwood. And you can read about City Farm and Nightwood in Heather Lalley’s new book Chicago Homegrown Cookbook: Local Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes.

City Farm is Nightwood Restuarant's featured partner in a new cookbook profiling 30 chefs who work together with local farms to bring locally grown food to their menus.

The book profiles 30 Chicago restaurants that feature locally grown foods on their menus. And not only do you get up close and personal with local farmers and some of the best chefs in Chicago, you also get recipes that bring out the flavors of every season.

Is local the new organic? As fresh and local foods become both more available and more popular, local foods are popping up on restaurant menus all across Chicago. To some, it is just riding the wave of the next foodie trend. However, in The Chicago Homegrown Cookbook, Heather Lalley profiles chefs that have made local and sustainable a way of life. “Eating local” isn’t just a buzzword to this group.

Over 70 recipes are included in the cookbook, all using locally sourced ingredients. For Chicagoans with a choice of over 30 farmers markets (you can check out a list of markets by day of the week here), eating local is something to celebrate.

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