FRESH

Radish and peas, fennel and cheese! Spring has sprung and its fresh air heightens our anticipation for seasonal yields from local farms and growers. If you’re wondering where, when, and how to find them, growlakecounty.org is the answer.

Created by The Lake County Community Foundation (LCCF) in partnership with the Liberty Prairie Foundation, and the Lake County Local Food Task Force, growlakecounty.org includes an interactive map with links to farmers markets, farm stands, community- supported agriculture (CSA) programs, community gardens, pollinator and beekeeping resources, agri-tourism venues, and more.

The site makes it easy to know everything from when and where markets are happening, to how to sign up for a CSA or a plot in a community garden. All of that, plus paving the way to knowing your food providers better, with profiles on farms, growers, and food movement organizations.

The website benefits both sides of the farm-to-table movement. Lake County consumers are better informed about what’s available year-round while growers, producers, and other agriculture- based organizations are better seen.

“Small farm businesses often have very limited marketing budgets, so it is our hope that being listed on the site will help them introduce their farms to the local community,” says Emily Weber, LCCF Director of Programs and Community Investment.

That’s proven to be true. “We’ve received great feedback from growers and producers listed on the site,” says Weber.

Adam Quinn, for example, of Adam’s Acres Organics at Prairie Crossing Farm in Grayslake says, “It’s been almost a year since we have been on the map. It’s a great resource. Getting people in the community to engage with local farmers is very important; often the produce is better than what they find in the store, and it’s great that they know their farmer by name.”

Likewise, Jen and Jeff Miller of Prairie Wind Family Farm in Grayslake say they appreciate that growlakecounty.org gives them a chance to tell their farm story. It also allows the couple to share the love through referrals to other producers on the site. Jen explains, “As Lake County farmers we are often asked by customers for help to find other sustainably minded farms that produce things we don’t grow ourselves—like humanely raised meats or autumn pumpkins.”

The vision for growlakecounty.org was born before the pandemic. In 2017, LCCF recognized that although the county had a robust food movement—including one of the region’s only incubator programs for beginning farmers, it didn’t have a centralized website to facilitate connections between growers and consumers. To fix that, Weber and her team researched what other regions and communities were doing to highlight and lift up their local food economies, and found content-rich sites such as the Wisconsin Fresh Farm Atlas and the McHenry County Local Food Network. Weber says she was fortunate and grateful to get advice and support from those who shaped the sites. Moving forward, Weber is excited about the website’s continued development.

Seeking a truly farm-to-table experience? For more information, visit growlakecounty.org.