Advocates for Urban Agriculture

You’re invited! Join Advocates for Urban Agriculture (AUA) for the 3rd annual Grown in Chicago: Summer Soirée & Showcase! This homegrown gala celebrating sustainable agriculture features a hyper-local urban farm-to-table dinner with produce from the fields of 18 urban farms right here in Chicago, including: Gardeneers, The Urban Canopy, Cedillo’s Fresh Produce, Chicago Patchwork Farms, McDowell Farm School, Windy City Harvest, The Cooperation Operation, OTIS Fresh Farm, South Side Occupational Academy, KAM Isaiah Israel Food Justice and Sustainability Program, Chicago FarmWorks, Planted Chicago, Growing Home, GlennArt Farm, Global Garden Refugee Training Farm, City Farm, A Just Harvest, and Big Delicious Planet!

In addition to enjoying their rich harvest for dinner, you’ll get to connect with the inspiring growers themselves at the evening’s farmers market-style showcase. Learn more about their work and potential ways to collaborate! There will also be opportunities for entrepreneurs to network with urban agriculture funders, including Sustainable Local Food Investment Group (SLoFIG), Accion Chicago, The Hatchery, and the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Learn about opportunities and emerging possibilities to take your urban farm or garden to another level!

Early-bird tickets are now on sale here through July 31st, and at $60 for this homegrown dinner + open bar (or $50 for dinner only), this is the most affordable farm-to-table dinner in Chicago, and a great way to support the urban agriculture movement!

The open bar will feature the locally produced craft work of KOVAL Distillery, Lagunitas Brewing Co, Revolution Brewing, and Dark Matter Coffee. Returning by popular demand to set the ambience is Chicago’s own bluegrass band Cicada Summer, and this unique evening will be held at the urban farm of the 4-Star Certified Green Restaurant & Caterer, Big Delicious Planet, 412 North Wolcott Ave, on Thursday, August 10th, 6pm-9pm.

All funds raised will support AUA’s ongoing advocacy, outreach, and educational efforts. With a network of over 2,000 individuals and organizations, AUA is Chicago’s urban agriculture hub. AUA envisions a flourishing food system that promotes urban agriculture in the Chicago area as an integral part of community economic development, food security, environmental sustainability, and overall quality of life for the region, and in which practitioners, organizations, and residents can reap the benefits.

Celebrate and support a flourishing local food system here in Chicago! Don’t miss the best local food deal of the summer – get your early-bird tickets here before July 31st! Spread the word and see you there!

We are thrilled to bring you the news of another good food victory! The Chicago Public School Board voted on June 28, 2017, to adopt the Good Food Purchasing Program, which will mean a better plate for 380,000 students! An important source of healthy food for children in the city, Chicago Public Schools make their meals free to all students while serving nearly 27 million breakfasts and 43 million lunches per school year, and spending close to $80 million on food purchases in 2016 – 2017. The policy will shift these procurement dollars towards food that is sustainable, local, humane, fair and healthy.

The Good Food Purchasing Program provides a metric-based framework and set of tools that guide institutions to direct their buying power toward suppliers that meet benchmarks related to five core values: local economies, environmental sustainability, valued workforce, animal welfare, and nutrition. The Good Food Purchasing Program is a leading model across the country and the first of its kind to support these food system values in equal measure. Last year, San Francisco Unified School District and Oakland Unified School Districts formally adopted the Program following the leadership of Los Angeles Unified School District in 2012.

“Imagine the impact if the largest public institutions in cities across the country took a unified stand for Good Food. We could redirect billions of dollars to suppliers that share our values, create ripple effects throughout the industry and influence the national conversation around what a truly equitable and sustainable food system looks like,” says Colleen McKinney, Associate Director of the Center for Good Food Purchasing.

A big shout out to all the people and organizations that helped make this happen, including: the Good Food Purchasing Center, Food Chain Workers Alliance, The Chicago Food Policy Action Council, the Chicago Good Food Taskforce including multiple City of Chicago Sister Agencies (Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Park District, Chicago City Colleges, Chicago Housing Authority) and Departments (Department of Public Health, Department of Family and Support Services, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Aviation, and Procurement). With additional support from the Chicago Good Food Purchasing Coalition including: Advocates for Urban Agriculture, Fair Trade Chicago, FamilyFarmed, Food and Water Watch, Grow Greater Englewood, Growing Power, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Restaurant Opportunities Center of Chicago, Seven Generations Ahead, and Warehouse Workers for Justice.

Read more here and join us in congratulating the Chicago Public School Board for supporting healthy food access and sustainable agriculture! And onward as the coalition continues to work towards city-wide adoption of the Good Food Purchasing Program in Chicago!

Advocates for Urban Agriculture, Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC), and other community partners are working to ensure a clear and reasonable process for an urban farm business license. The city requires a business license to do business, and urban agriculture is not exempt (believe us, we tried that first!). Currently, urban agriculture entrepreneurs are directed to a variety of licenses that do not suit urban agriculture, including a peddler’s license (which can only be held by a person, not a business, and has restrictions on hours of operation and locations), or a Wholesale Food License (which costs $660 biannually).

After extensive conversations between AUA, CFPAC and the mayor’s office, there is a proposal and WE NEED YOUR INPUT! The proposal is to modify the Mobile Produce Merchant business license to include urban farm businesses. Almost everything about this route looks good:

• It would allow urban farms, even those with permanent structures that are used for food production (such as storage/refrigeration/office space, greenhouses, aquaponic facilities, etc), to obtain a license that costs $125 every 2 years and does not require inspections or certification
• It would allow farms with this license to have onsite produce stands
• There are no restrictions on hours of operation or “exclusionary zones” of sales
• The farm is registered under its business name rather than requiring a license for each owner

HOWEVER, here is where we need your feedback: the issue with this license is it requires that at least 50% of “produce merchant business” be done “within areas underserved by grocery stores”. The city says it is not possible to fully exempt urban farms from this criteria since the license was developed specifically to increase healthy food access in underserved areas. BUT, it is possible to address this requirement in creative ways to ensure that it doesn’t create a major obstacle for urban farming businesses.

We are exploring a list of qualifying criteria, and as long as a farm meets at least ONE of them it would qualify for this license. Please provide your feedback with this brief survey on each of the following possible qualifying criteria. What kind of requirements can you go along with that wouldn’t handcuff your or other urban agriculture operations? How would each affect your operation? What other options can you think of? How could these or other ideas be improved?

• Reduce the required percentage sold to underserved areas to 20% or a different number
• Farms located in underserved communities meet the criteria by virtue of their location
• The farm has at least one employee from an underserved community
• The farm sells to businesses based in underserved communities
• Otherwise more broadly defining what “produce merchant business” in “areas underserved by grocery stores” means (for example, “underserved by locally grown food”)
• Replacing it with a more general requirement to benefit the farm’s community or underserved communities
• The requirement applies only to farm businesses with a revenue of $X or more
• The farm is enrolled in the Double Value SNAP coupon program
• Other ideas?

In order to determine what could be workable, both for the current urban agriculture landscape and for the one we’re trying to build, we need the input of Chicago’s entire urban agriculture community! Please weigh in on each of the above criteria with this brief survey.

With your ideas and insight, we can ensure a reasonable license that doesn’t handcuff current and future small scale, grassroots, urban farming businesses, regardless of where they’re able to establish their growing operation. Questions? Reach out to info@auachicago! Thanks for contributing to the best possible route for urban farm business licenses!

Click here for City of Chicago Information on Neighborhoods Underserved by Grocery Stores.

Every day, AUA works towards a flourishing local food system, one where urban agriculture supports community economic development, food security, environmental sustainability, and overall quality of life for all.

We promote progressive urban agriculture policy through our Ward Ambassadors program; strengthen the urban agriculture community and its connections through our Raise the Barn Crop Mobs; and we support growers directly through free educational and networking resources. But we can only continue to grow urban agriculture in Chicago with your support. We still need to raise the majority of our $1,000 Spring Donation Drive – will you click here to make a $100, $50, or $30 tax-deductible contribution today towards a flourishing, local food system?

AUA is a grassroots coalition that charges no membership dues, and we make no ask to join our network or leverage our resources. We unite over 2,000 Chicagoland growers and local food advocates, connecting you with essential opportunities, resources, partners, news and events that benefit you and the urban agriculture community directly.

We do all this because we believe in our vision: a flourishing, local food system. But we can’t do it without you. Can you click here to donate $100, $50 or $30 for our Spring Drive to raise $1,000 for these indispensable program resources?

As the largest network in Chicago of community gardeners, school gardeners, urban farmers, urban ag businesses and individual advocates, we are your voice, your forum, and your advocate. We’re here for you, but we only exist thanks to you. Thank you for contributing what you can today, and for supporting the community you care so much about.