A Celebration for the Farm on Ogden

On a bright, sunny Saturday in June, more than 1,500 people came to see just what was happening inside the renovated paint store along Ogden Avenue in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago.

It was the opening weekend for the Farm on Ogden, a joint project between the Chicago Botanic Garden and Lawndale Christian Health Center (LCHC) that brings food, health, and jobs together under one roof. Visitors explored the 7,300-square-foot greenhouse, marveled in the blue-purple glow of the 50,000-gallon aquaponics system, and picked up vegetables grown in the corner Windy City Harvest Youth Farm.

The new Farm on Ogden in Chicago
The new Farm on Ogden—a renovated building that was once a Sherwin-Williams paint store in North Lawndale—brings health, food, and jobs together in one location.

Autumn Berg, a North Lawndale resident for 17 years, could barely contain her emotions. “I’ve never been more excited about my neighborhood in my life,” she said.

The day before, Garden President and CEO Jean M. Franczyk thanked the many donors and partners for their generous support and steadfast belief that growing food locally makes for healthier individuals and communities. Speakers included Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, and Alderman Michael Scott, Jr. (24th).

“For a corner that needs economic development, it’s everything a community could ask for. I’m just so happy the Garden has decided to invest in a community like North Lawndale,” said Scott.

Here’s a look inside the Farm, which will be managed by Windy City Harvest, the Garden’s urban agriculture program, in partnership with LCHC.

A little girl leans over the fresh produce counter in the new Farm on Ogden.
The indoor market and farm stand at the Farm on Ogden will provide fresh, affordable produce year-round.
Kids look over flats of seedlings growing at the Farm on Ogden's greenhouses.
Interested people and community members toured the 7,300-square-foot greenhouse, which will grow seasonal vegetables and fruits year-round.
A customer gets information on the selection of herbs currently available at the Farm on Ogden.
Nearly 1,500 people attended the Farm on Ogden opening celebration on Saturday, June 23.
Visitors check out the purple grow lights near the aquaponics system at the Farm on Ogden.
The neon glow of the purple grow lights drew people toward the 50,000-gallon aquaponics system, which will produce 2,500 heads of lettuce every week, year-round, and 14,000 pounds of tilapia a year.
In the outdoor beds at Farm on Ogden, visitors admire the next crop to be harvested.
Outside, people admired giant lettuce leaves growing in the Windy City Harvest Youth Farm: a space for teens to learn—and earn—through sustainable growing, healthy cooking and eating, and farm-stand selling.
Visitors get a tour of the Farm on Ogden.
The Farm on Ogden also serves as a distribution center for Veggie Rx, a cooperative program that delivers boxes of fresh produce and offers nutrition education and cooking lessons to Lawndale Christian Health Center patients.

Learn more about the Farm on Ogden at chicagobotanic.org/urbanagriculture.


©2018 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Three vegetables that are nutrition powerhouses

At Windy City Harvest Youth Farm, our young workers are exposed to nutrition in ways that relate directly to their work. As the season progresses, new crops are harvested and introduced to our staff.

A lot of these are vegetables they have never eaten or seen before.

They also are surprised at the nutritional benefits in some of these vegetables. Here are three vegetables we are harvesting at Windy City Harvest that are nutrition powerhouses:

#1—Scallions

 They grow easily and can be used in many dishes. Scallions, or green onions, are never the centerpiece of a meal. They are pungent and crisp, and most often are used as a garnish or topping.

Scallions
Scallions (Allium sp.)

Scallions are a part of the allium family, meaning it can call the garlic, onion, and leek its brothers and sisters. Like other alliums, scallions contain special properties like organosulfur compounds and allyl sulfides, as well as thiosulfinates. Those are complicated words, but what they mean is that these compounds are being studied for their effects on blood pressure, cholesterol, and cancer. Most importantly, they taste great on everything from mashed sweet potatoes to chicken tacos.

#2—Purple Potatoes

The nutritional reputation of potatoes has suffered due to their high carbohydrate content. However, potatoes can be very nutritious. An especially nutritious potato variety is the purple potato. Purple potatoes taste like other potatoes, but they have an undeniable rich purple color. This is because they are abundant in the antioxidant flavonoid anthocyanin. This is the same flavonoid, or plant pigment, that colors blueberries and pomegranates. 

Purple Peruvian potatoes (Solanum andigenum)
Purple Peruvian potatoes (Solanum andigenum)

Here’s how antioxidants are thought to work: Reactive and unstable molecules called free radicals enter our bodies when we inhale cigarette smoke, breathe polluted air, or even eat an unhealthy diet. Antioxidants bind to them and make them less reactive.

Purple potatoes also contain high amounts of of potassium, even more than bananas. Potassium is important to counteract the effects of a high-sodium diet. 

Purple potatoes are a welcome upgrade from the common russet potato. Just don’t deep fry them.

#3—Red Bell Peppers

Red bell peppers can be crisp and crunchy when raw or savory and sweet when cooked. Green bells are not a unique variety of pepper. They are the same variety as red peppers, but they are picked before ripening. When you let this vegetable ripen to its full potential, the nutrient content increases.

Red bell peppers
Ripening bell peppers turn from green to red.

Red bell peppers are best known for their powerful antioxidant properties. Just one pepper contains twice the daily requirement for Vitamin C, making bell peppers one of the richest foods for Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps grow and repair tissues in the body and helps the body absorb iron. The Vitamin A content comes in at a close second in this sweet pepper. Vitamin A is essential for healthy eyes, skin, and neurological function. One pepper gives you about three-fourths of your daily Vitamin A needs.

Red bell peppers also feature their own flavonoid antioxidant. Just like the purple potatoes, this antioxidant is responsible for the vegetables’ brilliant red color. A colorful plate is truly a healthy plate.

Our Washington Park Youth Farm participants learned a lot this summer as well:

Ryan Hutchinson
Ryan Hutchinson
Windy City Harvest Youth Farm 2017

When I asked Ryan Hutchinson what nutrition fact he was most surprised about, he said, “I was shocked that foods like scallions could help lower blood pressure and can be preventative. My auntie had to go to the hospital for high blood pressure so it was good information to have.”

Caleb Peacock
Caleb Peacock
Windy City Youth Farm 2017

When asked if he had tried any of the veggies from the farm, Caleb Peacock said,”Yeah, all the time. This week, for dinner, my dad made a ‘symphony of squash.’ It had bell peppers, carrots, summer squash, zucchini, and onions cooked in a pressure cooker. It was good! My whole family liked it and went back for seconds…My dad also made zucchini pancakes. They were better than regular pancakes because the zucchini made them super moist.”

Shayna Jackson
Shayna Jackson
Windy City Harvest Youth Farm 2017

Shayna Jackson’s family has incorporated veggies from the farm, too. “I was most surprised by the garlic and scallions. I didn’t know they were healthy. Last week, I took a box of vegetables home from the farm. It was the first time my mom cooked with scallions. We liked them so much that we went to buy more from the store. We had never had them before.”

Shekinah Price
Shekinah Price
Windy City Harvest Youth Farm 2017

Shekinah Price said, “I was surprised that red bell peppers have more vitamin C than oranges.”

At Windy City Harvest Youth Farm, we harvest something seasonal and fresh every week. And every week we harvest something healthy. If you are interested in trying scallions, purple potatoes, or red peppers while meeting our bright youth, come visit Windy City Harvest at our community markets.


Demi Maropoulos
Demi Maropoulos

Demi Maropoulos is a bachelor of science student in the Coordinated Nutrition Program at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Demi is in the midst of completing her supervised practice hours in order to become a registered dietitian. Cooking, gardening, and farming is what brought Demi to the profession of dietetics, so it is only fitting that she worked with Windy City Harvest for her community nutrition internship.


Thank you to Conagra Brands Foundation for supporting Windy City Harvest Youth Farm’s healthy eating initiative.


Resources:

  1. http://journal.waocp.org/article_24263_9e02c0447a9eaf4262706d4452473091.pdf
  2. http://udop.uwimona.edu.jm/lifesciences/hortlab/papers/FOOD_1(2)193-201.pdf
  3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC139960/
  4. http://www.agriculturejournals.cz/publicFiles/48446.pdf
  5. http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/tc/antioxidants-topic-overview
  6. http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f1378
  7. http://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/low-potassium/basics/when-to-see-doctor/sym-20050632
  8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4075694/

©2017 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Windy City Harvest (and partners) is finalist in Food to Market Challenge

Windy City Harvest, the Chicago Botanic Garden’s urban agriculture education and jobs-training initiative, and its local partners were chosen as one of five finalists in the Food to Market Challenge.

The Food to Market Challenge, conducted collaboratively by Kinship Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust, will award $500,000 to the multidisciplinary team that presents innovative solutions on how to bring local food to market. The Farm on Ogden Development (F.O.O.D.) includes distributors (Midwest Foods), farmers (Windy City Harvest, Creciendo Farms, Return to Life Farm, Sweet Pea and Friends, Garfield Produce Company), educators (Windy City Harvest, SAVOR…Chicago, ProStart Culinary Training, South Loop Farmers Market), healthcare and access (Community Economic Development Association, Lawndale Christian Health Center), land access (Brinshore Development, SAVOR…Chicago), and customers (SAVOR…Chicago, South Loop Farmers Market). Watch the video and see how this group of longtime partners is positioned to answer the challenges of the food supply chain in Chicago: food, health, and jobs.

PHOTO: Windy City Harvest is part of a team competing in the Food to Market Challenge.
Windy City Harvest is part of a team competing in the Food to Market Challenge.

The winner of the Food to Market Challenge will be selected at a “Shark Tank”-style event held at the Museum of Contemporary Art on October 26. 


©2016 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Fresh Recipes in Windy City Harvest’s Cookbook

‘Tis the season for the harvest bounty at Windy City Harvest! Our staff and program participants are busy harvesting our final summer crops: peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant; and early fall crops: kale, carrots, and cabbage.

This harvest season, we unveiled our cookbook, Cooking in Season with Windy City Harvest. This cookbook is a collection of our favorite seasonal recipes and features the fresh produce grown and harvested at our farms transformed into healthy dishes by our program participants, staff, and local chefs.

PHOTO: Windy City Harvest Youth Farm participants.
Windy City Harvest Youth Farm participants

Our program has been lucky to develop wonderful partnerships with local chefs and restaurants. Many of these chefs, including Cleetus Friedman, executive chef and creative chef for Caffé Baci; and John des Rosiers, chef/proprietor of Inovasi, Wisma, and The Otherdoor, have generously shared seasonal recipes that feature Windy City Harvest produce.

PHOTO: Harvesting kale at the Washington Park farm.
Harvesting kale at the Washington Park farm

Just like planting seeds and harvesting the bounty, cooking is an essential component of the Windy City Harvest program. Program participants learn how to cook with produce grown on the farms, sometimes using fruits and vegetables that may be unfamiliar to them. The participants then share their newfound culinary skills with their communities, whether trading recipes with market customers, providing cooking demonstrations at local WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) clinics, preparing multicourse lunches for their peers, or showcasing their dishes at our annual Open House celebrations.

One of our favorite fall recipes is a grilled kale salad.

Grilled Kale Salad
Preparation: 15 to 30 minutes. Serves: 6 to 8

PHOTO: Grilled kale salad.

Salad:

  • 3 pounds (about 4 bunches) toscano kale, washed and dried
  • ½ cup vegetable oil, divided
  • ½ teaspoon salt, plus more for bread
  • 2 garlic cloves, cut in half
  • ½ loaf of sourdough bread (cut into ¾-inch thick slices)

Dressing:

  • 3 large garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat the grill to high. Stack the kale and cut off the thick end of the stems about 3 inches from the end of the leaf. Compost the stems. In a large bowl or large plastic bag, toss the kale with ⅓ cup of the vegetable oil and salt, until the leaves are evenly coated with oil.

Rub each slice of bread with a garlic clove half. Drizzle the remaining oil on the bread. Grill the bread slices until golden brown with nice grill marks on each side. Set aside. Grill the kale leaves until crispy and cooked—about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Dice the grilled bread into croutons, and julienne the kale into bite-size pieces. Place the mixture in a large bowl.

To make the dressing, combine the minced garlic with the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt in a Mason jar. Tighten the lid and shake the jar vigorously to combine the ingredients. Pour the dressing over the kale and bread, and toss the mixture to coat. Add the feta and toss again. Transfer the salad to a serving platter or bowl.

PHOTO: Windy City Harvest student cooks in the Fruit & Vegetable Garden kitchen.
Get in the kitchen with Windy City Harvest

If you would like to see more seasonal recipes and learn about the Windy City Harvest program, pick up a cookbook in the Garden Shop. Bon appetit!


©2016 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Cultivating Nostalgia

The Garden’s head of urban agriculture took a trip to Cuba and reminded me of my culture’s resiliency and connection to gardening.

How do you farm when you have little to no resources? Cubans “inventan del aire.”

Literally meaning “inventing from air,” this is the philosophy that is required to get by in Cuba.

Angela Mason, the Garden’s associate vice president for urban agriculture and Windy City Harvest, traveled to Cuba to see firsthand how the farmers there create and maintain collective farms. These farms provide much-needed produce for a population that lives without what we’d consider the basics in the United States. The average hourly wage in the Chicago area is around $24.48. That’s more than the average monthly wage in Cuba.

“Before going, I didn’t understand why people would risk their lives getting on a raft and floating 90 miles,” she said. “But when you see the degree of poverty that some of the people are living in, it’s heartbreaking.”

Angie recounted to me the details of her trip; the people she met, all of whom were welcoming and warm, and the places she saw. She visited several farms just outside of Havana and another in Viñales, in the western part of the country.

PHOTO: Angie Mason, Fernando Funes and Madeleine Plonsker in Cuba.
Angie Mason, associate vice president Urban Agriculture/Windy City Harvest (center), poses with Cuban trip liason Fernando Funes, and Madeleine Plonsker, a member of the Garden’s President’s Circle who has visited Cuba many times and who helped Angie put the trip together.

Poverty in Cuba means the farmers there grow without supplies and tools that are standard here. But they are still able to create beautiful and sustainable harvests through ingenuity. For example, Angie asked one of the farmers she met what he used to start seeds. He showed her dozens of aluminum soda cans that he’d cut in half. One farmer dug a well by hand. He then used the rocks he dug out to build a terraced garden.

PHOTO: Isis Maria Salcines at her farmer co-operative, Organopónico Vivero Alamar in Havana, Cuba.
Isis Maria Salcines at her farmer cooperative, Organopónico Vivero Alamar, in Havana, Cuba
PHOTO: Finca Marta, Fernando Funes' farm outside of Havana, Cuba, in the province Artemisa.
A glimpse of Finca Marta, Fernando Funes’s farm outside of Havana, Cuba, in Artemisa Province

I asked Angie many questions about her trip and what she saw, because I relish every detail I can learn about Cuba, the country where both of my parents were born.

The reasons for Angie’s trip felt especially close to my own family’s heritage, because I come from a long line of farmers on both sides. My mother’s family had a farm in the province of Matanzas. My father’s side did as well, in the more rural province of Las Villas. Both properties have since been seized by the Cuban government, as was all private property after the revolution in 1959. Neither one of my parents has been back to visit since they moved to the United States as children (my father was just a few years old and my mother was 11) so the stories they can share are scarce. The only tangible evidence of childhoods spent in the Cuban countryside are a handful of faded photographs: my mom riding a horse when she was in kindergarten; my father in diapers and running around with farm dogs. And as each year passes, the memories of Cuba are farther and farther in past.

PHOTO: My mother and grandparents and uncle on the family farm in Matanzas province with my grandfather's most memorable purchase: his Jeep.
My mother and grandparents and uncle on the family farm in Matanzas province with my grandfather’s most memorable purchase: his Jeep

Two of my grandparents, both now deceased, had many stories to share with me as well. My maternal grandfather and my paternal grandmother were fixtures in my life and both often shared stories of their lives before the United States and growing plants and food in the fertile Cuban soil. It’s a talent that apparently never leaves a person, even if they change their country of residence, because both had beautiful backyard gardens at their homes in Miami.

My grandmother had a knack for flowers. The bougainvillea in her yard was always resplendent. Hydrangeas were the centerpieces at my sister’s wedding shower; months later the plant repotted and cared for by my grandmother was the only one that thrived. My grandfather leaned more toward the edible. His yard was full of fruit trees. Whenever he’d visit, he usually brought something growing in the yard: fruta bomba (more commonly known as papaya), mamoncillos, or limon criollo (a type of small green lime).

PHOTO: My grandfather and uncle, circa 1940s in Bolondron, Cuba.
My grandfather and uncle, circa 1940s in Bolondron, Cuba

Growing up, I always associated the cultivation of plants, whether flowers or fruit, as just a part of their personalities. Gardening was a hobby they enjoyed. While that was true, I realized later that it was also an activity that kept them connected to Cuba. As long as they could grow the plants they remembered from back home, that life was not completely gone.

My grandparents, as well as parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and pretty much most people I’m related to, have all tapped into their resiliency to make it as immigrants in the United States and adapt to their changed lives. The same personality trait that allows a Cuban farmer to grow vegetables without any tools has gotten my family through decades of living outside of Cuba. No matter the situation, members of the Cuban diaspora “inventan del aire.” It’s how people survive in Cuba, but it’s also how Cubans outside of the country get through exile.


©2016 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org