AOLC Blog

By Vernice King, Eat2Live Garden Volunteer

Taco Bell? ...at a community garden event?

Hecky Yeah!  Its vegetarian, delicious, and economical. This copy cat recipe of Taco Bell's Catina Bowl has been a really big hit for my family. A simple google search for each of the components makes this meal extremely affordable and even more delicious than the restaurant's version. This salad sells for about $8 at TB. I'll bet that you can serve your whole family for that amount. I'll also bet that you already have most of these ingredients in your kitchen already. Feel free to...

This year in Rockford we expanded the farm operation at Blackhawk Courts Farm and Garden significantly, increasing both productivity and community activity.  As the season winds down, we will soon enter a planning and visioning process with Blackhawk leadership to collectively envision the future of the farm. 

By Liz Whitehurst, Program Director, On Farm Initiative

Dave Kostka is one of our original On-Farm Educators. When he is on the farm, you're likely to find him identifying insects or sharing his expansive knowledge of nature and agriculture through jokes and stories. When he isn't on the farm, you'll likely find him at his own market garden, where he grows tomatoes, herbs, corn, and more for a farmer's market.

One of his favorite things to grow is corn: not the genetically modified stuff that many farmers in our area grow, but heritage varieties. Besides sweet corn and popcorn,...

Trogg's Hollow, Chris Prchal, Stateline Farm Beginnings, CRAFTWhen Chris and Marcy Prchal started a family, they decided to go into farming. They weren’t aiming to strike it rich; they simply wanted to provide for their family of six, give their children a meaningful upbringing, and support the community with sustainably grown, real food.

By Martha Boyd, Program Director, Urban Initiative, Chicago

This summer, at the Eat to Live Garden in Englewood, many Yale Elementary School students knew about the connection between common milkweed and Monarch butterflies, who lay their eggs on milkweed plants. When a Monarch caterpillar hatches, it eats milkweed leaves until it forms a chrysalis and -- if all goes well -- becomes an adult butterfly and continues on its journey.

I saw only one or two Monarchs this early summer when the milkweeds were starting to flower in the Eat to Live Garden -- but they attracted many other...

By Ketura and Milca St. Fleurose and Desmond Moore

Three Roots and Wings’ Youth, accompanied by Market Manager, Tedd Snowden, attended the national youth-led urban agriculture conference-Rooted In Community (RIC) in Los Angeles, CA in late August. Milca and Ketura along with farm apprentice, Desmond Moore were selected as workshop presenters for the conference.

We caught up with three of the youth, Ketura and Milca St. Fleurose and Desmond Moore to learn about attending this national gathering. When asked why they went to the conference (besides the fact it was in L.A.) the answer was: “To learn...