AOLC Blog

Announcing Roots & Wings 2014 “Youth Farm” CSA

Jan 22 2014 - 2:45pm

Urban

Roots & Wings

Youth Leaders hard at work at Blackhawk Courts Farm & Gardens

Support Rockford youth - reserve your 2014 Youth Farm CSA Shares today!

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Jan 15 2014 - 2:40pm

Upper Midwest CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training), along with 12 other CRAFT farmer alliances from across North America, met at Hawthorne Valley Farm Jan 2-4 in Ghent, New York, for an inaugural in-person meeting of CRAFT farmers and coordinators. This special meeting happened in conjunction with, and was hosted by, the Farm Beginnings Collaborative, a network of 9 US nonprofits--including Angelic Organics Learning Center--that offers the Farm Beginnings strategic farm business planning program to their farmer networks.

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One Winter Day on the Farm

Jan 9 2014 - 4:45pm

On-Farm

Goats

This time of year, friends who are familiar with Angelic Organics farm might be wondering: What is the farm like during the winter?

As I drove into the farm today, past craggy piles up on either side of the driveway, it was remarkably still. Especially compared to how it feels during the height of the growing season - hands harvesting, machines moving, kids playing - it is quiet on the farm this time of year.

But there is always life on the farm and there is always work to be done. Our dedicated crew keeps the livestock fed and watered....

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Whole Foods 5% day – Farmer Training at Angelic Organics Learning Center

Jan 7 2014 - 2:32pm

In a few weeks, on January 29, 2014, Angelic Organics Learning Center’s Farmer Training Initiative will be the beneficiary of a Whole Foods 5% day!

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Call for Nominations: Beginning Farmer of the Year Award

Jan 7 2014 - 1:27pm

Call for nominations for the Second Annual Beginning Farmer of the Year Recognition, sponsored by the Upper Midwest CRAFT farmer alliance and Angelic Organics Learning Center.

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Bake - Eat – Connect with Pie Making at Blackhawk Courts

Jan 7 2014 - 1:02pm

On November 26th residents of Blackhawk Courts gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving—farm style. This multi-generational family event brought over thirty people together to create & cook an assortment of pies. Prior to the event, pie-making participants decided about what type of pies they would like to make with fruit, nuts or vegetables. In response to popular demand, pecan and banana cream pies were added to the menu. Other taste sensations included sweet potato and apple fillings, both of which were grown or gathered locally by the farm crew at Blackhawk Courts. The theme of the night was “let’s bake and eat...

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Farmstead Holiday Party

Jan 7 2014 - 12:43pm

Not only do farmers require ingenuity and creativity in dealing with issues that arise on the farm, today's modern small-scale, organic farmers must possess this same level of ingenuity when it comes to marketing and selling their products. Farmers must set themselves apart, create an edge in the market. As a 5-foot-tall, spunky, single woman farmer with long dreadlocks, Andy Hazzard naturally stands out.

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Foraging for apples and pears

Jan 7 2014 - 11:13am

On September 24th, we received a phone call at Angelic Organics Roots & Wings office from someone wondering if our organization was interested in harvesting some organically grown apples and pears. The call was given to me and the warm voice on the other end belonged to Joan Sabin of Rockton, Illinois. I responded with a resounding “YES!”

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A Thanksgiving story to tell

Nov 14 2013 - 12:00am

Imagine this scenario: as you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner with your family, you begin to realize that each dish has a story.* Perhaps it’s a story about the farmer who grew your mashed potatoes or the friend who gave you his cranberry sauce recipe.

Now imagine: your kids made half the dishes on your Thanksgiving table - so they’re the ones leading the storytelling. They’re sharing tips for proofing yeast and laughing about how they almost spilled the filling as they put the pumpkin pie...

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Pastured cattle: from field to processing

Nov 8 2013 - 10:07am

By Justin Farr, Farm Finance Program Coordinator

The Upper Midwest CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) just finished our final field day of the season! We had an amazing field day focused on animal processing and pasture management that took place at two locations. We started the morning at Eickman’s Processing Facility where we were able to witness the complete slaughtering process, starting with the kill floor. It was a very eye-opening experience for everyone there. I was worried about observing a cow getting slaughtered, but I left with a sense of calm, thinking that these guys are doing it the...

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Angelic Organics Learning Center offers additional help to farmers

Oct 15 2013 - 3:33pm

Applications are available today! Please review details of the program online and take the eligibility quiz to see if you qualify for the program. Applications are due by November 30th, 2013 and can be found here.

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Community harvest dinner recipes!

Oct 14 2013 - 8:59am

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...

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Community harvest dinner recap

Oct 14 2013 - 8:45am

By L. Anton Seals Jr., Project Coordinator, Chicago Urban Initiative

Project Coordinator, Urban Initiative

As the summer season came to a close, Eat2Live celebrated the new fall season with food, music and great dialogue at the 1st annual Community Harvest Dinner. With over 50 participants, and help from the University of Chicago’s community service center, the dinner was a great success. We pitched a tent and set the tables in the...

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Finding inspiration at Troy Gardens

Oct 11 2013 - 11:36am

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.

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Oct 1 2013 - 11:52am

There is always so much to do. Many days, my to-do list seems to grow longer rather than shorter. Lately, I have been finding myself mindlessly eating in front of my computer at lunch or skipping lunch all together. Yesterday, I didn’t have time to eat lunch or dinner and I knew it was time for an intervention.

Today I packed some lettuce from my Angelic Organics CSA box and harvested some zebra tomatoes and purple peppers from the Learning Center garden. I did not attempt to multi-task as I prepared my food. Instead, I quieted myself and focused on...

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Corn from ear to bread

Sep 26 2013 - 10:21am

On-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,...

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Roasted green tomatoes - salsa to soup

Sep 24 2013 - 10:35am

Danica Hoehn
Program Director, Roots & Wings Network

We cooked together in the rain last Wednesday at Blackhawk Courts Farm & Gardens in Rockford, IL. Folks ran home
from the outdoor cooking session & came back donning big umbrellas to shelter the cooks as they roasted green
tomatoes, garlic, green onions, & all kinds of peppers on the three burner propane stove.

The plan: transform simple garden fresh ingredients into salsa, then salsa to chili chilaquiles, and then salsa to soup.
Ambitious & just like personal transformation, it was messy and mysterious. The final...

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Trogg’s Hollow Farm Paying it Forward

Sep 5 2013 - 9:15am

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.

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Winners of the 2013 Photo Contest!

Sep 4 2013 - 10:49am

Thank you to everyone who submitted photos for the Farm Photo Contest! We received many beautiful entries and it was interesting to view all the different perspectives of the farm. You can enjoy all of the submissions on our Facebook page.

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Common Milkweed

Aug 28 2013 - 10:55am

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...

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