SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS (March 20, 2024) — Local food is getting an important shot in the arm with the distribution this spring of nearly $2 million in state funding. But it’s clear more support is needed to meet the state’s growing local needs.
At a Statehouse news conference, the Illinois Stewardship Alliance today joined with top state officials, a bi-partisan group of state legislators, and some of the recipients of the inaugural Local Food Infrastructure grants to support the development of the state’s local food network.
The nineteen recipients cover all parts of Illinois and a wide array of creative and essential projects that help local farmers and growers get more products to more markets, more easily and cost-effectively. A full list of recipients and their stories is included below:
- Leaf Food Hub, helping a dozen southern Illinois farms reach local communities. The $82,871.09 granted will help purchase equipment needed to reduce waste, improve farmer revenue, and feed more people;
- Tulip Tree Gardens, which will use a $59,900 grant to increase distribution and aggregation access for farmers in Chicago’s north and south suburbs;
- Funks Grove Heritage Fruits and Grains, whose $72,124.16 grant will help them dry, clean, and store grain and provide grain and other cold storage to expand operations in the Bloomington area in central Illinois; and
- DeMange Family Farms, which will use $106,000 in LFIG funding to build an energy-efficient produce packing and storage building to increase production and improve what it can offer at farm stands in the Metro East near St Louis.
For the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, the LFIG grant announcement is an exciting milestone for the new state-funded program — and a clear reminder of the work ahead needed to build on the momentum.
The Alliance, formed to support the growth of opportunities for local food growers and consumers, advocated strongly at the State Capitol for funds dedicated to supporting infrastructure development: animal-processing facilities, refrigerated trucks, commercial kitchens, and other tools that help get more products to market. The current state budget that ends this summer provided $1.8 million in funds to get the program started, and asked the Alliance to spearhead the program’s development.
After a two-month grant application process in December and January, the response was overwhelming: 247 applicants submitted more than $23.5 million in funding requests — or more than ten times the amount of money available to distribute this year.
The LFIG program was not proposed for funding in the state budget Gov JB Pritzker presented to lawmakers for consideration last month. Advocates are now pushing for Senate Bill 3077 in the Illinois Senate, which would create an ongoing LFIG grant program of at least $2 million each year to support infrastructure needs.
Alliance LFIG organizers acknowledge the announcement of recipients reveals the needs both for more local food infrastructure and more support from policy-makers to build on this initial success.
“We had so many difficult decisions to make, and for every recipient we selected, we had many others whose projects were just as innovative and meaningful for local food development,” said Josh Snedden, Grant Program Coordinator for the Illinois Stewardship Alliance. “We thank the Legislature, the Pritzker Administration, and the Illinois Department of Agriculture for being great partners on this first round of LFIG funding.
“We celebrate today the tremendous work that these award recipients will be able to do because they now have the funding to support the local system, and get to work on advocating for more LFIG funding to meet even more of the many needs across Illinois.”
For more information, visit: illinoislfig.org.
About Illinois Stewardship Alliance
We bring together farmers and eaters to reshape and regenerate a stronger, more diverse local food and farm system. We form a powerful voice at every table where policy decisions are made to advocate for an Illinois where farmers earn a living as responsible stewards of the land who feed our communities, and where people can easily and affordably find and buy local food that aligns with their values for more vibrant and healthier communities. Learn more: ilstewards.org/.
Recipients of the First Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program
A list of the nineteen recipients of the first Local Food Infrastructure Grant Program from the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, with information on their operations and how the grant money will be used to support their efforts. Contact information for each recipient is provided here for interested local media to reach out and connect with them as you see fit:
Central Illinois
Company: Down at the Farms
Location: Fairbury, Illinois. Central Illinois, serving communities across the state including restaurants in Chicago and Downstate.
Local Legislators: Sen Tom Bennett, Rep Jason Bunting
About: Down at the Farms represents more than sixty of the finest farms in Central Illinois to chefs, grocers, individuals, and institutions. Farms retain their identity and showcase their unique products to a large audience. They operate as a “food hub” and work to create community and cooperation between farmers in the area. The growers produce a wide variety of products using chemical-free or certified organic practices, pastured livestock, and non-GMO seed. Weekly deliveries to Chicago and downstate restaurants have helped to put Central Illinois farms on the map.
How LFIG Will Help: With this $110,000 grant, they will be able to purchase an additional delivery vehicle, expand their cooler and freezer space in their warehouse, and scan and trace every farm's product more efficiently from farm to customer.
Contact: Marty Travis
E-mail: mandk@thespencefarm.comPhone: 815-844-9947Company: Urban Acres; collaborating w/St Paul Episcopal Church
Location: North Valley Area of Peoria and surrounding communities
Local Legislators: Sen David Koehler, Rep Jehan Gordon-Booth
About: After listening to the community, in 2018 they decided to empower people from the Peoria area to take control of their own nutritional journey, through a multi-pronged approach based on needs. They started the community gardens with Urban Acres that allow people to grow food for themselves, including produce that was non-native and hard to find, or produce food to sell to others.
How LFIG Will Help: With $105,000 funds, Urban Acres and St. Paul Episcopal Church will be able to expand operations, which will enable more food entrepreneurs, create more produce, teach more classes, and create more economic development. This project will increase produce fresh and prepared food ina neighborhood that no longer has a grocery store, and has few restaurants.
Contact: Andy Diaz (Urban Acres LLC), Jonathan Thomas (St Paul Episcopal Church)
Andy Diaz is a BIPOC farmer with his wife, Kathryn.
E-mails: Andy — urbanacrespeoria@gmail.com Jonathan — jthomas@stpaulspeoria.com
Company: Allen’s Farm Quality Meats
Location: Homer, Illinois, serving Homer, Champaign, Danville, and surrounding areas
Local Legislators: Sen Chapin Rose, Rep Adam Niemerg
About: Allen Meats is the area's leading meat-shop serving Homer, Champaign, Danville, and surrounding areas since 1986. They offer retail and custom meats, meat processing, full-service butcher, and they specialize in fresh, locally-raised meats.
How LFIG Will Help: Farmers and ranchers in the community lack access to infrastructure and equipment required to process meat. Reservations are often booked twelve to eighteen months in advance. With $150,000 in funds, they will be able to improve their facility and equipment, which will help increase capacity to serve additional farms in the region.
Contact: Roger Allen
E-mail: rogerallen1230@gmail.com Phone: (715) 684-9222
Company: FarmFED Co-op
Location: Mt Pulaski, serving McLean County and the surrounding communities
Local Legislators: Rep William Hauter, Sen Sally Turner
About: The FarmFED Co-op was started in 2019 and has been in development for the past five years. They have a nine-member board representing Central Illinois farmers and the local community. FarmFED’s mission is to connect Central Illinois consumers and producers for their mutual benefit by cooperatively expanding processing infrastructure and market access for local farmers and other producers and providing our community with year-round access to locally-produced, minimally-processed, fresh, nutritious food.
How LFIG Will Help: With this project, FarmFED will provide the vital infrastructure necessary to provide more nutritious lunches to local schools and support farmers in rural communities with marketing, sales, and distribution functions. With $148,000 in funds, they will be able to purchase the building located at 108 S Washington Street in Mt Pulaski, Illinois, and begin the necessary build-out for our processing infrastructure as well as the retail space for our partner, Market on the Hill, which will help establish their distribution and aggregation program this year.
Contact: Cindy Jackson
E-mail: farmfedcoop@gmail.com
Phone: 217-791-0659Company: Living Light Farms
Location: Paxton, Illinois, serving Champaign County and the surrounding areas
Local Legislators: Sen Chapin Rose, Rep Chris Miller
About: Tim and Sarah Roth for years we dreamed of having their own farm, and in 2020, that dream became a reality in Living Light Farms. They knew they wanted something different: a way of farming that was better for their animals, better for the land, and better for them. The result is their farm, which produces pastured, clean, hormone, and antibiotic-free, ethically-raised livestock and eggs.
How LFIG Will Help: With $43,800 they will be able to fix their current freezer and also purchase a mobile freezer and truck, which will help them safely store and transport products for their community, year-round.Contact: Tim Roth
E-mail: timroth22@gmail.comPhone: 217-377-9302Company: Sola Gratia Farm
Location: Urbana, serving the surrounding communities
Local Legislators: Sen Paul Faraci, Rep Brandun Schweizer
History: Founded in 2012 by St Matthew Lutheran Church, Sola Gratia Farm was established with the overall goal of building a regional food system where high-quality, locally-grown produce is available to everyone, especially those at an economic disadvantage.
What They Do: Sola Gratia Farm is a community-based farm dedicated to producing locally-grown, high-quality, natural produce. Responding to the Gospel, the farm is committed to helping those who lack adequate food resources by donating a minimum of ten percent of its produce to support regional hunger programs. The farm promotes healthy lifestyles and community building through volunteering and service, special events, and outreach and education programs.
Meeting The Need: Farmers and growers in the community lacked access to infrastructure and equipment required to effectively, wash, pack, process, store, and distribute fresh foods.
How LFIG Will Help: With $117,690 in funds, we will be able to expand our farm’s post-harvest processing facility and distribution reach for both SGF and area growers, allowing 1) improved food safety; 2) refined efficiencies; 3) expanded offerings, 4) skills demonstration, training and development, and 5) expanded wholesale reach and fresh food distribution.
Contact: Traci Barkley
E-mail: solagratiadirector@gmail.comPhone: 217-621-3013Company: Terripin Farms
Location: Quincy, Illinois, serving Adams County
Local Legislators: Sen Jil Tracy, Rep Randy Frese
Size: Over fifteen farms in the Co-op
History: We are a fourth-generation Vegetable farm located in Quincy at Four Winds Farm
What They Do: Terripin Farms grows fifteen acres of produce crops, flowers, pumpkins, and so much more. They also have a Farm Stand and Co-op Located on the Farm. The Farm Stand has produce from the farm and lots of other farms located within fifty miles of Adams County. In 2023, they had more than fifteen different farms in our co-op. We are also in the process of building a bakery at the farm.
Meeting The Need: Farmers and growers in the community lacked access to infrastructure and equipment required to effectively, wash, pack, process, store, and distribute fresh foods.
How LFIG Will Help: With $150,000, we will be able to create a value-added processing and storage facility, which will help us and many small farmers create less waste and value-added products to sell expanding local foods in Illinois, which would not be possible without the grant.
Contact: Jessica Whiston
E-mail: jess@terripinfarms.netPhone: 217-440-4678Company: Funks Grove Heritage Fruits and Grains
Location: Shirley, Illinois, distributing products across Illinois
Local Legislators: Sen Sally Turner, Rep William Hauter
Size: 3History: We started this farm to honor the legacy of Funks Grove and the generations of this family that have stewarded this land since the 1840s, and to honor those who came before our families, and the land with which they partnered.
What They Do: We began in 2016 with our first orchard and grain plantings, and since then have developed food products that make the best of our own crops and those of our neighbors. We use the commercial kitchen and incredible syrup from Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup to develop an ever-growing line of baking mixes, preserved fruit products, and seasonal items, and sell them through the sirup shop and a number of central Illinois stores and farms.
Meeting The Need: Funks Grove Heritage Fruits and Grains and small-scale grain growers across the state lack access to the necessary infrastructure and equipment to mill and process grains.
How LFIG Will Help: With $72,124.16 in funds, we will be able to dry, clean, and store grain and provide cold storage for grain and other products for our farm and for our neighbors, which will help us expand the availability of our farm products and other locally grown food in the region and set us up to establish our full-service grain facility.
Contact: Katie Funk
Email: funksgrovehfg@gmail.comPhone: (630) 202-8177
ChicagoCompany: Urban Growers Collective
Location: Chicago’s South Side
Local Legislators: Sen Robert Peters, Rep Curtis Tarver II
About: Established in 2017. Urban Growers Collective is a Black-led and women-led non-profit farm in Chicago, Illinois working to build a more just and equitable local food system. This collective includes eight urban farms on eleven acres of land and they all work to address the inequities and structural racism that exist in the food system and in communities of color. Rooted in growing food, their mission is to cultivate nourishing environments which support health, economic development, healing, and creativity through urban agriculture. To date, they have produced 23,000 pounds of crops harvested across UGC’s farm sites, 133 Youth Corps participants, 1,530 CSA boxes packed and delivered, and 14,400 Customers served through our Fresh Moves Mobile Market.
How LFIG Will Help: With $95,000 in funds, UGC will be able to complete their Processing Center Shed project’s interior furnishings for use in 2024 growing season, which will help UGC in its own growing operations’ post-harvest processing, provide shared space for emerging growers use in their own operations, and provide infrastructure for hands-on training of new growers.
Contact: Erika Allen
E-mail: erika@urbangrowerscollective.orgCompany: Fuller Park Community Development DBA Eden Place
Location: Chicago’s South Side
Local Legislators: Sen Mattie Hunter, Rep Sonya Harper
About: Eden Place Farms was founded in 1997. They grow food and host a farmers market for the community in addition to education events and volunteer opportunities. Eden Place has continued to develop and grow with the support and recognition of local leaders and organizations. They work to raise awareness amongst community members about the environmental problems that have affected their families for years.
How LFIG Will Help: With a $150,000 investment, the Grow a Greater Food Bank Project will build a food-aggregation center in an existing location on Chicago’s south side. In this food-aggregation center, a commercial kitchen will be built, a professional wash-and-pack facility will be installed, and professional walk-in coolers will be available for all association members to allow more holding time for their perishable produce and space to process their vegetables into value-added products. Farmers and growers in the community will now have access to infrastructure and equipment required to effectively, wash, pack, process, and store fresh foods.
Contact: Michael Howard
E-mail: michaelhow@msn.comPhone: 312-296-7339Company: Just Roots
Location: South Side of Chicago and south suburban Cook County
Local Legislators: Sen Mattie Hunter, Rep Kimberly du Buclet
About: Just Roots began in the Fall of 2017, when the co-founders began to work together with their community to develop and expand access to sustainably grown food. In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Just Roots partnered with Saint James Catholic Church & Food Pantry to convert a vacant lot into the Saint James Community Farm, a half-acre fruit and vegetable farm located on Chicago’s south side. In 2021, they partnered with Grace United Church of Christ and Good Vibes to establish It Takes a Village Community Farm, a three-acre farm located in Sauk Village, Illinois. Just Roots envisions a world in which every person can access food that benefits their health, community, and environment.
How LFIG Will Help: With $70,000 in funds, they will be able to purchase a refrigerated van and expand their on-site refrigeration capacity, which will help them transport produce between farms, distribute fresh produce to community members with accessibility needs, and collaborate with other nearby farms to aggregate and distribute fresh food.
Contact: Sean Ruane
E-mail: sean@justrootschicago.orgPhone: 815-931-1743Chicago Suburbs
Company: Garlic Breath Farm
Location: Elburn, Illinois, serving Kane County and the surrounding areas
Local Legislators: Sen Dave Syverson, Rep Jeff Keicher
About: In 2015, the couple was looking for a new home closer to their work in aviation software. They needed to find a property that would allow them to keep their pet pig. When they found their micro-farm of approximately three acres, it was love at first sight. Garlic Breath Farm is a husband/wife team who grow organic hard-neck variety garlic, provide garlic recipes to the community, and teach people the health benefits of garlic in their diets.
How LFIG Will Help: With $17,598, Garlic Breath Farm will be able to install a gravel driveway and parking area for their on-farm stand making the stand more accessible to the community. Garlic Breath Farm currently lacks accessible parking for their on-farm stand, making it difficult for the community to access fresh, local produce on-demand.
Contact: Anthony Pferschy
E-mail: garlicbreathowner@gmail.comPhone: 224-801-4248Company: Tulip Tree Gardens
Location: Beecher, Illinois, serving Will, Cook, and surrounding counties.
Local Legislators: Sen Napoleon Harris, Rep Thaddeus Jones
About: First-generation farmers, Jesse and Rachel Smedberg, established Tulip Tree Gardens in 2015. Sitting on 63 rolling creek-side acres, Tulip Tree Gardens is a truly organic and regenerative farm. They utilize permaculture design standards to support a rich diversity of plants and livestock. In simple terms, they are a refuge for midwestern flora and fauna.
How LFIG Will Help: Tulip Tree Gardens and other local producers lack refrigerated transportation for their products. With $59,900 in funds, they will be able to provide both distribution- and aggregation-access to farmers which will help us all catalyze a truly impactful, profitable, equitable, and sustainable local food system for all demographics.
Contact: Rachel Smedberg
E-mail: rks@tuliptreegardens.farmPhone: 219-765-5652Northern Illinois
Company: Jo Daviess Local Foods
Location: Jo Daviess County, NW Illinois
Local Legislators: Sen Andrew Chesney, Rep Tony McCombie
About: Jo Daviess Local Foods is an online farmers' market that started in 2018 with just seven producers. Since then, we've grown to include nearly forty producers. JDLF helps producers work together to meet the growing demand for local, sustainable food in Jo Daviess County. They aggregate local products and deliver them to the community.
How LFIG Will Help: Farmers and growers in the community lack access to infrastructure and equipment required to effectively, wash, pack, process, and store fresh foods. With $150,000 in funds, we will be able to build a food hub, which will help us serve more customers and improve the livelihoods of local farmers.
Contact: Erin Keyser
E-mail: erin@jdlf.orgPhone: 815-990-5374Company: Palomares Social Justice Center
Location: Rock Island, Illinois, serving the surrounding areas including the vulnerable Floreciente NeighborhoodLocal Legislators: Sen Michael Halpin, Rep Gregg Johnson
About: Founded in 2013, the Palomares Social Justice Center exists to help address the socio-economic needs and interests of Floreciente and other less empowered communities through advocacy, grassroots outreach, and culturally-sensitive services. Palomares Social Justice Center is seeing increased food access needs in their community and lacks the refrigeration to properly store local produce grown at urban farms in the area.
How LFIG Will Help: With $8,100, they will be able to purchase refrigeration units which will help them store more fresh, locally-grown produce so they can provide it to the community for free.
Contact: Samantha Wright
E-mail: palomares.sjc.ri@gmail.com Phone: 309-786-6202Southern Illinois
Company: Leaf Food Hub
Location: Southern Illinois, serving communities such as Carbondale, Du Quoin, Anna and into O’Fallon in the Metro East
Local Legislators: Sen Dale Fowler, Rep Patrick Windhorst
About: The Little Egypt Alliance of Farmers (LEAF), a farmer-owned business, was started in 2016. They are organized as an LLC, but function as a cooperative of 22 farmers and makers. They work together each week to pack and distribute food to twelve locations along with home deliveries in a six-county area in Southern Illinois.
How LFIG Will Help: The $79,887.09 in LFIG funds will help purchase the equipment to reduce waste and increase revenue for local farmers, feed more people, and enable the company to grow and serve more people. The food hub needs more equipment to more efficiently get farmers’ produce from their fields to the local community markets.
Contact: Elizabeth DeRuntz
E-mail: elizabeth@fwsoil.orgPhone: 618-924-1290Company: The Flock Farm
Location: Southern Illinois, selling at local farmers markets and directly to the community.
Local Legislators: Sen Dale Fowler, Rep Paul Jacobs
What They Do: Established in 2018, this young farming family specializes in pasture raised lamb, goat, and poultry in Anna, Illinois. They are proud to be certified Grass-fed and Animal Welfare Approved.
How LFIG Will Help: There is a need for USDA-approved poultry processors in Southern Illinois.With 150,000 in funds, their farm will be able to build a USDA poultry-processing plant, which will help increase the farm’s capacity and allow them to process poultry for other farms in and around the community.Contact: Brent Glays, Veteran farmer
Email: info@theflockfarm.comPhone: 618-833-0240Company: DeMange Family Farms
Location: St Jacob, Illinois, and East St Louis, Illinois
Local Legislators: Sen Jason Plummer, Rep Charles Meier
About: Started in the 1800s. Eric DeMange is the sixth generation of DeMange Family Farms in St Clair County. He raises about 150 specialty crops — from asparagus to zucchini — which is sold at the family’s farm market and wholesale to grocery stores. The farm also sells at local farmers’ markets.How LFIG Will Help: The farm needs increased processing and cold-storage space to meet demand for fresh local produce in an area that has limited access to grocery stores and food stands. With $106,000 in funds, they will be able to build an energy-efficient produce packing and storage building with a restroom for employees, which will help them increase the daily amount of products available to be delivered to the community, provide space and prep area to add value-added products to their farm stands and farmers markets, and serve as a farm stand in St Jacob.
Contact: Eric DeMange
E-mail: anne.matthews14@gmail.comPhone: 618-304-8335Company: Illinois Country Harvest
Location: Prairie Du Rocher, Illinois, serving southern Illinois
Local Legislators: Sen Terri Bryant, Rep David Friess
About: Jennifer Duensing is the fourth generation on the farm. She was able to purchase the property from her grandma in 2015. Together, they farm twelve acres of land that has been in the family for five generations. They take pride in growing heirloom grains, vegetables, flowers, herbs, natives, and raising heritage animals. They plan every inch of their land, to create a diverse, aesthetically-pleasing, and sustainable use for it to be cherished for our generations to come. They believe in doing things the slow, natural, “old fashioned way.”
How LFIG Will Help: Illinois Country Harvest and small-scale grain growers across the state lack access to the necessary infrastructure and equipment to mill and process grains. With $26,900 in funds, they will be able to purchase a commercial grain-cleaner, commercial-grain mill and dust hood, and a moisture tester to complete the entire process of a small-scale seed to artisan flour operation. They will also be able to provide moisture testing, cleaning and milling processes and educational resources for other small farmers.
Contact: Jennifer Duensing
E-mail: info@illinoiscountryharvest.comPhone: 618-612-9098
