Chicago Market is committed to Purchasing Values that you, the Owners, shaped and established to ensure that our food chain reflects our community needs and aspirations. I have been hard at work building a network of producers and growers that will bring those values to life. Recently, I made contact with some new potential growers in southern Illinois. 

I have worked in cooperative grocery since the late 1990’s as an executive manager. In all that time, it has been a true joy to work with many ethical growers, ranchers, and makers. I have had personal connections with people from many backgrounds and walks of life. However, I had never been to an Amish farm or home. That is, until this month.

Marty Travis, the leader of Down at the Farms, and I met up and headed out very early (I left home a little after 5am) to meet up at Abundant Pastures with our future farmer Matt. The three of us went to meet several Amish families in southern Illinois and Arthur, IL.

I had lots of preconceptions and assumptions about the Amish, despite some familiarity with the brilliant work of John Kempf, himself an Amish regenerative agriculturalist of the highest order. I expected them to be reserved and strictly business. I thought they would have very simple lifestyles and no technology. I expected little in the way of humor. The reality did not resemble my expectations. Every family was warm and welcoming. They were really sophisticated in their approaches to regenerative agriculture, and eager to deepen their knowledge. They had a strong interest in agricultural science. In one conversation, a farmer was referencing data from his refractometer!* I certainly did not expect that. Capable yet humble, these are farmers that have great potential in our supply chain. Most significantly, they were very humorous! Our visits were full of mirth! These farms are a very good fit for what we all envision for Chicago Market.

As for the products available — of course there are quality fruits and vegetables. Sweet potatoes, melons, grapes, sweet corn, squash, and much more grown for nutritional value and flavor. Several farmers have poultry, beef, lamb, and more sources of quality, natural meats and eggs.  And the hand churned butter…wow! I have become really interested in the value-added products this community can provide for us —  preserves and pickles made simply with ingredients that are easy to pronounce and easier to trust.

One preparation I had not tried was zucchini relish, discovered at the Brenneman family’s country store. I have never sold or seen this before, so I took one home at Marty’s insistence. We baked some fish and vegetables the next night, and I decided to try the relish with that, and also to incorporate it into a sort of tartar sauce. It was a big hit! The texture was between chunky and smooth, silky but substantial. There is just an accent of spice, mostly from mustard, and a touch of sweetness that helped bring out the flavor of the zucchini. I am not a big fan of sweet pickles, but this relish had enough sweetness to make its case without being cloying. Like all of the Amish goods I saw, it is a sustainably made, well-crafted foodstuff. I have great confidence that such simple preserved foods will be well received in your very own grocery on Wilson and Broadway. 

I will be out on the road again later this month to visit some more Amish growers, and will also return to the Brenneman farm. We have some work to do planning for production so your shelves are filled next year when we are open for business. I know we all look forward to that as do our producers. 

* A refractometer is a hand-held tool farmers use to measure the sugar content in fruits and vegetables.