Chicago's Green City Market

On Sunday, April 6, at 6:00 p.m., join Feld Restaurant and Green City Market for an intimate evening of incredible food and conversation about the future of our local food system. Hosted by Executive Chef and James Beard Award Semi-finalist Jake Potashnick, this exclusive dinner features a chef-curated seasonal menu and a panel with GCM vendor Tom Eich of Kankakee Valley Homestead. We will discuss exclusive updates from GCM, including urgent challenges facing our local food system. With critical food access programs like ours at risk, this conversation comes at a pivotal time — your partnership and support are more important than ever. Seats are extremely limited — reserve yours now! Every ticket directly supports Green City Market’s mission. If you can’t attend, please consider making a donation — thank you! https://lnkd.in/earCibTS

The Green City Market team wants to thank everyone who helped make our indoor market at GCM Avondale a huge success this winter season! From our staff and volunteers to our vendors and local food-loving customers, your support was crucial as we continue scaling our markets to support our local growers year-round. Farming doesn't have an off-season, and neither do we! As an important reminder, this Saturday, March 22, will be our FINAL Avondale market for the year. There will be NO market on Saturday, March 29 as we prepare for our outdoor season. Plus, with just two weeks until our first outdoor market (April 5), we’re kicking off our spring fundraising campaign this weekend to help raise much needed funds to keep our market running strong, provide SNAP matching dollars for our neighbors in need and continue our education and farmer support programming all year long. From March 22 - April 5, our goal will be to raise $20,000 in support of the market. To help us kick off our outdoor season and generate some excitement for the campaign, we’re planning on setting an At-Market fundraising goal of raising $5,000 to kick off the campaign. We’ll have QR codes linking to a donation form at our info booth and vendors' booths and every donation will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous donor. Donors will receive a freebie by showing proof of donation at the info booth (while supplies last!). We hope you'll come out tomorrow from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. to enjoy the last day of GCM Avondale, and stay tuned for opening day updates for both our Lincoln Park and West Loop locations!

Introducing this month's GCM Vendor Spotlight, Tom Eich of Kankakee Valley Homestead! From a fourth-grade classroom in Minnesota to his family farm in Indiana, Tom's journey as a farmer is rooted in a lifelong passion for expanding food access. After witnessing the impact of food insecurity firsthand as a teacher, Tom made it his mission to grow and make accessible fresh, high-quality produce for his community. Now, heading into his fourth outdoor season at Green City Market, Tom continues to cultivate not just delicious produce but also meaningful change and connection with his community by helping expand food assistance programs and bringing farm-fresh produce to more tables. He has also been an active participant in GCM's Edible Education programming, such as our Farm to Market Field Trips. “Coming from a background as a teacher trying to expand food access and food systems education to students, this program aligns perfectly with the goals we had when starting the farm,” Tom shared. Read more about Tom’s story in our latest blog, and be sure to visit Kankakee Valley Homestead this outdoor season: https://lnkd.in/gkiC7Ysq

Green City Market is #hiring! We're currently seeking a part-time program assistant who will play a critical role in supporting GCM's mission, primarily through overseeing the successful execution of our farmer support, food access, and edible education programming at our weekly farmers' markets. Know someone who would be a great fit? Please share this opportunity with your network! Candidates who apply by April 1 will receive priority application review. Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/emMZp-sf

#TBT to last month, where GCM had the exciting opportunity to hit the road and visit GCM vendor River Valley Ranch & Kitchens' (RVR) farm and operations in Burlington, Wisconsin - just a little over an hour and a half outside of the city. RVR is the oldest mushroom farm in the Midwest. Bill Rose founded it in 1976 with a sizable goal: he wanted to produce the finest fresh mushrooms for the local market. Bill's son Eric, joined the operation in 1977 and learned the art of growing mushrooms commercially from his dad. Beginning in 1997, the team expanded their farm by opening River Valley Kitchens, the farm’s licensed processing kitchen, which now produces some of its most popular products at GCM markets, including pickled mushrooms, salsa, hot sauces, and pasta sauces. All processed foods are made in small batches and hand-packed in the on-farm kitchens. We're grateful for the opportunity to take a tour of RVR's facilities, while learning all about the wonderful world of mushrooms (and how much compost it takes to grow these beautiful specimens!). Stay tuned for more farm visits this season and let us know which GCM vendor we should visit next!

We're excited to announce that Green City Market will be participating in the Chicago Food Policy Action Council (CFPAC)'s 20th Food Justice Summit taking place March 12th-14th! For two decades, the Chicago Food Justice Summit has been the shared ground where ideas take root and collaborations flourish. Hosted by CFPAC, this milestone event celebrates 20 years of cultivating the food justice ecosystem and envisioning a future grounded in equity, resilience, and sovereignty. The conference is both free and includes a virtual and in-person option to participate. Support in the reflection and brainstorming of: -What steps can we take individually and/or with other organizations to improve our food system? -What are some lessons from the past 20 years that can help shape the growth of our ideal food system? -How can the roots of our food system ground us during these times of uncertainty? We're looking forward to connecting with our partners in Chicago's local food system as part of our mission to deepen support for Midwest farmers and expand food access. Plus, on March 14, we'll be hosting a booth at the South Shore Cultural Center to connect in-person with our local food lovers. Stop by to say hi and learn how you can get involved with us! Register here: https://lnkd.in/gEpETvzn

Meet Oriana Kruszewski: a farmer, innovator, and GCM's February vendor spotlight! For over 50 years, Oriana has been growing some of the best Asian pears in the Midwest — starting in her backyard and expanding into a thriving organic orchard and business known as Oriana's Orchard. But her journey hasn’t been easy. As a solo farmer and Asian-American woman in agriculture, she’s overcome countless obstacles with resilience, creativity, and an unwavering passion for her craft. "When you plant a tree, you can’t just walk away,” Oriana shared. “It’s a long-term investment.” From partnerships with top chefs and distilleries to her dream of hosting Chicago’s first pawpaw festival, Oriana is shaping the future of local food — one tree at a time. ??? Read her incredible story on our blog here: https://lnkd.in/e5deVwzy

Help us design our 2025 merch! Your artwork could be on this year's tote bag, one of our most popular merchandise items and a customer favorite for hauling fresh produce and other market goodies. Plus, did you know that all proceeds from our merchandise sales go directly towards our 501(c)(3) nonprofit mission to secure the future of food by deepening support for sustainable farmers, educating our community, and expanding access to locally-grown food? Learn more and submit a design via the submission form below and please share with your network as well. Submissions are due Friday, March 14. As a bonus - the selected design will receive two complimentary GA tickets to this year's Chef BBQ scheduled for Thursday, September 4 in Lincoln Park! Submit your design: https://lnkd.in/e3VdHrrQ?

A huge thank you to all of our volunteers and staff who joined us last night for our Volunteer Celebration ?? We had a wonderful time connecting with our volunteer community and celebrating our 2024 awardees who went above and beyond last year. A special shout-out to Volunteer of the Year Ramon who we missed last night - but you can catch him on our Instagram, sharing a bit about why he loves being a GCM volunteer. We are so grateful for our entire community of volunteers who help fuel our mission and make our work possible. From welcoming customers to the markets to ensuring events like Chef BBQ run smoothly, we simply could not do it without this amazing group! Interested in becoming a volunteer? Visit our website at https://lnkd.in/gWXTycWv. Also a big thank you to Jodi Fyfe and The Paramount Group Chicago for generously allowing us to use their gorgeous event space last night and providing the food - we are so grateful for your partnership and support ??

Join us in congratulating and celebrating North Pond Executive Chef and GCM Associate Board Member César Murillo for being a contestant in the latest season of Bravo's Top Chef!! ???? A creative and powerful force in the Chicago culinary community, Chef César has been cooking ever since he was young. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico and raised in Dallas, Texas, César moved to Chicago after graduating culinary school to work with Chef Rick Bayless at Frontera Grill and Xoco where he has since made his mark across the city's restaurant scene, working at restaurants like Grace and Sepia before becoming executive chef at North Pond in 2020. Chef César joined GCM's Associate Board last year, where his love for the market, experimenting with the seasonality of Midwest produce, and connecting with GCM's farmers and vendors felt like the perfect fit. "Going to GCM every Saturday and Wednesday mornings has been such a blessing," says César. "Now I just go and stroll through the market, speaking with the farmers, and once I leave I have the weeks menu already hatched in my head. I am very lucky to have access to the best ingredients in the Midwest, and now feel it’s my responsibility to ensure the farmers can continue to thrive." Chef César will be competing alongside 12 other chefs, two of whom are also representing the Chicago area. Join us in cheering him on beginning Thursday, March 13 at 8 pm on Bravo (episodes available on Peacock the following day)!