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As Terra Brockman traveled through the countryside of Morocco and ate one of the best oranges she’d ever had, she realized something was wrong in Illinois and the Midwest.

“All I knew was that some of the poorest countries had some of the best food,” Brockman said. “And suddenly, you realize in our first world with all our wealth and opportunities, we mostly eat crap.”

In 2001, Brockman created the Land Connection, a non-profit organization based in Evanston that works to ensure Illinois farmland will produce healthy food for peoples’ tables.

The organization’s equation is simple -- more good farmers plus more good farmland equals more great food.

Brockman said she tries to show and tell Chicagoans that an immense variety of fruits, vegetables, meats and eggs are at their fingertips.

Eating local has always been at the top of Brockman’s to-do list.

After attending the Universities of Oregon and California at Berkeley and living and teaching in Japan for five years, Brockman worked in publishing in New York for eight years.  She would gather all her vacation days to travel from Thailand and Nepal to Eritrea and the Baltics.

Eventually, the central Illinois native left the publishing world and returned to her farm roots. Now, she splits her time between the office in Evanston and the farm in Congerville, about two and half hours southwest of Chicago.

“You don’t have to go to Tuscany. You don’t have to go to Paris,” she said. “You can eat as well here – except we need more farmers and more farmland devoted to this.” 

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The most recent figures from the United States Agriculture Department show that between 2001 and 2006 the number of farms in central Illinois decreased from 75,000 to 72,400.

Over the same time period, farmland decreased by 200,000 acres, while the average farm size increased by 10 acres.

The numbers may not matter as much as what the farmers are doing with the land. 

Brockman said that many farmers have been persuaded to grow components for junk food and massive amounts of high-fructose corn syrup, which is commonly used in industrial food production.

Raised in an ecologically conscious family, Brockman learned at any early age that having fresh, whole foods on her table was better than junk food. She said she cannot remember a time when she wasn’t connected to her food and the land.

Both sets of grandparents were farmers; her parents had a big garden and eventually a small farm; and now, both her brother Henry and sister Teresa have farms in central Illinois.

Henry Brockman, the second youngest of six, began a small-scale, labor-intensive organic farm in Congerville in 1993. By working the land, he comes in daily contact with the soil, the seasons -- and his family.

“I feed my family and other families without hurting the environment,” he said. “I grow delicious and healthy food for people, and my kids know that when it’s hot, you sweat and when it rains, you get wet."

Terra Brockman said she appreciates having her brother, sister and neighbors growing food nearby.

“I think a lot of people in my generation…know their food comes in a carton from the grocery store and not much else,” she said.

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Most people who live in the city don’t look out the window or walk out the backdoor and find fresh farmland, so the store carton may be all they see. Brockman said even small tasks can help people connect to their food and the land.

“If people have any interest at all, I say get a pot and put it on your windowsill and start growing fresh herbs in your kitchen,” she said. “That’s a good, really direct way.”

And if someone doesn’t have talent or interest in growing, she recommends finding a local farmer either through a farmers’ market or by asking the produce manager at a grocery if local foods are available.

The dark days of winter can’t deter Brockman from eating local. She welcomes the seasonal variety.

“The number of things I eat during the winter is probably more than most people eat all year,” she said. “And it’s not just potatoes. It’s potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, squashes and turnips. There’s a huge variety.”

And it’s not like she just eats root vegetables; she freezes tomatoes, greens and beans when they’re in season so she can have a normal diet year round.

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Just as Brockman plans ahead so she can eat a balanced meal out of season, she has made big plans for the Land Connection, which had a huge growth phase in the past year.

After moving out of her kitchen and into a workspace with a professional staff of four, the organization, funded by private donations, has been able to focus on its three main goals – farmland preservation, farming training and consumer education.

A full-year course called Farm Beginnings helps novice farmers learn from experienced farmers who’ve been reaping and sowing for years. Smaller classes, tours and workshops are also open to anyone who doesn’t want to commit to the full-year course.

Farmland Projects Director David Miller has worked for the Land Connection for the past few months and said while farm training is a critical component of their work, creating farms is another.

“One of the biggest problems when farmers finish their training is trying to find affordable land,” Miller said. “And we want small farmers to succeed.”

In the past year, Miller said the organization has facilitated the purchase of 220 acres of land representing two Illinois farms. They’ve also assisted many individuals in transitioning their acreages to organic or better utilizing their farmland for food production.

“Instead of just saving a few parcels of farmland, we want to save thousands of acres,” Brockman said. “Everything we do, we’re trying to ramp it up to be more effective and reach more people.”

And as farmland continues to dwindle, the organization is aiming to ramp things up as quickly as possible.

The Community Involved in Sustainable Agriculture predicts approximately 400 million acres of U.S. farmland will change hands in the next 20 years.

Brockman’s response to these figures – “You know if that land gets built on, it’s gone. The time is now.”