Video: Chicago co-ops gain momentum as sustainability, locavore movements grow
By Grace Austin Today’s food co-ops in Chicago are not your hippie commune cooperatives of the 1960s and 1970s. They are for-profit businesses that are focused on local, healthy and sustainable produce and goods. But they are keeping the democratic nature of a traditional co-op as well as the emphasis on community engagement and philanthropy […]
Southwest Side business cooperative puts waste to good use
By Yu-Ning Aileen Chuang Before you trash the remnants of that Thanksgiving turkey or ram the last bits of stuffing into the garbage disposal, try thinking about how much food is wasted in the U.S. every day. The U.S. throws away 30 percent of edible food annually, an equivalent of $161 billion worth of produce, […]
Growing Opportunities for Ex-Convicts in Urban Agriculture
By Anna Boisseau Antonio Henry only recently learned he likes lunchbox peppers. “They’re so sweet, you can just eat them straight,” he said of the multi-colored vegetables that he learned to grow last summer at a local urban farm. Henry is a former member of Windy City Harvest Corps, a 14-week program through the Chicago […]
