Every Monday, Becky Stark and her husband, Nick Batchelder, pick and pack vegetables grown on their Midnight Sun Farm and deliver them to Empower Boone Food Pantry just a few miles down the road in Capron.
And, every Tuesday, pantry staff and volunteers distribute every pound of that produce to 200 northern Illinois families that rely on the pantry to help feed their families. Since the vegetables, including okra, collards, beets, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, onions, and potatoes, are picked the day before, the produce is always fresh.
Stark says it’s inspiring to literally go down the road and provide these vegetables for their neighbors.
“I wanted to be able to produce things and provide them to people within our community.”
Prior to this year, though, that couldn’t happen. The pantry didn’t have funds to pay for produce, and the farm’s financial reality couldn’t support gifting all its produce.
Now, with funds from the United States Department of Agriculture Local Food Purchase Assistance program, local agencies and community partners can buy locally produced fresh foods at a fair market value.
In Illinois, that operates as IL-EATS, the Illinois Equitable Access Towards Sustainable Systems program. IL-EATS builds collaborations across a local food network to provide culturally responsive fresh foods to food-insecure communities. Growers have a consistent market within a community they know well.
In Becky’s case, the farm is paid by IL-EATS awardee Farmers Rising, a collaborative organization creating sustainable local food systems that connect growers with communities needing healthy food sources. Farmers Rising coordinates and communicates the pantry’s need to Midnight Sun Farm to fulfill the order. Farmers Rising advocates for its farmers in its quest for sustainable food systems.
The environmental impact of their work matters to the couple. Becky and Nick have 14 years of experience in local food production and distribution. They are committed to regenerative agriculture practices.
“We take a lot of care preserving topsoil; not using too much water and making sure there’s adequate natural space around our cropland so nature isn’t totally pushed out,” Becky says. “We’ve always wanted to farm in a way that doesn’t totally bulldoze the ecosystem that was here before us.”
Her studies in biology and ecology inform much of their farm practices, and both have years of growing experience.
Barriers to Growth
“It’s very difficult to find a place to grow,” Becky says. “Land is very expensive. You’re not going to be making enough money farming on small acreages to pay a mortgage.” Renting land for vegetable production has unique challenges, such as immediate access to electricity and water. Becky and Nick started with a rent-to-own contract before purchasing their farm two years ago. Nick maintains an off-farm masonry business for additional income.
“The greatest barrier to new farmers is land access.”
Community Values
Becky and Nick mentor other growers who want a similar career path, giving back to the farm community that helped them develop the knowledge and skills they use daily. “It’s very important to be an integrated part of the community as a farmer,” Becky says. “We’re really lucky we’re able to do that in such a direct way.”
Impact of IL-EATS
In year two of the grant, Becky wants to refine the crop program and better understand which vegetables are most popular so that every family coming to the pantry can have access to locally grown foods they enjoy. In addition to bringing their produce to Empower Boone, the couple also sells their eggs to Jo Daviess Local Foods through the IL-EATS program.
They plan to use their income from the program to improve the farm’s infrastructure, adding a permanent wash/pack station, getting a better cooler, and improving irrigation. Planning and preparation of the build site is starting this fall.
“If smaller farms can have the opportunity — and people who want to operate smaller farms can have the opportunity — to reintegrate themselves into the landscape, I think we can produce quite a lot of food that people can eat directly.
“And I want to be that person,” Becky says. “I want to feed my neighbors.”
The Midnight Sun website has more information on where to find the farm’s vegetables, free-range eggs, and plant starts. Visit the IL-EATS website for more information.