Local Food Systems and Small Farms Team

Urban farming and food production is experiencing a reemergence in popularity across the United States. Many benefits exist to growing food in cities including a decrease in transportation costs, neighborhood beautification, job creation, and providing fresh food in places where grocery stores are scarce. We believe Cook County, the second most populous county in the nation, can lead in the effort to increase local food production and consumption for all our residents.

Cook County residents are producing food on porches in pots, in backyards, in community gardens, and on urban farms. Collectively, these efforts produce tons of food each year. We estimate a typical urban farm can produce at least 1/2 pound of food per square foot of land depending on what crops are grown and the existence of farm infrastructure such as high tunnels and irrigation. We fully expect production levels to steadily increase as our urban farmers gain experience. Food produced in urban areas is typically donated to provide healthy, nutritious food for those in need, sold at market rates thus stimulating the local economy, or grown exclusively for home consumption.

At Illinois Extension we provide workshops, technical assistance consultations, and referrals to resources for urban and peri-urban food system projects and commercial fruit and vegetable farmers in Cook County, Illinois. Our flagship educational program, Master Urban Farmer Training Program, is offered once a year in the fall.

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Our specialties include:

Business planning and evaluation
Creating vision and mission statements
Developing marketing strategies and plans
Farm finances and recordkeeping
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) education
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Irrigation
Season extension and infrastructure
Soil fertility and health management
Urban agriculture production systems

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