Mapping Food System Infrastructure in Illinois
A statewide, public-facing map to connect farmers, communities, and decision-makers to critical food system infrastructure.
The Illinois Asset Map is a public, statewide map of the "missing middle" infrastructure that connects farms to consumers, including processing, storage, and distribution. By mapping infrastructure like processors, cold storage, food hubs, and more, this map will help:
- Producers find reliable options to process, store, and distribute their products
- Policymakers and funders identify infrastructure gaps and opportunities for investment
- Local leaders connect to existing assets, build partnerships, and avoid duplicating efforts
This map will also serve as a foundation for community-driven events and a larger resource toolkit to support food system development across Illinois.
Title
Why the missing middle matters
Illinois has farmers and food business ready to grow, but middle-of-the-supply chain infrastructure is hard to find, unevenly distributed, and poorly understood at a statewide level. Listening sessions across have repeatedly shown that infrastructure gaps are a major barrier to local food system growth in Illinois. Findings from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Listening Session Learnings (2023) and Food System Roadmap Phase 1 Report (2025) highlight the need for better visibility and coordination of supply chain infrastructure.
The Illinois Asset Map is a direct response to this community call — making assets easier to find and investment decisions more informed.
Project timeline
This project is funded through the supply chain coordination portion of the USDA's RFSI program until December of 2026.
- Phase 1 (Oct. 2024 - June 2025) focused on laying the groundwork: defining the map’s scope, identifying assets to include, and exploring potential mapping partners.
- Phase 2 (July - Dec. 2025) focused on building the asset map proposal, selecting a mapping vendor, and creating the first version of the map.
- Phase 3 (Jan.- Dec. 2026) is focused on gathering community feedback on the map, leading community mapping events, and developing case studies of infrastructure success stories.
Steering committee
A steering committee of food system stakeholders, including farmers, researchers, and food system leaders, is guiding the map’s development. Makala Bach, Food Systems Outreach Associate at Illinois Extension, is the project lead. Questions? Send Makala an email.
Committee members
- Dr. Howard Rosing: Professor & Researcher at DePaul University, Executive Director of Steans Center
- Ritchie Wai: Farmer Incubator Coordinator at Farmers Rising, Member of National Young Farmers Coalition
- Jeff Hake: Facilitator of Illinois Food Systems Infrastructure Collaborative, Farmer at Funks Grove Heritage Fruits and Grains
- Justin McElderry: Food Systems Roadmap Facilitator
- Megan Murphy: Farmer at Backyard Beauty, Food Systems Coordinator
- Anya Knecht: Farmer at Anya Farm and Systems Engineering Consultant
Want to help shape the map?
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes this map different?
It focuses on middle-of-the-supply-chain infrastructure, also known as the “missing middle”, connecting producers to processors, aggregators, and markets.
What kinds of infrastructure will be included?
The map will focus on key middle-of-the-food-supply-chain assets such as processing facilities, food hubs, and aggregation sites.
What do you mean by middle-of-the-supply-chain?
The USDA defines the middle-of-the-supply chain as any activity that occurs after production and before it reaches the consumer. This includes all activities related to processing, aggregation, and distribution.
There are a lot of mapping projects in Illinois! Have you connected with them?
Probably! We’ve connected with MarketMaker, Builder’s Vision, their Supply Chain Infrastructure Map, and the Community Food Mobilization in Chicago (CF-MOB) mapping effort led by Dr. Howard Rosing and the Chicago Food Policy Action Council. We also connected with other middle-of-the-supply-chain mapping initiatives across the United States as part of the Asset Map Landscape Analysis.
How is this map funded?
In 2023, the USDA launched the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program to strengthen the middle of the supply chain, expand markets for small farms and food businesses, and support value-added product development. The Illinois Department of Agriculture received $6.3 million to invest in this infrastructure through competitive subawards and statewide supply chain coordination efforts, supported by Illinois Extension. The funding lasts until December 2026.