Farmers market comes to UIC, feeds students

Have you ever eaten a sweet, juicy plum on a hot afternoon and after looking at the leftover core, wonder where it was grown, under what conditions, and whose hands it passed through to get to your mouth? It can be a rather disturbing thought in today's globalized fruit and vegetable trade markets. But thanks to UIC's new Farmers Market you can wonder no more; you can come right over to the parking lot across from the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum (corner of Halsted and Polk streets) every Tuesday until October 26 from 11:30am-4:30 pm and meet the people who grow what they sell.

You will know it's safe to eat, without pesticides, and it was grown under natural conditions without the assistance of fertilizers. Think back to the last time you bought your fruits and vegetables at any regular big-box supermarket in Chicago. You probably walked through the fruit and vegetable aisles illuminated with fluorescent lights and disgruntled stock boys. These fruits and vegetables weren't meant to be caged in an air-conditioned nightmare. It's hot in Chicago right now and that's the way it should be. Summertime is the right time to savor the complex flavors of fruits and vegetables, and to find the best selection, fairest prices, and friendly vendors, just head over to the new Jane Addams Hull-House Museum Farmers Market.

But don't expect to find only fruits and vegetables. The Farmer's Market also hosts a variety of local vendors that will be offering wholesome meats, cheeses, breads, and even organic ice cream. There will be live music, food sampling, and maybe even a chance to network with some of the customers who care as much about sustainability as you do.

The Hull-House Farmers Market, which was initiated by the Jane Addams Hull House society and UIC's Office of Sustainability, seeks to bring an alternative option to local citizens and students alike who seek a more democratic engagement with the food they eat. Kelly Saulsberry, Project Coordinator and Assistant to the Director of the Hull-House Museum, sees the connection between healthy food and a society's citizens as important. "You can't have a healthy participatory democracy if you can't eat good food," she said. This relates back to Jane Addams' own belief that nutrition and food security would lead to more peaceful communities. Even going back to Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel, "The Jungle," it is apparent that Chicagoans have had a long, sordid history with food production, distribution, and consumption.

Hull-House's mission to bring UIC a farmers market grew out of two projects that seek to bring together a variety of active food producers and consumers to address and engage issues of sustainability, health, and agriculture. The first being Re-Thinking Soup, which will reopen tentatively on Sept. 14, offers fresh organic soup for free every Tuesday from 12-1pm at the Museum's banquet hall and includes lectures by local artists, farmers, and activists on food issues. The second project is the Urban Heirloom Farm, a multi-use space used for growing vegetables for Re-thinking Soup, farm-to-school programs for local schools, and food-focused museum tours and activities. With these projects, the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum hopes to clarify and engage the simple and complex issues involving food in our world.

To stay updated with a list of farmers and artisans that will be selling at the Farmer's Market and to find out more about Re-thinking Soup and Urban Heirloom Farm, visit the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum website.