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Special Glasses Raised in Salute at Farm Dinner in suburban Chicago
“Isn’t this the most beautiful night to celebrate the Illinois Stewardship Alliance’s 50th anniversary?”
That is how Executive Director Liz Moran Stelk kicked off the program at the non-profit's 2nd annual Farm to Fork Feast in the Chicago suburb of Naperville on Saturday (October 12), and she was right. Clear skies for most of the evening, a steady breeze, and a bit of a chill at sunset made for a quintessential fall farm dinner.
The event – a fundraiser for the organization, which is the leading state policy advocate for the local food and farm community – took place at McDonald Farm, which doubles as the headquarters of the non-profit Conservation Foundation.
The farm stands both as a tribute to Naperville’s agricultural heritage and a symbol of the challenges of development swallowing up farmland in the Prairie State. A small city (population 7,013 in the 1950) surrounded by farms about 35 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, Naperville grew into a major satellite suburb with a 2020 census population of nearly 150,000.
Liz, in her remarks, reflected on the challenges that spurred the creation in 1974 of what became Illinois Stewardship Alliance. “Fifty years ago, our state and our country faced some incredible challenges,” she said. “The devastating impacts of coal mining on farmland in southern Illinois. There was visible damage from pesticides, there was air pollution. And it was regular folks who came together to found this organization.”
She continued, “What they faced parallels what we face now. There’s tremendous public awareness of the impacts of industrial agriculture on our bodies, in our food system, and of course the growing climate crisis that we witnessed firsthand this week [a reference to the destruction caused by Hurricane Milton in Florida]. But we know that a different future is possible, it’s happening right now. We don’t have to imagine it, because there are farms like this one, and so many folks who are doing the future.”
Liz then called out some of the farmers in attendance:
“They are building the road while walking it because the road for modern industrial agriculture was not made for them. To succeed, it’s filled with unimaginable and relentless roadblocks. And with your support, we get to walk with them and folks working to fix the food system, and when we do that we all benefit, because we believe that everybody, regardless of where you live or how much money you make deserves healthy reliable food, safe water, soil health, livable wages, dignity, and a brighter future for the next generation.”
Also taking the podium was Rachael Smedberg, who with her husband Jesse Smedberg owns Tulip Tree Gardens in Beecher, Illinois (about 45 miles south of Chicago).
In just six years since the couple went all in on farming, they have converted what was a conventional farm into a role model for regenerative practices, and have become leaders in the community of advocates seeking a better food system. They also in 2023 became owners of Village Farmstand, an e-commerce retailer that sells regionally produced food from a storefront in the north Chicago suburb of Evanston.
Rachael described how she and Jesse had pushed through the challenges of beginning farmers. “We've experienced a lot of highs, a lot of lows... We didn't have grandpa saying, ‘Hey, you need to do it this way.’ We kind of had to do it our own way, and make a ton of mistakes, and we continue to make a ton of mistakes, but we're first-generation farmers.”
Rachael thanked Illinois Stewardship Alliance for helping Tulip Tree Gardens take a couple of big steps forward.
The Alliance last year successfully campaigned for enactment of the Illinois Local Food Infrastructure program, which provided $2 million for projects to improve and restore the local food ecosystem that withered during the rise of conventional agriculture. Tulip Tree Gardens was boosted with its receipt of a $60,000 refrigerated truck. (The Infrastructure Grant program was made permanent by a law enacted this year.)
The Alliance also played an important role in administering a $28.8 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant program in partnership with the Illinois Department of Agriculture and Department of Human Services.
Titled the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA), the program authorized the State of Illinois to purchase food directly from socially disadvantaged farmers at fair market value. This food was then distributed by providers, including food banks, farming collaboratives, and other non-profits, to communities in need at no cost. This includes schools, churches and non-profit organizations.
Tulip Tree Gardens was one of the farming collaboratives chosen to act as a distribution center, in partnership with Midwest Foods and Top Box Foods. Rachel drew applause when she told the Naperville audience that – utilizing their new truck – they had distributed 200,000 pounds of food produced by Illinois farmers through the program.
“This investment has not only facilitated the movement of Illinois food, but it has also contributed to the expansion of market opportunities for local farmers, thereby strengthening the agriculture community,” Rachael said.
A sneak peek of the short documentary, “Illinois Stewardship Alliance: 50 Years Strong,” followed. Then the program wrapped up with a speech by Daviiid Toledo, founder-owner of Chicago’s Contemporary Farmer Inc., which grows produce and teaches people how to grow their own food.
Accompanied on the stage by his grandmother and aunt, Daviiid celebrated his family's farming heritage in Mexico, spoke about his own experiences, and advocated for climate resilience and regenerative practices.
“For first generation Mexican-Americans, we have been disconnected from land, but we that is a story that is shared for many people that reside here now in the United States,” he said. “We still have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of equity work to do. We have reparations to do. We have to change our minds, our communities, our hearts and our spirits, to see how we want those [next] 50 years to look like.”
These sentiments drove his decision to pursue a life in agriculture. “I heard my heart to say that you have been disconnected from that, but I had told my family I am still here, and I am deciding to work with the land, to store, to feed people, to take care of the environment, because you did that since Day One,” he said.
Daviiid expressed his pride in having participated in a recent advocate fly-in to Washington, D.C. to talk to Congress members and staff about the need to address climate change in the pending revision of the federal Farm Bill.
“We are going against millions of dollars, humongous corporations, and we are small local people caring for the environment, for our land, for our seeds, for our states,’ Daviid said. “But we are not alone. We are huge. And let's remember that in this republic and in this democracy, it is the people. We have a voice, although we feel heavy and it might go against huge corporations, we have a lot of power.”
He continued, “And thank you for the Illinois Stewardship Alliance for doing all that. Thank you for giving us a voice and representing all of us.”
Along with these moments of inspiration, the event lived up to the Feast in its name. Catered by Movable Feast of Wheaton, a nearby suburb, the buffet-style dinner included ingredients from the Down at the Farms collaborative in Fairbury, Feast Farm in Aurora, and Living Light Farm in Paxton.
Beverages included an Alliance Harvest Golden Ale produced specially for the event by Engrained Brewery in Springfield (the Alliance’s home base). Attendees were gifted with drinking glasses emblazoned with the Alliance’s 50th Anniversary logo.
Click the button below to learn more about (and make a donation to) Illinois Stewardship Alliance, and enjoy photos of the festivities.
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