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Wild Onion Co-Op Market Will Show Meat Industry Film on Earth Day
- Bob Benenson
- Apr 10
- 3 min read
April 22 Event Will Include Q&A With General Manager Matt Wechsler
Wild Onion Market, the food co-op that opened last year in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, is hosting a viewing on Tuesday, April 22 — Earth Day — of The Jungle, an important documentary about the deeply flawed industrial meat system. The showing will take place at 7 p.m central at Living Water Community Church, 6808 N. Ashland Ave.
The movie industry database imdb.com describes the film as follows:
Unraveling centuries of greed and exploitation in America's meat industry, this modern-day take on Upton Sinclair's shocking 1906 novel, The Jungle, calls into question the profiteering of ecosystems and reveals how indigenous knowledge may hold the key to creating an equitable food system for both people and the planet.
"A documentary about meat, greed and profit” is the way Matt Wechsler — Wild Onion's general manager and a food documentarian himself, describes The Jungle.
Matt will participate in a Q&A after the film with Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, who raises poultry using regenerative practices at his Tree-Range® Farms in Northfield, Minnesota, which is featured in the film.
Matt has made a major impact upon local and sustainable farming advocates over the past decade as both a filmmaker and retailer.
His 2016 doc Sustainable, a beautifully filmed exploration of better-for-people-and-the-planet small farming, featured Marty Travis, a sustainable farming leader in the central Illinois community of Fairbury.
When the COVID restaurant shutdowns hit in 2020, Matt founded Village Farmstand, based in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, which provided a e-commerce platform for sustainable farmers to sell their products directly to consumers. Having established Village Farmstand as a successful enterprise, Matt sold it two years ago to Rachael and Jesse Smedberg, who also farm regeneratively at their Tulip Tree Gardens in Beecher, Illinois.
Matt's hiring as Wild Onion's general manager in February marked his return to Good Food retailing.
The store, located at 7007 N. Clark St. in Rogers Park, has more than 2,400 owners who are passionate about keeping dollars local, employing folks who live in the area and selling nutritious, fresh food through a transparent supply chain.
“We strongly believe this film will be a game changer in helping people understand how we collectively approach farming and food production and the impact it has on the planet,“ said a store spokesperson.
The locally owned, full-service grocery, which opened last June, is focused on providing a community market for local produce and food products, in addition to a range of organic foods. It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.
The co-op aims to serve communities in the Rogers Park and Evanston area, but everyone is welcome to shop there.
Other Wild Onion Events
Wild Onion Market has two other events scheduled this month:
There will be a Happy Hour at the store on Thursday, April 17 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
The store and its owners will be taking part in Dia del Nino celebration events along Clark St. on April 30.
It's Our 4th Birthday — 20% of New Subscriptions Go To Farmers Rising
Help Local Food Forum Grow While We Help This Great Farmer Education Non-Profit
Local Food Forum is marking its 4th anniversary (officially April 1) by asking you to become a paid subscriber and help make this unique, mission-driven publication more self-sustaining. It is the honor of a lifetime to be of service to the community of people working to build a better food system.
But this isn’t just a subscription campaign. It’s a fundraiser: 20 percent of the proceeds from all subscriptions initiated through April 30 will go to Farmers Rising, the farmer education non-profit based in the north-central Illinois community of Caledonia.
For each new $50 Local Food Forum subscription, Farmers Rising receives $10
For each new $100 premier subscription, Farmers Rising receives $20
For each new $5 monthly subscription, we will multiply by 12 to assume a $60 full-year commitment and send $12 to Farmers Rising
Want to get even more involved with Local Food Forum while providing greater benefits to Farmers Rising? There’s a link in the article to contact me to discuss.
I am a longtime admirer of Farmers Rising (known as Angelic Organics Learning Center until its 2023 rebranding), which plays such an important role in helping new and early-stage small farms build their businesses and grow. I have been happy to support its efforts in many ways.
Naturally Chicago and Farmers Rising will truly appreciate any and all support. Please join us in standing for small farmers and working together to build a better food system.
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