Good Food Festival Helps Community Build Healthier, More Sustainable Food System

The three-day showcase for local and sustainably produced food  — presented by the nonprofit group FamilyFarmed — culminates on Saturday, March 21, with the Good Food Festival,  the big public celebration of the fast-growing Good Food movement. And if you have a hands-on interest in cooking, baking, growing, raising, or other DIY food skills, then the Good Food Festival should be your favorite event of the year.

There is a rising interest in better flours and whole grains, so come to the Master Class presented by Greg Wade of Chicago’s Publican Quality Bread on bread-making using artisan milled flours from local and heritage grains. Dave and Megan Miller from Baker Miller Bakery & Millhouse — a fast-rising star on the Chicago food scene — will present a DIY workshop titled “Home Milling and Baking with Local and Heirloom Grains” on how to prepare delicious whole-grain baked goods at home.

Meat eaters who subscribe to the Good Food movement are seeking out retailers whose focus is on products from local and regional farms that use the most sustainable and humane methods possible. Many also want to develop their own chef-like skills. The Good Food Festival provide a golden opportunity with a charcuterie workshop presented by star butcher Rob Levitt of Chicago’s The Butcher & Larder shop.

Paul Fehribach, an advocate of traditional Southern cooking and Good Food practices at his Big Jones restaurant in the Andersonville community, will receive FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Chef of the Year award, and Nicole Pederson of Evanston’s outstanding Found Kitchen & Social House also will be giving a chef demo. There also will be an informative presentation by top chefs Matthias Merges (of Yusho, A10, and Billy Sunday) and Jason Hammel (of Lula Café and Nightwood) about Pilot Light, an innovative program they co-founded that helps Chicago Public Schools build food education into students’ curriculum.

FamilyFarmed is family-friendly, and the Festival also includes a Kids’ Corner presented by Purple Asparagus, a nonprofit organization that promotes food education for children through programs that are both informative and fun.

And both grownups and children will find a wide range of engaging learning opportunities at the Good Food Commons, under the DIY categories of Make, Grow, Raise, Preserve, Compost, and Community. You can gain an up-close perspective on the rising phenomenon of urban food production by buying a ticket in advance for the Urban Farm Bus Tour.

The Festival segues from Localicious, one of Chicago’s top annual food and drink tasting events, which takes place on Friday evening, March 20. Top chefs will produce delicious dishes using ingredients from local and regional farmers, and these can be paired with some of the area’s best craft adult beverages.

The Festival & Conference begins with two days that are of primary interest to those professionally engaged in the Good Food sector, but which also are of interest to consumers who want to learn more about the issues that affect the movement. The Financing & Innovation Conference on Thursday, March 19 is packed with insights in the economics and issues of the Good Food movement while providing opportunities to meet great entrepreneurial food businesses. Trade Day on Friday, March 20 centers on the nation’s oldest and biggest Trade Show focused on local and sustainable food.

For more information or to buy tickets for all or part of the Good Food Festival & Conference, please visit the event website.