PEORIA MAGAZINE May 2022

Kira seeding

R emember the early days of the pandemic when store shelves emptied and even staples like flour were hard to find? I do, because I was helping out at Janie’s Farm and Janie’s Mill, a family owned organic grain farm and stone milling company in central Illinois. While supply-chain issues plagued the nation, the folks at Janie’s Mill simply drove a fewmiles down the road to their grain bins and milled more grain into flour. There was no disruption in their ability to supply online customers or local bakers and retailers such as Ardor and Sous Chef in Peoria. Why? Because of their short supply chain running from farm to mill to you. Similarly, when large meat-packing plants shut down because COVID was running rampant among their workforces, local livestock farmers such as Trails End, Broad Branch and Wettstein Organic Farm kept supplying local folks thanks to their short food chain running from farm to Bittner’s Locker in Eureka to you. And when the produce aisle in the grocery store was sparse, our local fruit and vegetable farmers kept our community supplied with fresh, delicious produce at farmers markets and through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscriptions. THE BAD NEWS Now the war in Ukraine is causing huge food prices increases. Global food

shortages are looming. What’s clear is that the old food system was efficient and reliable only as long as there were no disruptions — no pandemics, no wars, no changed climate. Unfortunately, the new normal is things not being normal, sowe can’t rely on the old global food system anymore. THE GOOD NEWS Fortunately, we have a thriving local food systemhere in central Illinois, with many wonderful farmers working hard to put delicious and nutritious food on your table no matter what present or future shocks may disrupt the global food system. No matter if you’re looking for stone milled flour or cornmeal, sweet corn, peaches, pork chops or farm-fresh eggs, you can easily find someone near you on Local Harvest and other websites. Meanwhile, in the spring and early summer, many of those farmers can offer plant starts for the ultimate food security of growing your own. Whether it’s just a pot of rosemary or thyme on your windowsill or a full vegetable takeover of your yard, growing some of your own food is fun, empowering, and gives you the absolute freshest food for peak taste and nutrition.

Heirloom tomatoes at the market

S E E D A N D S O I L

EATING LOCAL FOOD MATTERS

Now more than ever, it’s wise to put your

money where your mouth is

VIRTUOUS CIRCLES OF LOCAL FOOD

BY TERRA BROCKMAN PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE LAND CONNECTION

Local food is more important now than ever before, as a means of improv

8 MAY 2022 P EORIA MAGAZINE