Before the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market – Presented by Alexian Brothers Health System gets popping this June, the Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) of Elgin is taking the Harvest Market on a May road trip by offering two “Pop Up” Markets to preview the upcoming season.

The “Pop Up” Markets will take place on Thursday, May 9 from 10am-1pm, at the newly opened Alexian Brothers Women & Children’s Hospital in Hoffman Estates, and again on Thursday, May 16 from 10am-1pm inside the pavilion of the Grand Victoria Casino, 250 S. Grove Avenue in downtown Elgin.

These Pop Up Markets will be a sampler size version of our normal market to give the public a taste of just a few of the many fresh, local products available at the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market, which opens Thursday, June 6, 9am – 2pm at 200 N. Grove Avenue in Downtown Elgin and runs every Thursday for 18 weeks.

For more information about the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market, contact Market Manager Jennifer Benson at 847-488-1456 or visit www.ElginHarvestMarket.com.

For more information about the Downtown Neighborhood Association or upcoming Downtown Elgin special events, contact Jason Pawlowski at 847-488-1456 or visit www.DowntownElgin.com.

Now Available!
2013 Elgin Harvest Market Kids Program Invite Kid organizations can sign up for a FREE mini field trip day
at the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market this summer!

Focusing on fitness, food, and related activities, each of the three sessions will be lead by several of the following local not for profits such as the Boys & Girls Club, Centre of Elgin, Elgin Area History Museum, Elgin Public Museum, Greater Elgin Family Care Center, Side Street Studio Arts, and the YWCA.

(The general public can pop in as well and join whatever group is present for free.)

Just download the market’s form to get the details and sign your group up by Monday, April 22!  For more information call 847.488.1456 and ask for Jennifer Benson.

Congrats to Beverly Johnson for stopping by our booth in February to learn about healthy soul food and also being the winner of our “Soul Food” basket!

Don’t forget to give our market a review on LocalHarvest.org to win Michael Pollan’s book “Food Rules” by March 15!

We have noticed customers and local vendors like finding our market via Local Harvest, but we only have one review on our site to tell others what we are about:(  So could you, and would you, post a review about what you like about the Harvest Market by going to our posting on Local Harvest starting tomorrow March 1?  Then on the Ides of March (March 15) we will randomly choose from the reviews entered – with the author of said chosen  review becoming the new owner of Michael Pollan’s #1 New York Times Best Seller “Food Rules”:)

It is that time of year when college students start looking around for internships in their field of interest. Our market has two positions open for the 2013 season. Deadline to apply is April 1. Check them out below:

Food & Nutrition Associate

Visual Communications Associate

Look no further to sign up on our new online 2013 Community partner (Elgin not for profits) and Musician/Performer applications to join in the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market’s summer/fall season!  Got questions?  Contact the market manager, Jennifer Benson, by calling 847.488.1456 or emailing elginharvestmarket@gmail.com.

To all of our returning and potential new market vendors, we welcome you as we kick off our 2013 season of the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market with our new vendor applications! This year’s season will run 18 weeks, beginning Thursday, June 6 and will run through Thursday, October 3 with our new times 9am – 2pm.

The Downtown Elgin Harvest Market has been organized by the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin since 2000, and has been a growing event of opportunities for small businesses, community organizations, the arts community and a place for its residents to shop and enjoy!

Our Mission:

The Harvest market offers and encourages locally grown and sustainably produced food, provides an outlet for educational opportunities on sustainable practices and healthy living, supports local artists and community organizations, and cultivates a welcoming and entertaining public space atmosphere for people to shop.

To that end the Market strives to continue to:

• Establish a venue for local and regional growers, producers, and artisans to sell their product
• Encourage one on one interaction
• Serve as a viable economic opportunity for  small local enterprises
• Foster an environment of accessibility with location, hours, a token system for customers to use their Link and credit cards, and kid friendly activities
• Provide an educational forum for consumers of all ages and backgrounds when it comes to food, local, health, and sustainability
• Enhance the community atmosphere, networking, and socialization with music, places to sit, and activities to engage in
• Showcase Downtown Elgin amenities like our public facilities, the Fox River, the Fox River Trail bike path, and our urban downtown

If these goals and values ring similar to you and your business, then we would like you to submit a VENDOR APPLICATION ONLINE for the 2013 season.

New to our market?  Have questions?  Please check out the rest of our website such as our vendor page, or Facebook page to get a better feel for who we are.  Of course you can also email our market manager Jennifer Benson as well at elginharvestmarket@gmail.com.

Thanks to all our loyal vendors who have helped make this market what it is, and to new vendors – welcome!

Yesterday Ina Dews, Joe Dominguez and I carpooled to Rockford to go to the Illinois Farmers Market Forum and see what we could glean.  It was held at the Midway Village Museum.  Beautiful landscape, with some older buildings at the premise.

Being avid readers we all set to work reading away our packets and would be soon be sitting through 8 brief 20 minute presentations with a delicious, local meal catered by Abreo, which tries to use local produce and products whenever possible.Would be great to see Elgin restaurants grow in this area!

So some top things we learned?

1. It might be they year to pull out the ole iPad and the Square, to let everyone know what fun we are having at the market, and to have a second terminal for people to buy tokens for market goods with their credit cards and Link card.
2. Did you know there are 350 farmers markets in Illinois, making us the 4th largest state with a large amount of markets?!
3. If you are all about policy and advocacy at the State level – you must check out Illinois Stewardship Alliance which watches for bills relating to food.
4. The IL Dept. of Ag has a new challenge and goal for IL residents, to use $10 from their existing budget to go towards markets each week.  Good goal!
5. That we are right where we should be in growing and serving our community as a market – it was good to pow wow and visit with Keith from Woodstock, Lindsey from Dekalb, meet Kendra Buchanan with Il Dept of Ag, and hear the excitement from Pat Stieren our fearless leader of the Illinois Farmers Market Association.

Now we are back and ready to kick off our new postcards and business cards with our new times, and also have the vendor application out next week!

Maybe it’s the mild winter weather we’ve been enjoying but things are already sprouting with the 2013 Downtown Elgin Harvest Market.

2013 Presenting Sponsor

The Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) of Elgin is excited to announce that Alexian Brothers Health System will again be the Presenting Sponsor of the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market in 2013.

“Alexian Brothers has been a great asset to the growth of DNA’s Downtown Elgin Harvest Market over these past four years,” said Harvest Market Manager Jennifer Benson.

“Most can be attributed to the standard of health and nutrition which they promote as a local hospital and health network, their free health screenings onsite, and their desire to make themselves available to all.We are excited to continue our partnership in 2013, as we focus on being a benefit for families in the Elgin area through the market’s season.”

Times They Are A-Changin’

After much consideration and input from market vendors and customers, the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market committee has also made the decision to move the hours of operation back to daytime hours from 9am – 2pm. The 14th season of the Downtown Elgin Harvest Market begins Thursday, June 6 at 200 N. Grove Avenue. The market runs each and every Thursday thru October 3.

2013 vendor and sponsor applications will be available on the market website at www.ElginHarvestMarket.com and the DNA website at www.DowntownElgin.com in late January.

“Like” Elgin Harvest Market for more information about the 2013 Downtown Elgin Harvest Market season. “Like” Alexian Brothers Health System on Facebook for more details about their new Women and Children’s Hospital opening in April 2013.

Food Day, which is actually Wednesday, October 24 is all about celebrating our transition back to sustainable, organic, healthy, affordable food, grown, harvested & lovingly prepared locally.  Its priorities are to:

• Promote safer, healthier diets
• Support sustainable and organic farms
• Reduce hunger
• Reform factory farms to protect the environment
• Support fair working conditions for food and farm workers

Presented by Elgin Green Drinks & Food Transition Group, it is also sponsored by Simple Balance Holistic Center and Downtown Neighborhood Association.

So check out the below calendar for next week and make it a goal to go to at least one of the events if not all!!

All Week Long….

-We will be collecting donations for “Food for Greater Elgin” all week long.
–Various local restaurants are committed to Food Day initiatives and make more sustainable choices.

In honor of Food Week Simple Balance is giving a complimentary B.E.S.T session (by appointment only) in exchange for a donation of 10 food items for our local Food Bank “Feeding Greater Elgin”. Go to SB’s website for more information and to arrange appointment.    

WEEK OF EVENTS 

Sunday, October 21 -   ” 30th Annual Elgin Crop Hunger Walk” -  Starts behind City Hall   http://elgincropwalk.wordpress.com/

Wednesday, October 24,  10:00pm-2:00pm “Food Day Farmers Market”  – Dupage Court next to Al’s Cafe! Please join us in welcoming Mayor David Kaptain at 1:00pm as he reads the Food Day Proclamation. Please register to have a table here

Wednesday, October 24 – Sherman Hospital’s cafeteria will be featuring Healthy Sustainable Food choices as well as showcasing their organic garden. Located on Randall Rd. in Elgin just South of I90

Thursday, October 25,   3:00pm- 5:00pm –   We will be hosting a Food Day Booth in the Gail Borden Public Library lobby : Spin the Food Wheel to learn and win prizes!

Friday, October 26,   6:00pm-9:00pm    At Simple Balance Holistic Center (221 E. Chicago Street), Dr. Jaena will give a presentation on Simple Sustainable Food Choices & Nutrition for Wellness then we will watch the film “Ingredients” FREE Admission –  Space limited please register  here .

Saturday, October 27,  6:00-9:00pm “Nightmare on Chicago Street”  Please visit our booth outside of Simple Balance Holistic Center at  the “Nightmare on Chicago Street” event. Stop by and sign up for a raffle and contribute to a piece of ART depicting the toxin food that may have created some of these zombies. We will also have information on the new “Elgin Food Store Coop”  If you would like to be a part of it  please take the coop survey here .