Partners Illinois Farm Bureau

It has been a tough weather year for farmers, including those who grow pumpkins, mums and other specialty crops. Still, pumpkin growers such as Gail Sasse with Gail's Pumpkin Patch near Beason, and John Ackerman with Ackerman Family Farms near Morton share what you might expect from a visit. And, Ashley Buzan, perennial expert with Woldhuis Farms, Sunrise Greenhouse near Grant Park, shares how this year's crop of mums have fared and offers some tips on where to plant and help keep them looking good.

Some school districts in Illinois have started to source food for breakfast and lunch meals from local farmers and have resurrected scratch cooking. Connie Crawley, Food Service Director for Lincoln School District 27, shares details on how and why her kitchens have made the transition. Chef Greg Christian, who owns and operates Beyond Green Partners in Chicago, provides details on how he and his company make it happen every day and how they help districts and schools use more locally grown food and reduce waste.

The federally-funded program Eat. Move. Save. provides food aid recipients in Illinois with community-based nutrition education. Individuals and families eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase food have access to information and activities to prevent obesity and reduce the risk of chronic disease. In recent years, the Illinois-based program underwent an evaluation. Hear what's taking place with Trinity Allison, the Senior Program Lead, SNAP Education, University of Illinois Extension, and Daylan Dufelmeier, Director of the Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion, who help carry out the program.

You'll discover four dozen or so things to see and do this fall on this Illinois farm northwest of Chicago. Stade's (pronounced STAH-dees) Farm & Market near McHenry is a family affair with you-pick opportunities throughout the growing season and its "Farmtractions" park where you can have even more fun. In this episode, Vern Stade shares what the farm is all about and how you can make the most out of this and other visits to some Illinois farms that welcome visitors.

In the fourth of a series on farm-, family- and food-related places and events to discover, how about a Garage Band Night where you can bounce from garage-to-garage for great music and fun, or a fun run or walk right plus more on the historic, Route 66? Hear from Gina Willenborg and Carrie Copple with Teutopolis for Tomorrow about their town and event, along with Katie Funk and Jeff Hake with CORE McLean who share what's happening there too. Similar to several of the other communities featured in the series, these communities have participated in strategic planning with the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University.

On a busy block on North Broadway in Chicago, this growing company takes Illinois soybeans and makes them into a product that has been growing double digits annually for more than a decade. In a follow-up to a Partners podcast and Partners magazine and website stories two years ago, Jenny Yang, owner and operator of Phoenix Bean, which makes tofu and food products that use tofu, discusses her expansion and how she works with Illinois farmers to supply what she needs. Harold Wilken, who farms and operates Janie's Mill an hour-and-a-half south of Chicago, discusses the soybeans he grows for Phoenix Bean and why it's important he knows his customers.