The Good Food Festival & Conference this weekend at the UIC Pavilion is a massive three-day event devoted to every aspect of the food system, filled with panels, demos, farm tours and all kinds of stuff, and with a vast array of speakers and panelists from every part of the Good Food Movement, and on Saturday, some 150 exhibitors and vendors in the Exhibit Hall, chef demos and more. Frankly, it’s a bit overwhelming, so we’ve put together a guide to each day to help you see what would be worth your time and appeal to your interests.
Thursday, March 15: Financing Conference
Who It’s For: Food producers and farmers who want to network with people who would give them money.
General Audience Appeal: Not really. This is a serious work/networking day for food business people, ending with a “Financing Fair.” That said, if you’ve ever dreamed of having a business making an artisanal food, the three Success Stories panels (one each for farmers, food businesses, and community organization) would probably be educational and inspirational.
Most Interesting-Sounding Presentations: Food Business Success Stories, with producers from Tomato Mountain, Dill Pickle Co-op, Heritage Prairie Farm and others; Crowd-Sourced and Alternative Financing Options.
Get More Info: here.
Friday, March 16: Tradeshow Conference & Policy Summit
Who It’s For: People in the food business who want to learn more about specific issues, including school-related food issues.
General Audience Appeal: Moderate. There are more presentations about starting a farming or food business. Parents who are concerned about what children are fed in our schools will have a full track of panels centered on school food programs. And the day ends with a screening of The Real Dirt on Farmer John.
Most Interesting-Sounding Presentations: Understanding Sustainable Meat Procurement, with a panel including Cleetus Friedman (City Provisions); So You Want To Be A Farmer; Food Web Meets Interweb, with Irv Cernauskas of Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks; The 2012 Farm Bill and Local Food
Get More Info: here.
Saturday, March 17: Good Food Festival
Who It’s For: Anyone who cares about food.
General Audience Appeal: High— this is the general public day, loaded with programs. The day starts with what they’re calling Gold Workshops, four highly interesting presentations (unfortunately at the same time)— a bus tour of urban farms, a program on preserving food year-round, a program on permaculture sustainable gardening; and a butchering demo with Rob Levitt of The Butcher & Larder and beef farmer Louis Slagel. There are practical programs throughout the afternoon on subjects ranging from cheesemaking to composting to bees, while beyond the panels there will be a seed swap, cooking demos with local farmers and chefs such as Bruce Sherman and Heather Terhune, and a kid’s corner.
Most Interesting-Sounding Presentations: Bus Tour of Urban Farms; Whole Animal Butchering Demo; In the Preservation Kitchen: Canning and Pickling With Paul Virant; Chickens Come Home To Roost with representatives from Faith’s Farm and Angelic Organics; Local and Organic Eating on a Dime; Small-Space Gardening, with Jeanne Pinsof Nolan (who does the gardens at Farm in the Zoo).
Get More Info: here.
