On May 15, SGA’s Illinois Farm to School Network (IFSN) Coordinators led a day of trainings and workshops in Kane County at the Northern Illinois Food Bank: “Connecting Kane County Farms to Your Cafeteria.” The event was developed in collaboration with the Growing for Kane Program and featured a locally-sourced lunch, a live recipe demonstration, […]
IFSN shares tips and tools at Good Food...
Always a popular event with those interested in food and environmental issues, the 14th annual Good Food EXPO took place March 23-24 at the UIC Forum in Chicago. A hands-on farmer training was held all day on March 22. Some 150 exhibitors and field experts participated this year. The EXPO, which celebrates sustainable food, attracts […]
IFSN expands Harvest of the Month progra...
Seven Generations Ahead introduced the Illinois Harvest of the Month (HOTM) program at the Illinois School Nutrition Association Summer Conference in Tinley Park, making it available to school districts across the state. The HOTM program helps schools buy and serve more local food, while teaching students about healthy eating, nutrition, and agriculture. Each month, participating schools can […]
Illinois Soil, Water, Food and Compostin...
Thanks to everyone who attended the Summit! See below for links to the day’s presentations. Click here for the agenda. What are the hurdles as we work towards statewide composting? What would the economic impact be of a composting industry in Illinois? Read these two reports and know the facts: View presentations: Break Out Session […]
Shawna Coronado to share discoveries at ...
The Illinois Farm to School Network team here at SGA is working to make the March 3 Farm to School Day and Farmhouse Fete an educational feast—for the brain and the stomach. What do they have in store? In the morning, there will be trainings and recipe demos for school food service staffers about incorporating Illinois Harvest of […]
2016 Great Apple Crunch participation wa...
It was the crunch heard all around Illinois–the sound of several hundred thousand school children biting into local apples. The second annual Illinois Great Apple Crunch in October was an overwhelming success, and the Illinois Farm to School Network has the numbers and the photos to prove it. A total of 339,100 students from school districts all over the state participated this […]
April Lunch and Learn session digs into ...
PlanItGreen holds regular Lunch and Learn sessions that provide institutional and communitynleaders with expert information and facts on various sustainability topics. The April 8th Lunch and Learn focused on CSAs, with Matt Sheaffer of Sandhill Family Farms as the guest speaker. Sandhill Family Farms has been delivering CSA shares to Oak Park residents for the last 11 years, […]
Kane County Health Dept, SGA maintain a ...
The partnership between the Kane County Department of Health (KCDH) and Seven Generations Ahead (SGA) began in 2009, and it’s still going strong. Michael Isaacson, the department’s assistant director of community health, recalls SGA’s executive director Gary Cuneen offering assistance at the formation of a coalition called the Healthy Living Council of Greater Aurora. The council, being new, was […]
Farm to School Network holds Summit in S...
On June 7, the first Annual Illinois Farm to School Summit brought together teachers, food service staff, community advocates, and farmers from around the state. Designed to be interactive, the summit gave attendees a chance to prepare the lunch menu onsite and from scratch using locally sourced ingredients. “We wanted to revise the school lunch […]
SGA receives USDA grant to increase loca...
Seven Generations Ahead is one of 74 projects in 39 states that received support through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm to School Program, in an effort to better connect school cafeterias and students with local farmers and ranchers. The Aurora, Ill.-area Kane County Health Department and SGA received a $85,767 implementation grant that […]