First Local IPAWS Certification In Illinois Outside Chicago
By Tom Robb | on August 11, 2023
A group of more than 60 people, including Cook County commissioners, their staffs, families, and officials from the Illinois and Cook County farm bureaus gathered at Glenview’s Wagner Farm on Thursday, Aug. 3 for a day at the farm.
Commissioner Scott Britton (D-14th) from Glenview organized the outing, working with the Glenview Park District, which owns the farm, and the Cook County Farm Bureau.
Visitors took a hay ride and toured the grounds hearing about Wagner Farm’s history, and historical and modern farming methods from farm Director Jonathan Kuester, and farm manager Blake Lanphier.
Joining Britton at the farm were county commissioners Josina Morita (D-13th), whose district includes a small part of Glenview, Maggie Trevor (D-9th), Bridget Degnen (D-12th), Anthony Quezada (D-8th) and Monica Gordon (D-5th).
Britton relayed how much Wagner Farm reminded him of the farm he grew up on in Macon, in central Illinois, before moving north to the Chicago area after college.
Some at the gathering were surprised there was a working farm located in a fully built suburb like Glenview, Britton said. Farm bureau officials discussed urban farming and Britton said, “We still have to understand how food goes from farm to table.”
Britton said he discussed how important food is to Cook County and he and Wagner officials reviewed how the farm provides freshly grown produce to the Northfield Township Food Pantry.
Wagner Farm grows crops using both period farming methods from the 1920s and modern farming methods, houses community garden plots and grows crops for a community-supported agriculture (CSA) shares program, which delivers crops to those who purchased shares on a regular basis through the farming season. Food grown at Wagner Farm is also donated to the Northfield Township Food Pantry.