Posted Apr 07, 2021
If the last year has impressed anything upon us at Green City Market, it’s that the conventional food system is even more fragile than we realized. The empty grocery store shelves that marked the past year showed us that the connection between local farmers and local shoppers is perhaps even more significant, and more essential, than we knew before.
And while things are slowly starting to look better as we head into the 2021 season, our farmers — the heart of our community and your source for amazing, local, sustainable food — need this year to be successful from the start.
That’s where you come in. You can provide immediate relief to our sustainable farmers who have been hard-hit during this pandemic with a generous gift today. Plus, your donation before April 30 will unlock matching funds reserved to directly support Green City Market farmers before the start of the outdoor season.
Leadership donors have stepped up to ensure that Green City Market farmers begin this year as strong as possible. They will unlock $27,500 in matching funds to our Covid-19 Farmer Relief Fund if we can raise the same amount from our supporters to help meet the need.
This fund will support each and every farmers’ return to Green City Market for its twenty-second season and will provide market operational support in direct response to last year’s disruptive, crisis-filled season.
“This is going to be another season that will be marked by uncertainty,” remarked Jerry Boone of Froggy Meadow Farm in Beloit, Wisconsin. “We don’t know yet exactly when Covid will ease; we don’t know if customers will show up at the market; we don’t know if restaurants will be open, which hurts [farmers’] wholesale business. And then on top of that, there’s all the normal uncertainty inherent to farming: weather, insects, pests, labor shortages.”
As Jerry observed, “this season and last season are marking turning points for many farms.” Investing in another farming season represents a massive commitment — and a massive risk — for many sustainable farmers.
Today, we’re asking you to make a commitment to Green City Market and farmers like Jerry by making a generous donation to our Covid-19 Farmer Relief Fund before April 30 and the start of our outdoor season.
Your donation today can take some of that uncertainty away, helping Green City Market and our farmers return for a twenty-second year. Your gift will connect 50+ local farmers and food producers to 175,000+ Chicagoans, feed our community, and create a resilient, robust marketplace for sustainable farms to thrive.
When you give a tax-deductible donation today, you will ease the burden on our farmers by supporting the costs associated with bringing Green City Market to life — a cost that is typically shared between community members like you and our farmers.
“I’m devoted to Green City Market because it has made my business viable,” Jerry shared. “Green City Market and its support and its customers have made me into a farm that can compete with these giant farms. Green City Market’s future is vital to the future of my farm.”
The cost to execute Green City Market’s year-round marketplaces is great. But the cost not to? It is far greater.
Thank you in advance for considering a tax-deductible gift to Green City Market today.