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Chicago's Gain: Tish Steele Takes Charge at Green City Market
- Bob Benenson
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Local Food Forum Market Doubleheader Included First In-Person Connect
Green City Market has been a leading catalyst in the exponential growth of the Chicago region's farmers market sector since its founding in 1999. So the arrival of Letisha Steele — who goes by Tish — as the non-profit's new executive director is a big deal in our local food community.
Tish succeeds Mandy Moody, who resigned after a successful four-year tenure to start her own firm, Odeo Consulting.
Tish comes to Chicago from Denver, where she was greatly admired for her dedication to food access and policy advocacy. She served as executive director of Denver Food Rescue, an organization that fights food insecurity and food waste by recovering surplus fresh food and distributing it to those in need.
She also served as co-chair of Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council. With her experiences, she is primed to make an impact on the Chicago region's vibrant and growing local food community.
Tish's first Green City market day was Wednesday (June 4) at the Lincoln Park location. I enjoyed meeting her on Saturday (June 7), and it was immediately clear that she is prioritizing engagement with the market's dozens of vendors. She and Green City Market Chief Operating Officer Taylor Choy walked the busy market, going booth to booth to hang up the placards that provide information about each of the vendors.
Local Food Forum doesn't play favorites among our many great farmers markets, but I can't hide my appreciation to Green City Market. Barb and I have lived about two miles north of the Lincoln Park flagship location since we moved to Chicago in 2011. The photo above, taken on June 6, 2012, was from my first of many visits to the market and its Nichols Farm & Orchard stand. (And as you can see from the parched ground, we were in the midst of a drought.)
I was in the very early stages of my transition from a 30-year career as a political journalist to becoming a full-time advocate for a better food system. Green City Market became one of the most important portals for me to engage with this region's local food community, and it was where I first comprehended how open and embracing this community is.
So yes, I have a rooting interest in Tish Steele's success as the market's new leader. Welcome to Chicago, and I am confident that you are going to love it here.
Of course, I was also there to buy lots of beautiful, delicious, nutritious and sustainably produced local food in the first part of one of my Lincoln Park neighborhood farmers markets doubleheaders.
Green City's high profile has made it a destination market that draws thousands of visitors each Saturday. Even in the early morning hour when I was there, the market was well-attended.
Nichols Farm and Orchard of Marengo, Illinois is the region's largest diversified produce farm. I always try to spread my market purchases around, but if you're looking for a one-stop shop, this is it. On the right providing customer service is Steve Freeman, aka Steve the Market Guy.
Those are English shelling peas in the foreground and I bought my first batch of the season. I've become a scratch cook over the years, hand-cutting my ingredients, and to me there is nothing more Old Guard than shelling peas. I break open the pods to free the peas while Weird Al Yankovic's "Amish Paradise" runs through my head.
I bet you've never been entertained by a dulcimer-banjo duo at a grocery store.
Daly's Donuts, which produces yummy baked (not fried) doughnuts just a few blocks from the market, and Clark Family Mushrooms of Milton, Wisconsin are two of the new vendors at Green City Market this year.
Green City Market's annual Chef BBQ, to be held in Lincoln Park on Thursday, September 4, is a mega-event featuring more than 100 of the region's best restaurants and beverage producers. Tickets are on sale... click the button below to get the details in an earlier Local Food Forum article.
As you can see from my haul photo, this was a stock-up visit. From left, spinach, heirloom hothouse tomatoes, lettuce, English peas and Red Norland potatoes from Nichols; purple asparagus and sumptous strawberries from Mick Klug Farm (St. Joseph, Michigan); lion's mane mushrooms from Clark Family Mushrooms; and pea shoots from Kaleido Greens (Kildeer, Illinois).
Then I was off on the three-quarter-mile walk to The Lincoln Park Farmers Market, located in the parking lot of Lincoln Park High School on Armitage Ave. It's always great to have the opportunity to chat with Market Manager Elsa Jacobson, who took over a historic but waning market a few years ago and turned it into a thriving market with a neighborhood vibe and about three dozen vendors.
During my visit to the stand of Los Rodriguez Farm (Eau Claire, Michigan), I stumbled on some big new-in-season news: the first zucchini that I've seen. With its tasty versatility, zucchini is a staple in the Benenson household, and the longer its local season the better.
My rolling backpack was already bulging, but my overflow shopping bag provided room for green asparagus, zucchini and eggs from Los Rodriguez, and organic tortilla chips from El Molcajete Sauces (Evanston, Illinois).
Make sure to check out Local Food Forum's regional market tracker to plan your own local food adventures this week.