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Downstate Good Food Leader Partners with Chicago CSA
- Bob Benenson
- Jun 22
- 4 min read
Marty Travis Announces Collaboration with Gather CSA to Raise Local Food Access
Marty Travis of Spence Farm, located in the downstate Illinois town of Fairbury, is a long-acknowledged leader in the sustainable agriculture and local food movements.
Among other efforts, he has been well ahead of the curve is enabling farmers to pursue new market opportunities by collaborating and aggregating their product, through his organization that began as Stewards of the Land and now is titled Down at the Farms.
So it was not a surprise when I received an email announcement from Marty of a new wrinkle, a collaboration that will bring even more food from regional producers into Chicago.
Marty has teamed up with two experienced butchers/local food entrepreneurs — McCullough Kelly-Willis and Jake Calthorpe — who recently founded the Gather CSA local food subscription service (CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture). McCullough and Jake previously worked together at the now-defunct Local Foods retail store in Chicago; McCullough launched Chicago Meat Collective and Jake founded his own specialty meat business called Cut Once.
Here is how Marty described the partnership in his group e-mail:
It has been a way long time since we have connected and many, many times I have thought about the experiences 5 years ago when we were bringing food to many of you each week during the pandemic.
While many things have seemingly returned to “normal”, we are still striving to serve the people who wish to have great local food available to them consistently and conveniently. Over the last few months, we have worked with a couple of great chef friends in the city and have tested out a prototype of food distribution that we would like to share with you now. Jacob and McCullough have been working diligently to create this opportunity for more and more friends and families.
Gather CSA brings you quality local produce, meat, and dairy, twice a month. All meat is sourced directly from farms, then butchered and packed by their small Chicago-based team. They receive produce and dairy the week of your CSA pick up to ensure freshness and seasonality. Subscription CSA boxes guarantee small farmers reliable sales each month, giving them the financial stability to grow, while connecting you with the best of what’s growing in our region, all year round. Here’s more information on their website. HERE
IF you find this interesting and you are looking for a great way to support local producers and local chefs, send an email to Jacob and McCullough here Gather CSA info@gathercsa.com and join us on this unique opportunity.
If you haven’t already seen this past week’s Chicago Tribune article on some of our latest endeavors, check this out here. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/06/16/illinois-farming-produce-markets-climate-change/
We are all continuing to grow and offer the best local products that we can. We have many new products about to become available in the next few weeks. Come and see what we are all about now! We would be thrilled to have the opportunity to serve you again.
All my best,
Marty
Down at the Farms
And this from the Gather CSA website:
The idea for Gather came up during a long drive around central IL - Jake and McCullough, two Chicago butchers, were riding along with Marty Travis, the founder of Down at the Farms, visiting farms and brainstorming ways to further support sustainable agriculture in our region.
There’s a wide network of incredible growers, livestock producers, and people all along the supply chain around the midwest working to create a stronger local food system. For Jake and McCullough, it felt like this abundance was just out of reach.
McCullough got her start at the Butcher & Larder in 2013 when it was still on Milwaukee Ave. She learned whole animal butchery as well as sausage and charcuterie making on the job. Since 2018, she’s run the Chicago Meat Collective, a small business focused on teaching butchery skills through hands-on classes and educational events.
Jake has been working in and around kitchens since he was a teen in the Bay area. After moving to Chicago he worked in several restaurants including North Pond before eventually taking a job at Local Foods at the Butcher & Larder during the pandemic. In a short time, he was the department lead. After Local Foods’ closure in 2023, Jake founded Cut Once - a mobile butcher shop - to continue to support the farmers he worked with and to continue offering ethically processed meats to his loyal customers.
Jake and McCullough met at Local Foods in the pandemic years, a time when they saw a lot of businesses and farmers weather booms and busts as people went from taking on elaborate home cooking projects to putting aside the sourdough starter and relishing the opportunity to visit restaurants again. McCullough and Jake see that the landscape of grocery shopping is changing and believe that local meat and produce need to be championed now more than ever.
Gather CSA is a response to that need, and a bringing together (a gathering!) of strong networks that already exist for the purpose of getting local food directly to consumers in the most convenient, cost effective, and fun way we know how. For us, fun is connecting with the producers doing great work in the midwest. It’s making connections with local businesses who support our cause and lend us space to meet our subscribers out in the world. And it’s connecting directly with you, giving you access to what we believe is the best local food out there, along with the resources of our own knowledge and the wisdom of our network, to help you make the most of each Gather CSA box.
I have known Marty and McCullough for many years and have met Jake at his Cut Once booths at farmers markets. One thing you can be certain of is that subscribers will receive the highest quality local meat and produce. I wish them the best of success, and urge readers to check it out.
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