Tag Archives: Frontera Farmer Foundation

2019 Frontera Farmer Foundation Grant Applications Available Now

Posted January 21, 2019by Casey Cora

The application period for 2019 Frontera Farmer Foundation grants is officially open.

Ready to apply? Please follow this link. The deadline to apply is March 1.

About the Frontera Farmer Foundation

The Frontera Farmer Foundation is committed to promoting small, sustainable Midwestern farms serving the Chicago area, by providing them with capital development grants. Small local farms, which often struggle financially, are more likely to promote biodiversity by planting a wide range of produce and operate using organic practices. By their artisanal approach to agriculture, the freshness of their product and the variety of their offerings, these farmers insure the highest quality food while they add immeasurably to the fabric of their local rural community.

Eligibility requirements:
Frontera Farmer Foundation will award 2019 grants for capital improvements of up to $12,000 to small and mid-size farmers in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin that sell their food products to customers in the Chicago area at farmers markets and otherwise. Farmers must have been in business for at least three years and must demonstrate how the grant will improve both their farm’s viability and the availability of locally grown food products in the Chicago area. Farms that have been awarded grants will be eligible every other year.

Bid on Our Online Auction, Win Amazing Prizes and Help Midwest Family Farmers

Posted June 10, 2015by Casey Cora

Starting today, you can help us celebrate the delicious craft (and ensure the livelihoods) of hardworking Midwestern family farmers by participating in our online auction to benefit our Frontera Farmer Foundation.

Here’s the link to the auction page.

We have some truly amazing prizes up for auction, including a private cooking demo for 14 hosted by Rick, an invitation to join us on our annual staff trip to Mexico and a preview to Rick’s new Randolph Street brewery and restaurant.

Oh, and did we mention you can have the Baylesses show you around Mexico City for a weekend?

That’s right. One of our top prizes is a weekend-long cultural and culinary tour that includes market tours, a private cooking class hosted by Rick at his Mexico City apartment, a two-night stay at a premiere B & B and meals at two the area’s hottest restaurants, Maximo Bistrot and Quintonil.

Amazing, right?

What’s even more amazing is the amount of money the foundation has invested in Midwest family farms since its inception in 2003. The tally stands at about $1.5 million, all of it raised from people just like you.

That’s real money that Midwestern family farms critically need to become more productive, to continue enriching our lives with fresh, seasonal, sustainably raised deliciousness.

For example, Grassroots Farms, owned and operated by a mother-daughter team of Gail and Lindsey Carpenter, used the foundation’s grant money to build a much-needed vegetable packing and washing shed at their Green County, Wisc. farm.

David and Robin Jameson of Walnut Acres Family Farm in Walnut, Ill., used the money to buy and retrofit a shuttlebus so they could deliver CSA shares.

David and Anika Proctor of Lake Breeze Organics in Benton Heights, Mich. built a cold storage unit and planted a great number of new fruit trees with their grant.

There are dozens more examples of how the money raised by the foundation makes a positive impact on the local agricultural economy.

This year, we invite you (we challenge you!) to make more grant money available to the farmers who sustain us.

The online auction closes at 9 p.m. Sunday.

Deadline is Feb. 27 for 2016 Frontera Farmer Foundation Grant Applications

Posted February 9, 2016by Casey Cora

We’re mighty proud of the Frontera Farmer Foundation, our nonprofit that has awarded nearly $1.3 million in grants to Midwest family farms since its inception in 2003.

And we are proud to once again announce that the grant application period for 2016 remains open.

To see the eligibility requirements and download the grant application, visit this page.

If you’re considering applying, don’t delay: the deadline to submit paperwork is February 27, 2016.

Established by Rick and Deann Bayless, the Frontera Farmer Foundation is committed to promoting small, sustainable Midwestern farms serving the Chicago area, by providing them with capital development grants. Small local farms, which often struggle financially, are more likely to promote biodiversity by planting a wide range of produce and operate using organic practices.

By their artisanal approach to agriculture, the freshness of their product and the variety of their offerings, these farmers insure the highest quality food while they add immeasurably to the fabric of their local rural community.

Nonprofit organizations devoted to the growth of sustainable farming are becoming more prevalent and necessary due to the increasing dominance of large corporations in the agricultural sector. Without small sustainable farmers, great local cuisine is unreachable.

To learn more about the Foundation’s efforts, please see this page.

You’re Invited to a “Dinner Like No Other” 2017

Posted August 28, 2017by Casey Cora

Tickets are on sale now for the “Dinner Like No Other,” our unforgettable fundraising party for the Frontera Farmer Foundation. The event takes place at Frontera Grill and Topolobampo on Sunday, Oct. 15.

This year’s theme? “A Night at the Circus.” Prepare to be dazzled with a never-before-seen five-course themed menu (hint: expect lots of color), super-smooth margaritas and expertly curated wine pairings from our longtime sommelier Jill Gubesch. Of course, Rick will be there working the room and cajoling guests to raise a little more money. It’s a blast.

BUY TICKETS ONLINE

We’ll also have a raffle and silent auction with wildly great prizes generously donated by places like Butcher & Larder, Half Acre Beer Co., Waldorf Astoria Chicago, Goose Island, Big Green Egg, Vitamix, Jeni’s Ice Cream, Kitchenaid and so much more. And for lovers of good wine, Jill’s jaw-dropping wine auction is not to be missed.

The full 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit the Frontera Farmer Foundation, our volunteer-run nonprofit that awards capital development grants to small Midwest family farms.

We are incredibly proud to have awarded more than $2 million in small grants — all of it in chunks of no more than $12,000 — since the foundation’s inception. (Here’s a look at the 2017 winners; here’s the rest going back to 2004.)

These hardworking Midwest family farmers need our help, and that’s the very reason we throw an unforgettable fundraising dinner each year. With this grant money, these farmers have been able to expand their operations and make more good food available in the Chicago area.

It’s in their honor we host this annual extravaganza. We hope you can join us. (And even if you can’t make it to the party, you can still donate to the FFF at this page.)