Our next Chill & Grill is happening on July 12th from 5-7pm on the porch. We will be having Triple S Farms hot dogs or vegetarian hot dogs. They will be served with a side of Chambana Potato Salad & macaroni n' black bean salad.

Live music will be provided by Ryan Groff of Elsinore Find the complete line-up of this summer's Chill & Grills here .

A special thanks to Triple S Farms, our sponsor for the Chill & Grills this summer! 

"After an incredible two months of work with partner organizations; many meetings with legislators and opposition; and the bipartisan leadership of Senator Scott Bennett, Representative Carol Ammons, and Representative Mike Marron; the Coal Ash Pollution Protection Act (SB9) passed the Illinois Senate and House and heads to the Governor’s desk for signature. The bill would ensure the EPA approves protective closure plans for coal ash impoundments. It gives the public a voice in decisions around coal ash, and it makes polluters pay for the clean up, not the taxpayers. This is a huge win for Illinois! The bill now awaits the Governor's signature, but you can help by writing the Governor today. Ask him to sign the bill !"

"July is usually a time of great local bounty. Despite the wonkiness of the weather, I think we can probably look forward to tomatoes, eggplant, okra, a variety of peppers, potatoes, garlic, and onions all becoming available. In addition we should still have cucumbers, zucchini, green beans, and some greens around, although it's still hard to predict which ones. There should be some local fruit available as well."

The talented 21 year old, Chibi-Levy aka Kymberlie, will be featuring her hand drawn artwork on the Co-op porch on Saturday July 6th, 9-12pm during Urbana's Market at the Square! Currently featured as an artist in our Co-op Art Gallery in our Flatlander Classroom, Chibi Levy will have artwork for sale as well as options to order prints of her original work. 

To read more about Chibi Levy and to see her artist statement, check out her feature on our website.

13 year old artist, Andalyn has a goal to attend Art School for college and working her way to get there! This talented artist will be selling her artwork on the Co-op porch during Urbana's Market at the Square on Saturday, July 13th from 9-12pm. Stop by the co-op and support a young and talented artist with a great future ahead of her. 

Help us spread the word and bring along some cash to buy some Andalyn's hand drawn artwork. 

Stop by our Porch on Saturday, July 20th from 9-12pm during Urbana's Market at the Square and shop at our Art Pop-up Shop featuring the artwork of local artist, Mary Margrave! 

Artwork will be available for purchase.

Join us on market Saturday, July 27th , where our Co-op owner and local author, Z Snyder will be selling copies of their book "The Witch" on our front porch. Have your newly purchased book signed by the author themselves! Help us support this talented queer author.

Cash is accepted for book purchases. The book will be sold for $5.

Here is the book's description:

When Marisa comes back to town after the sudden loss of her mother she inherits the house she grew up in, and a few of her mother's bible-thumping enemies as well. Little do they know, however, that no matter how much faith they put in their lord, they're no match for the powers of this witch.

Join us on Friday, July 19th from 5-7pm in our Flatlander Classroom to celebrate the two featured artists, Chibi Levi and George Hardebeck, whose artworks are featured in our Art Gallery. The Art Reception is open and free to all and Co-op beverages and food will be available for all attendees. Read the artists' statements here

Chibi Levi's prints of artwork will be available for purchase. Cash or card accepted.

On Monday, July 15th, we are having a very special event, in partnership with the Art Theater, the Sierra Club, and Prairie Rivers Network, for a screening of The River and the Wall at the Art Theater. There will be a meet & greet and discussion with the organizations afterwards. Check out the trailer here.

by Mia Hanneken

When we prioritize eating locally, we also prioritize eating seasonally. Seasonal food is freshest, tastiest, and healthiest, but it’s also something that’s been lost in the wake of the global food system. When we can buy winter greens in July and summer squash in December, we lose a special kind of understanding our ancestors used to live by. Seasonality is something the co-op is tackling this summer. In conjunction with The Land Connection’s Champaign Farmers Market, we’re re-launching the Cooking Healthy on a Budget classes!

The nature of Cooking Healthy on a Budget is, of course, showcasing low-cost recipes using co-op foods. The re-launch will continue this mission with an added layer: seasonal food. When produce is in season, it’s plentiful and able to be sold at a lower cost. This connection between budget-cooking and seasonal food is the perfect educational opportunity our owners expect from their co-op, and I am so pleased to be leading these classes in the coming months.

Each month will feature different in-season produce that can easily be found at both the farmers’ markets and Common Ground. Participants will learn three or more simple recipes using those ingredients in order to build confidence and familiarity with using seasonal foods. 

Best of all, these classes are completely free! Remember our Plant Sale and Food For All Round Up in May? Thanks to the funds you all raised, we are able to fund free classes to teach our neighbors how to prepare healthy meals and advance our food access efforts.

The next free Cooking Healthy on a Budget class is Wednesday, July 24th at 6:00 in the Flatlander Classroom. We’ll be learning all about cooking the abundant summer squash and eggplant. Hope to see you there!

Check out the line-up for other classes in the series here.

Here at the Co-op, Stan is a household name, known by our staff, owners, customers, farmers, and market goers on a first name basis. Stan S. Schutte is the owner and farmer of Triple S Farms in Stewardson, IL, seventy miles away from the Co-op with the help of his kids, Ryan and Jannie.

For over 30 years, Triple S Farms has built a name for themselves in kitchens around Central Illinois through tending to chickens, pigs, and cows raised on organically certified pastures. These field pastures are grown with the animals in mind, inherently nutritionally balanced to nourish the animals as they graze. The family also grows organically certified grains and row crops for supplemental food for the animals. You may already be familiar with the delicious Triple S Farm meats because Triple S has been our main source for Thanksgiving Turkeys, our continuous sponsor for summertime Chill and Grills, our co-host when the Co-op cooks on WCIA, a longtime farmer and board member for Urbana’s Market At the Square (and a vendor In the Square). The Schutte family works hard each day to ensure their land and soil are healthy and ecosystems are in tact. Healthy land will provide a prosperous space for their animals to be comfortable, well fed while they wander and run about. Stan says, “Our animals are our livelihood and we respect the part that they play on the farm. It is a symbiotic relationship where they rely on us, the animals rely on the soil and the soil relies on both of us.” 

Read more about our trip to Triple S Farms here.