Green Grocer Chicago's 2nd Anniversary Party

Yesterday was a special occasion for the OrganicNation staff. Our neighborhood grocery store, Green Grocer Chicago, celebrated its second anniversary yesterday, and we were on hand for a couple hours in the afternoon, selling raffle tickets and munching on the free samples.

Green Grocer gets mentioned a lot on this blog for a couple of reasons. Owners Gary Stephens and Cassie Green (pictured below with Dorothee) do an excellent job of sourcing the majority of the food in the shop from local and organic producers, and for a small storefront, they have an excellent selection. They're one of the only places where you can dependably find high-quality local and organic produce year-round in Chicago. Most importantly though, they're located just a block from where I live, meaning that I don't have to get in the car, and I never buy more than I can carry.

To me, the existence of small, independent grocery stores like Green Grocer is crucial to the sustainable food movement. Farmers markets are great, and I shop at them whenever it's convenient, but a great independent grocery is sort of like a daily, year-round farmers market, and it's another place to meet people who are passionate about good food.

-Mark

Worm Composting Class in Chicago this Sunday!

If you've enjoyed our recent posts about worm composting and wondered if you could do it in your home, now is your chance!

This Sunday October 18th at 1pm,  I'm excited to be facilitating a Worm Composting Class at Green Grocer led by the awesome Jill Tondu. It's a great chance to build your own worm bin to eat through your food scraps (and turn them into rich soil). You'll walk away from the class with a fully functional bin and a basic understand of how to keep your worms happy.

Basic worm bin (bin plus worms) is $25. Deluxe (also includes gloves, turkey baster and spray bottle) is $33. Class space is limited so please RSVP to: cassie at greengrocerchicago dot com and indicate which type of bin you'd like. 

See you there!

-Dorothee