Current Illinois Specialty Crop Block Grant Projects

Grant Recipient

Project

Project Description

Grant Amount

Elawa Farm Foundation

Expanding Access to Specialty Crop Education in Lake County, Illinois

Elawa Farm Foundation will provide accessible (bilingual and ADA adaptive) specialty crop education for youth and adults across Lake County, Illinois.

$65,826.00

Freeport Student Garden

High Tunnel Production of Cucumbers and Tomatoes in Northern Illinois Extending Growing Season and Learning for Urban Youth

The Freeport Student Garden, working with University of Illinois Extension, will transition from conventional, field cucumber and tomato production to high tunnel production. Results of the transition will be shared with other specialty growers through publications. Students will have extended opportunities to see season extension and take a more active role in production during the school year. Students will develop skills using specialized equipment and use best practices for season extension.

$43,047.76

Fuller Park Community Development

Eden Place Farmers Fresh Market Co-Op

Fuller Park Community Development's Eden Place Farm will create a fresh food market accessible five days a week to the surrounding communities of Fuller Park, Bronzeville and New City.

$56,160.00

Gardeneers

Growing Food + Equitable Justice for School Communities

Gardeneers school garden and farm programs will increase 3,500 elementary and high school students’ knowledge, access and consumption of specialty crops in the City of Chicago. The school garden and farm sites will grow and harvest 6,500 pounds of specialty crops and give 500 local community members the opportunity to attend a garden workshop to gain knowledge about specialty crops.

$41,965.00

Illinois Specialty Growers Association

Illinois Specialty Crop Sustainability and Business Viability through Education and Outreach Conference and Resource Library

The Illinois Specialty Growers Association (ISGA) will offer specialty crop farmers educational programs through their Illinois Specialty Crop Conference, virtual educational library and educational workshops to create in-depth educational resources for the specialty crop industry year-round. To maintain a successful and thriving operation, proactive farmers search for educational opportunities to improve farm viability.

$115,000.00

Southern Illinois University

Enhancing Food Safety of Fresh Produce by UV Assisted Washing and Surface Drying

The Southern Illinois University seeks to develop technologies for UV-assisted washing and surface drying of fresh produce for helping small, socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers in Illinois to improve food safety and be FSMA compliant. Technologies will be demonstrated during a produce growers' workshop in southern Illinois and the knowledge will be disseminated through publications as extension fact sheets, scientific journals, YouTube videos, and presentations at the Illinois Specialty Crop Conference. Impact study will be conducted by pre and post project activity surveys of produce growers in Illinois.

$67,140.00

University of Illinois

A Simple and Rapid Pathogen Testing System for Microbial Food Safety Risk Reduction of Specialty Crops

In this project, the University of Illinois researchers will develop a rapid method for agricultural water testing for small specialty crop growers and beginning farmers in Illinois to comply with FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Regulations (PSR) water testing requirements.

$64,679.00

University of Illinois Extension

Establishing Best Practices and Evaluating Promising Varieties of Fresh Ginger Rhizome for Illinois Small Farm Production

North, Central and Southern Illinois Extension staff will collaborate with specialty crop grower partners to identify and evaluate best practices across the state's diverse soils and climates. These include ginger seed-sourcing and pre-sprouting timelines, planting amendments, spacing, irrigation, fertility management, harvest protocols, post-processing and handling. The team will evaluate two cultivation environments for fresh ginger, protected culture and open field conditions. Research partners will share results with stakeholders during a proposed statewide ginger-growing field day, through newsletter articles, fact sheets, digital media and state conferences.

$70,442.00

Grant Recipient

Project

Project Description

Grant Amount

Southern Illinois University

A Solar Powered Mobile Cooler for Improving Food Safety and Shelf Life of Strawberry

Southern Illinois University of Carbondale will develop a solar powered mobile system for postharvest strawberry handling to improve shelf life and prevent food born disease.

$74,980.00

Gardeneers

Gardeneers’ Growing Food + Equitable Justice

Gardeneers partners with a network of partner schools, primarily on the West and South sides of Chicago, in low-income, under-resourced communities of color that face barriers to fresh, healthy food access.

$50,000.10

Illinois Specialty Growers

Illinois Specialty Crop Conference & Educational Series

The Illinois Specialty Growers Association (ISGA) will offer specialty crop farmers educational programs through their Illinois Specialty Crop Conference, virtual educational library, and educational workshops to create in-depth educational resources for the specialty crop industry year-round.

$100,800.00

The Experimental Station

Expanding Knowledge Among Low-Income Clients of Specialty Crops Sold at the 61st Street Farmers Market

The 61st Street Farmers Market, a program of Experimental Station, seeks to enhance and expand further its educational programming to rebuild local knowledge of the nutritional benefits and pleasure of consuming foods on the Illinois Specialty Crops list, as well as how to access, grow and prepare them.

$44,529.00

Angelic Organics

Increasing Access to Specialty Crops Among Underserved Communities Through Culturally Appropriate Market and Educational Opportunities in Rockford

Angelic Organics Learning Center will increase access to and utilization of specialty crops among low income and underserved communities in Rockford, IL by expanding market opportunities for the specialty crops and broadening our suite of educational opportunities to educate consumers about producing, procuring, and preparing specialty crops, with special focus on racial and ethnic minorities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

$44,985.00

Common Threads

Common Threads, a nonprofit with a 20-year history serving Chicago communities, will increase nutrition knowledge, consumption, and preparation of Illinois specialty crops among underserved communities by expanding community-based nutrition and culinary education programs that feature produce from urban farms, reaching 250 students, in alignment with our organization's local procurement initiative.

$63,266.00

University of Illinois

The University of Illinois researchers and extension professionals will build a comprehensive food safety program that will instill a “food safety culture” among resource-limited small specialty crop growers, beginning farmers, and socially disadvantaged farmers in Illinois to comply with FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Regulations (PSR) and USDA’s Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) audit requirements.

$74,999.00

University of Illinois

University of Illinois will investigate susceptible growth stages of leaves and fruits of cucurbit crops to Xanthomonas cucurbitae, incitant of bacterial sport disease of cucurbits, to optimize effective management of the disease.

$74,942.00

Grant Recipient

Project

Project Description

Grant Amount

Illinois Specialty Growers Association

The Illinois Specialty Growers Association (ISGA) will offer specialty crop farmers educational programs through their annual hybrid Illinois Specialty Crop Conference with a technology platform that will allow for educational live sessions, an interactive exhibit hall and an industry exclusive virtual educational resource library available to growers year-round.

$114,111.00

Angelic Organics

Angelic Organics Learning Center will improve farm viability for specialty crop farmers by providing high impact educational resources such as training and connections with an eye towards removing barriers for socially disadvantaged farmers.

$69,438.00

The Experimental Station

Increasing Demand Among Low-Income Clients for Specialty Crops Sold at the 61st Street Farmers Market

$32,611.00

Savanna Institute

$73,867.50

The Land Connection

Cultivating Holistic Illinois Specialty Crop Resources, From Seed to Sale to Supper Plate

The Land Connection (TLC) will increase knowledge and consumption of Illinois specialty crops by cultivating a comprehensive guide of local vegetables, fruits, and herbs – from seed to supper plate.

$63,444.61

Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom

$35,000.00

Southern Illinois University

$68,962.00

University of Illinois

The University of Illinois will study the potential for sanitizing specialty crops with microplasma-based far-UVC lamps.

$65,326.00

Grant Recipient

Project

Project Description

Grant Amount

Illinois Specialty Growers Association

The Illinois Specialty Growers Association (ISGA) will offer specialty crop farmers educational programs through their annual Illinois Specialty Crop Conference while building an industry-exclusive virtual resource library available to growers year-round.

$73,946.00

Rock Creek Ventures, LLC/ Top Fox Snacks

Rock Creek Ventures, LLC will build a flexible processing line to provide Illinois Specialty Crop producers: An avenue for specialty crop producers to add value to their fruit or vegetable operations.

$75,000.00

Three Angels Family Farm

$29,888.60

Dekalb County Community Gardens

Building on years of shared experience and existing relationships, DeKalb County Community Gardens (DCCG) spearheaded the establishment of a statewide network in early 2021 for the betterment of specialty crop farmers and their associated regional supply chain stakeholders.

$74,600.00

Solia Gratia Farm

Sola Gratia Farm plans to expand our offerings as a community farm with investment in additional crops including perennial fruits and nuts, both increasing our revenue stream, diversifying our offerings, and addressing food insecurity; as well as Allowing for an expansion of our educational programming.

$74,998.00

University of Illinois

The University of Illinois will utilize research high tunnels to examine strategies for improving the effectiveness of biological control measures against insect pests.

$61,739.00

Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance

Increase Awareness of Illinois Grape Varietals, Grape Growing and Winemaking Careers

Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance (IGGVA) will Promote grape growing and winemaking as career choices. Promote both grape growers and winemakers by selecting 12 in each field to promote with photos and storytelling. Develop an Illinois Wine Month brand standards toolkit for dissemination to member wineries and vineyards, creating a uniform marketing approach for industry use in general, with specific emphasis each September during Illinois Wine Month

$72,673.00

Illinois Department of Agriculture

The Illinois Department of Agriculture, Illinois Products program has been in existence for more than 30 years and is ready to be recharged and updated to meet current market trends and opportunities.

$315,000.00