As we get ready to connect with our food once again starting this May 11th at the 61st Street Farmers Market, we invite you to reflect on your food system by joining us in the kitchen of Experimental Station on Wednesday April 3 at 6:30pm for the first in a series of Market Movies! This next week's film will be the first in a 3-part documentary entitled "The Weight of the Nation." We thank Kaiser Permanente for providing us with this series.

LINK Up Illinois, a program of the Experimental Station, in partnership with Wholesome Wave and the Illinois Farmers Market Network, is pleased to announce that it will double Link purchases at the 10 City of Chicago farmers markets at which Experimental Station currently provides Link/EBT service. For a limited time, beginning on August 16 at participating Chicago-run Farmers Markets, when Link recipients use their EBT Cards they will receive LINK Bucks equal to their transaction (up to $10 per market day.) as part of the LINK UP Illinois Program.

In 2010, the Experimental Station launched a pilot program with the City of Chicago to provide LINK card service at five City-run farmers markets. For the 2011 season, the City has contracted with Experimental Station to provide LINK acceptance at ten of the City-run markets.

2011 City Markets accepting LINK:

• Lincoln Square
• South Shore
• Daley
• Division
• Beverly
• Federal Plaza
• Pullman
• Hyde Park
• Bridgeport
• Wicker Park

Not wanting to let our entrepreneurial spirit flag, the Experimental Station decided to team up with Chicago's Mayor's Office of Special Events, Department of Community Development and Department of Family and Support Services to launch a LINK/EBT Pilot program at 5 City of Chicago farmers markets for the 2010 season! As of May 13 at the Daley Plaza Farmers Market, Experimental Station will be on site accepting LINK payments for fresh, nutritious, local food.

From Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Adapted from Deborah Madison, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

INGREDIENTS
6 Tablespoons olive oil (don't skimp, as the oil provides lots of flavor)
1 very large onion or 2-3 medium sized onions sliced into rounds 1/4-inch thick
1 1/4 cups green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
Salt and freshly milled pepper
3/4 cup white or brown long-grain rice

The Woodlawn Buying Club was created in 1999 as a way to get high quality, healthy food at an affordable price on Chicago's south side. Every four weeks, members of the buying club place an order with United Natural Foods, Inc., the country's largest distributor of natural and organic foods, the same company that supplies Whole Foods Markets. Purchasing in bulk is both economical and ecologically sound; members save on the cost of the items they purchase and burn less fuel, as they drive less often to local or distant supermarkets.

The corner of 61st Street & Dorchester Avenue has long been a site for urban agriculture. Since the 1970s, organic gardeners have nurtured the soil in this formerly abandoned corner of the city to produce fruit and vegetables for home and market.