Elawa Farm Foundation

The Elawa Farm Foundation of Lake Forest, Illinois stewards the historic farm nestled between Open Lands preserves. The stunning campus operates as a “center for experiential learning to broaden access to education, nutritious food, and our local food system,” as stated on their website. In addition to a two acre garden for fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, beehives, and chicken coops, Elawa Farm includes a year round market, a kitchen, and cafe. The market hosts local artisans, farmers and food businesses alongside their own garden and kitchen products. The Holiday market is open for a few days in December, then the Winter market opens for January through April. In May, the Garden market opens for the season. The kitchen embraces seasonal cooking by using fresh produce from the Elawa garden and the local farming community to make delicious farm to table meals. This food is offered at the market, as well as ticketed farm to table dinners and brunches. It also stocks the Cafe, open from 8-3 from Wednesday through Sunday, which serves breakfast, lunch, and coffee. The campus also hosts community and educational programming.

While food access and quality are the top priorities of the Elawa Farm Foundation, environmental stewardship is also valued. When the farm was first restored in 2002, the soil was poor. The compact, clay rich soil was difficult to cultivate, but regenerative practices like reduced tillage and soil building with compost has transformed it into a loose and fluffy haven. The garden operates in cooperation with the beneficial insects and wildlife from the surrounding preserves. Though produce from Elawa is not certified due to the exorbitant costs of licensing, it is all grown using organic practices.

This kind of agriculture is much different than the style Sam Cline, the Farm Manager at Elawa Farm, first encountered. His first job in the field was to spray pesticides and insecticides on cherry trees at a 10 thousand acre commodity farm. The days were repetitive, the work was hard on his body, and the fear of chemical exposure was never far from his mind. It did not take him long to discern that this work wasn’t for him, but by chance he met a market gardener who ran a Community Supported Agriculture program. Two summers working with them, and he was in love with small scale agriculture. Still, he did not expect it to become his life’s work. He thought of studying soil science at the University of Wisconsin as a way to get a degree while learning about something he enjoyed. Working seasonally at restaurants in the winter, then on farms spring through fall, gave him the experience to secure a job in the university’s agronomy department after graduation. He spent the Covid Quarantine in the far north of Wisconsin executing vegetable variety trials to determine the best varieties for farmers to grow under various conditions. Then he taught a sustainable agriculture apprenticeship program for the Windy City Harvest program at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

He is now in his 6th or 7th year of agricultural work, and has found small-scale community agriculture to be far more gratifying than the first style he encountered. Though he may spend a day repeating the same task, the demands of the next day are usually different. Unlike teaching or testing which both require a lot of time on the computer, his days are spent outdoors interacting with the literal fruits of his labors. Otherwise he is working at the market, engaging people with a shared interest in local food.

For Cline, the main draw of small scale community agriculture was the potential to grow food for donations as a career. Though the model sounds contradictory, it has already been proven to work. The Local Food Purchasing Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program gave money to food banks and similar programs to purchase food from local farms to give away for free. This allowed many farmers to fulfill the dream of getting food to the people who need it while still getting paid for their labor. Unfortunately the program was recently cut by the Trump administration. Elawa Farm has been collaborating with local businesses to continue feeding the community. “Buisnesses are buying local food for donation, and the food pantries are really happy about it.”, Cline said. This practice allows them to offer “more than cans”. “Protein is always the most coveted food item.”, Cline said. A specific program that has been really successful is the Farm to Families program funded by Northwestern Hospital. The funds the hospital donated were used to purchase products like eggs, rice, and beans from 4-5 local farms. These goods were packaged at Elawa and donated to the community donation partners they had already been working with. Cline recalls about thirty boxes per week being filled and distributed over eight weeks before the funds were used up. He hopes the funding can be restored to expand and extend the program next year. Meanwhile every department at Elawa is cleaning out the pantries and freezers of any excess in an attempt to meet the immediate needs of the SNAP funding crisis.

As a non-profit, the Elawa farm foundation relies mostly on donations and some grant funding. It helps that the surrounding area is mostly affluent and able to support initiatives like the Farm to Families Program. The Market hosted at Elawa also generates substantial funds. Cline estimates that about 60 percent of the money needed to keep the farm operational is generated by market sales, followed closely by the Community Supported Agriculture subscription boxes which generate 30 to 40 percent. Another source of income for the farm is animal programming. Visitors are encouraged to purchase treats for the chickens, ducks or goats for 5 dollars each. Cline considers treat purchases to be donations because they are made up of “ugly carrots” and things that are not fit for market but the animals enjoy. Guided tours, ticketed events, and venue rentals also fund farm programming. The cost of farm dining tickets pays for a portion of the meal to be donated to North Chicago Community Partners.

Like any non-profit, squeezing the maximum impact from each dollar is essential. Cline lauds the foundation’s Executive Director Laura Calvert for her shrewd understanding of the issues of our food system and the dynamics of food insecurity. The hope is that scraping together donations from the freezers, pantries, and fields will not only feed people during the current crises, but prove what this model is capable of and inspire people to donate and sustain it.

Aside from funding, labor and staffing continuity are the biggest challenges. Because the work is seasonal, it is difficult to secure labor when it is needed. Once the season ends, it is difficult “getting good people to stick around”, Cline said. Many of the people that keep the farm running smoothly are students working as interns. Often they need to return to school around August and September. Of course, this is the time of year their help is needed the most. Volunteers can be helpful, but they are less consistent and often less experienced. Some tasks, like planting seedlings or picking tomatoes, are easy for them to do. If they come back and continue to gain an understanding of the farm operations, they become extremely helpful. Until then, Cline can find himself spending more time explaining the work than actually doing it. There are plans to open full time, seasonal apprentice positions next year. Hopefully consistent hours and fair pay that removes any need for a second job will create the possibility of knowledgeable helpers working at Elawa for more than a year at a time.

Though the garden season is hectic and intense, Cline spends the winter trying to relax. It helps things feel sustainable. He says, “you can’t sprint the entire year.” Still, there is work to do. He has compiled the data on what sold and grew well this year, and is now developing a seasonally aligned crop plan for next year. Generally this means growing leafy greens and root vegetables in the spring, then transitioning into fruiting crops like tomatoes and cucumbers though the summer, then back to greens in the fall. Cline also hopes to revitalize the root cellar to overwinter cabbages, carrots, and potatoes to help maintain a consistent supply of vegetables and sell them at the winter market when it opens in January.

Last year the team harvested 8400 lbs from the two acres of vegetable gardens. This year they harvested 10600 lbs. Cline credits this substantial increase to more efficient processes. Automated irrigation and sprinkles have reduced the need for hand watering. Cultivating early and often reduced the need for hand weeding before the weeds got established. Efficient harvesting and packing helped keep the CSA and market stocked. The increased time and focus afforded to the vegetables were supported by an ideal season. Lots of rain in the spring got things off to a good start, a hot summer helped things grow quickly, and the drawn out fall kept the harvests rolling in.

There are many ways to get involved at Elawa farm. “Lots of departments take volunteers,” Cline said. Of course there are many things to do on the farm, but making pie crusts in the pasty kitchen, interning for the kids summer camp, or working a market stand are options as well. In the garden, volunteering starts again with planting in April. Volunteers are welcome during the garden season on Wednesdays from 9am - 12pm. Very busy days might offer a second slot in the afternoon. Only experienced and trusted volunteers are invited to help on their own schedule.

The Lean Farmer by Ben Hartman, and the New Organic Grower by Elliot Coleman are two books Cline suggests gardeners and farmers read. But Cline recommends that aspiring community farmers spend as much time on farms as possible. Reading is a wonderful way to learn, but “the most valuable experience comes from being on the farm, talking to someone who’s done it, or seeing them do it.”, Cline said. The easiest way to gain experience is through volunteering, because most non-profit farms accept volunteers. Working seasonal jobs, internships, and apprenticeships at a variety of farms operating in different markets, catering to different customers, and growing different crops, will offer the well-rounded experience that makes one eligible for more stable positions. Sign up for sustainable agricultural newsletters, and network with people in the industry to stay connected. There are a lot of opportunities in the non-profit farming sector.

Cline’s journey from large scale commodity agriculture to small scale community agriculture demonstrates the many strategies available to feed people. It also reveals that community is one of the most impactful things a farm can grow. The relationships between charities, businesses, customers, eaters, and growers that are all fostered through Elawa are what empower the foundation to continue fulfilling its mission in spite of economic impediments.