Food Steward

By Naperville Magazine
Appears in the April 2021 issue.

Spence Farm (spence-farm.com), two hours south of Chicago, is just one of 72,000 farms in the state. But the work that the Travis family is doing to connect Illinois residents to the sources of food they eat is unique.

In addition to small-scale farming, Marty and Will Travis run a consulting business to educate communities about the importance of building local food systems. The documentary film Sustainable focuses on the food movement they are creating in Chicago, including the marketing and delivery service they run called Down at the Farms, a group of 75 Illinois food producers.

“We’re in the process of building a home delivery service,” says Will Travis,
“but right now we have pick-up locations that we work with.” Visit
villagefarmstand.com for ordering info.

Photo courtesy Matt Wechsler