Prairie Wind Family Farm June 24

One weekend while cashiering at Sugar Beet Food Co-op, I was not surprisingly talking about Pizza Farms.  A customer overheard part of what I was rambling on about and said, “Oh, that sounds like what one of the farms at the the Oak Park Farmers Market is doing.  They had a sign up about Pizza Night.”

“Which one? Which farm?” I begged to know, but neither the customer nor his partner could come up with the name and could only remember that they usually get amazing lettuce from them.

That was enough of a lead for me.  I downloaded a list of vendors at the Oak Park Farmers Market and methodically went one by one to their websites searching for an indication of a Pizza Night until I came across Prairie Wind Family Farm advertising a monthly Sunday evening Pizza Night on the Farm.  I was thrilled to see a Sunday night event only 45 minutes north of Chicago in Grayslake, IL.  It was so accessible.  I drooled a little over the thought of pizza and I drooled a lot over the possibility of getting new people out to a Pizza Farm to share in my favorite summer time activity.

As we rolled out this Sunday, I was pleased to know that we would have a crew of five people experiencing their first Pizza Farm and six people (including me) who had enjoyed a taste and were coming back for more.  I relished the Sunday afternoon lack of traffic and the relative ease in getting out of town without having to leave work early or attempt to coordinate too many schedules.

I arrived with two of the First Timers and they were a bit surprised to see me begin to unpack the items I had packed in my trunk earlier this morning before work.  They hadn’t even considered that we might need camp chairs, snacks, a blanket, plates, utensils, and our own beverages or that we might end up wearing sequin fedoras and pizza hats to become a tough looking pizza gang.  I, as a well versed Pizza Farm enthusiast, have come to grab many of these accessories almost as second nature and had neglected to tell them what they might need to bring.  But I also knew it wouldn’t be necessary for them to bring anything, because my parents would be coming and they have a tendency to border on the side of being overpacked.  In fact, my parents arrived before us and had already set up an arsenal of camp chairs, claimed a picnic table and added a folding table and table clothes of their own, set up the two tables with a buffet of cookies, fruit, chips, and dip, and had a chance to meet both of the Pizza Farmers, Jen and Jeff, and the Pizza Chef, John.

The early crew had arrived in time to see the Mobile Pizza Oven of Pizzeria DeVille get set up and to look over the farm stand with produce, appetizer cups, and cookies.  By the time I arrived, Chef John was entertaining the growing line of people with tales of French Toast Pizza and descriptions of heating his wood-fired oven while the crowd looked over the menu in anticipation.  The choices included a few options from Pizzeria DeVille’s regular menu and then two Prairie Pies that used the freshly harvested Prairie Wind produce including garlic scapes, broccoli, spring onions, and fresh greens.  Our group was big enough that we could order one of each and we even doubled up on a couple to make sure we would have enough.

A special offering at Prairie Wind Pizza Night is the free guided Farm tour as well as a map and a little information to get people started on a self-guided tour.  Farmer Jeff took a group of people in various stages of pizza consumption out to visit the fields.  On the tour, Farmer Jeff explained that the wet soil of this area is excellent for growing broccoli, which I found to be an exciting piece of information because I hope it indicates that broccoli will be a Prairie Pie staple for future Pizza Nights.  Shedding more light on the topping choices of the Prairie Pies, Farmer Jeff revealed that the wet soil and organic farming practices can put certain crops at a higher risk to be wiped out by disease and perhaps the lack of tomato on both varieties of Prairie Pies was related to disease striking the tomato harvest.  Being a farmer involves a lot of problem solving and team work, and Prairie Wind farm is hoping to bring in some tomatoes from a neighboring farm so they can harvest at least some later this season.

Prairie Wind Family Farm grows vegetables and has a 300+ flock of chickens and they have established some partnerships within their community.  They get fruit like the strawberries they served as dessert from a neighbor farm in Michigan.  They partner with the community to donate produce.  And they work with places like Pizzeria DeVille, Oak Park Farmers Market, and Sugar Beet Food Co-op to get their nutritious and healthy produce out there into the community.  Their main business is their CSA program (and it looks like you can still purchase shares for some of the programs).  In fact, Pizza Night started in 2017 as a special event for CSA shareholders.  It was well received and worked out logistically, so for the summer of 2018, Jen and Jeff scheduled one Sunday a month with Pizzeria DeVille and are stepping into the world of Pizza Farming.

Our dinner was only their second public Pizza Night and everyone in our group agreed they are doing a great job!  The pizza came out wonderfully, the farm tour added a nice educational piece, the live music and the open space contributed to a pleasant community atmosphere, and it didn’t hurt that we visited on what some might consider a perfect summer evening.  There was also a baby goat in attendance.  Isn’t summer fun?!

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