About the Guild

The Local Growers' Guild is a cooperative of farmers, retailers and community members dedicated to strenghthening the local food economy in Southern Indiana through education, direct support and market connections.

We publish our Local Growers' Guide every spring with information about how, why, and where to buy local food.  We also run the Bloomington Winter Farmers Market, an indoor farmers' market that runs on Saturday mornings from late January through the end of March at Harmony School.  Other activites include sponsoring Dine Local Night events at area restaurants, publishing a bimonthly newsletter, hosting a Winter Guild Gathering with educational sessions for growers, and connecting growers with buyers.

One of the most exciting projects we're working on now is a USDA-funded project to build an incubator kitchen in Bloomington.  The kitchen is being built by Middleway House in the old Coca-Cola Building adjacent to Third Street Park.  Growers, entrepreneurs, and community members will be able to rent time in this commercially licensed kitchen to make value-added projects (like jellies, cakes, dried vegetables, and frozen dinners) which meet all health code requirements for legal resale.  There will also be a business incubator to support budding food businesses and help them  put together a business plan, find funding, source materials, and navigate all the health code requirements.  This is an exciting opportunity for growers to increase the value of their crops and to preserve food. The kitchen is scheduled to open in the spring of 2010. For the latest news on the kitchen, check out the www.bloomingtonkitchenincubator.org

The Local Growers Guild was recently featured on the WFIU radio show Earth Eats and also did an online chat for the Herald Times.  We love to be in the news and stay connected with the public.  We welcome participation and input from more community members who are interested in our vision. Please join us in celebrating family farms, local businesses and the abundance of our regional resources!

Meetings

Board meetings are held monthly at the Caldwell Center. Meetings are open to the public - please contact Kim Kanney at localgrowers@localgrowers.org or 812-333-8287 for dates and times. 

Board of Directors

Grant Pershing, Fullcircle Farm, President, Winter Market Chair

John Byers, Squash-O-Rama, Vice President

Bobbi Boos, Local Indiana Food Enterprises (LIFE), Treasurer

Ellen Michel, Bloomingfoods, Secretary

Keith Johnson, Renaissance Farm and Permaculture Cente, Member-At-Large

Whitney Schlegel, Marble Hill Farm, Member-At-Large

Vanessa Caruso, Stranger's Hill Organics, Member-At-Large

John Galuska, Grown in Town Farmstead, Member-At-Large

Jessie Skaggs, Community Member-At-Large

Staff

Kim Kanney, Director

Katie Zukof, Assistant Director

J.D. Grove, Bloomington Winter Farmers Market Master