Farm Direct
Farm Direct

The Land Connection

Connecting people to each other and to the land that connects us all

The mission of our grassroots nonprofit organization is to cultivate healthy farms, healthy food, and healthy communities. We do this by connecting . . .

Connecting new farmers with the land

The Land Connection (TLC) has acquired farmland at risk of loss to sprawl, and is connecting new farmers with parcels of land to use as an "incubator" for their first farm projects.

Connecting local producers with local consumers

Most people never meet the people who grow their food. As a consequence, they have no choice but to eat flavorless, nutrition-poor food from thousands of miles away. The Land Connection is working to create and strengthen connections between local food producers and food consumers through information and outreach, talks and tours, and publications like Farm-Direct.

Connecting past and present for a sustainable future

The past and the present always contain the seeds of the future. In the not-so-distant past, in your parents' or grandparents' time, Illinois was dotted with small, independent, diversified organic farms (they didn't call them "organic," but that's what they were) that provided the local population with delicious and healthful fruits, vegetables, grains, eggs, milk products, and meats.

Now your food comes from factory farms an average of 1,500 miles away, grown by people you will never meet, using methods and chemicals you will never know about. But together, producers, consumers, and The Land Connection are changing this by bringing local growers and eaters together, and help provide fresh local food while protecting the soil and the environment so that it will be there to sustain your children, and their children, and their children.

The economist John Ikerd has noted that "the concept of sustainability applies the Golden Rule across generations: We should do for those of future generations, as we would have them do for us, if we were of their generation and they were of ours."

If you'd like to re-establish and strengthen the connections past, present and future, and between the food on your table and the local community, contact us at 309-678-2672 or [email protected] or www.thelandconnection.org. We look forward to connecting with you!

Terra Brockman
Executive Director, The Land Connection
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