Froggy Meadow Farm & Jerry Boone – Drought Relief

A Favorite Local Farmer Faces Devastating Drought Issues

Chicago's restaurant community is coming together to raise funds for Froggy Meadow Farm, a local farm on the verge of losing a year's worth of crops due to drought-like conditions. The team behind the charge includes:

Devon Quinn, eden

Jason Hammel, Lula Cafe

Sarah Stegner, Prairie Grass Cafe

John Shields, Smyth and The Loyalist

Oliver Poilevey, Obelix

Ethan Pikas, Cellar Door Provisions

César Murillo, North Pond

Jodi Fyfe, The Paramount Group

If you are a regular at Green City Market’s flagship location in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, you have probably met Jerry Boone of Froggy Meadow Farm in Beloit, Wisconsin. Jerry is immediately recognizable from his big beard and big smile, and for his tables filled with some of our region’s most beautiful produce, including some rare artisanal varieties.

But this year, Jerry’s tables have been mostly empty because of catastrophic drought conditions in his south-central Wisconsin area. He has lost all his spring crops, and if urgent — but expensive — measures are not taken to give him greater access to water resources, he may lose a whole year’s work… losses that are not covered by insurance.

As Jerry explains, the past winter was dry with little snow, which meant the groundwater on which he relies wasn’t sufficiently replenished. And with a rainless spring —he says he hasn’t had rain in three to four months — the formerly residential well that had reliably provided the water he needs for irrigation has run dry after brief use every day.

The costs of remediation — which requires drilling for a new and deeper well, a pump and pump house, and electrical installation — are prohibitive for a farmer who has been getting a lot out of his 10-acre farm for years. Jerry, who like many farmers is reluctant to ask for help, had even considered this as his signal to retire.

But some of our city’s leading chefs, who serve Jerry’s beautiful produce to their customers, love him too much to let his farming career end this way. And this GoFundMe is just part of their efforts to rally the always-generous Chicago food community to raise funds that Jerry needs to pay contractors to upgrade his irrigation system and fill up those tables at Froggy Meadow Farm’s Green City Market tent.

Our food system is at risk because of the consequences of global climate change. The problems Jerry Boone faces are a particularly severe manifestation of these challenges. Any donation you can share will make a big difference in helping Jerry win the day.