Kids at day care for a baby goat.

Hi, I’m Rachel. I’m one of the children lucky enough to go to the Learning Center’s 2008 spring Day Camp. One of my friends was attending the camp back in March, and I went with my mom to take her there. When I saw how much fun it would be, I asked my mom if I could go. She said yes! Enough about me: This is my goat story.

Heifer International brings visitors from all over the world to learn from the South Chicago Artists’ Garden

In 2003, the South Chicago Art Center lost their urban garden lot to development. That year, Angelic Organics Learning Center partnered with the Arts Center to develop a new and larger garden space on four city lots.

This community garden and educational space was also supported through a partnership with Heifer International, an organization that assists communities to produce healthy food for community development all over the world.

Stateline Farm Beginnings® graduates Don and Tresea Larson

Driving east from Roscoe, Illinois, toward Angelic Organics farm one sees a familiar site: hundreds of new tract homes gobbling up rich agricultural land. It is a worrisome trend when viewed alongside daily stories of tainted imported foods. If we lose the farmland and continue to lose farmers, where will our food come from?

Stateline Farm Beginnings® graduate Margaret Nelson

Margaret grew up on a conventional dairy farm in northern Illinois and always wanted to farm, but thought it was too unrealistic. She and her husband Mark, a city kid, got a few cattle as soon as they moved onto their six acres. They wanted to make sure that their daughters were brought up around livestock. So the girls both helped to raise a few beef cattle and show them through 4H and at the county fair each year.

CRAFT and Stateline Farm Beginnings® graduate Chris Cubberly

Each year, more people come to Angelic Organics Learning Center in search of a career change. The Learning Center’s farmer training programs have guided many of them on a new, promising path. No matter their previous occupation, these students have become rejuvenated and drawn satisfaction in farm work. Just ask former veteran chef Chris Cubberly.

Monica is one of the leaders at the Salvation Army's Organic Unity Garden (Photo: Stacie Dunn)

In Rockford, Illinois, lives a young woman with a big dream. Monica Logwood, a 16-year-old open to a world full of possibilities, has become a role model to younger children through her participation in the Learning Center’s Roots & Wings program. Although thriving now, Monica wasn’t always enthusiastic about getting involved and helping her community.

Growing new farmers since 1998

In October 1998, the idea for the Learning Center was born of the marriage of rural and urban. The proud parents were farmers and shareholders of the community supported agriculture initiative at Angelic Organics farm. For a week, a small group gathered in the living room of the Peterson farmhouse. We saw the possibility of the farm—as a community resource, a rich cultural connecting place, and a source of inspiration and practical learning—serving as a partnership of farmers and urban residents seeking to rebuild a healthy local food system and a better quality of life.