We grow healthy.
The Conservation Foundation’s Green Earth Harvest certified organic farm program is devoted to healthy soil, healthy food, healthy people, and healthy communities. We create a place where local farmers and eaters who value responsibly grown, delicious food come together to do their part to support local farming, connect with the land, and delight in exploring the seasonal, certified organic harvest.
About The green earth harvest Program
Since 2002, we’ve organically grown vegetables for our community here on McDonald Farm in Naperville, home of The Conservation Foundation. We farm on 49 acres with 9 farm crew members, 4 greenhouses and 2 tractors. We proudly grow for over 700 families who participate in our farmshare program, plus an additional 1,200 families through our farm to food pantry programs and our weekly summer farm stands.
seasonal Vegetable Subscriptions
Through our farmshare subscriptions, members of the community purchase a portion of our farm’s anticipated harvests in advance of the season, guaranteeing their share of our seasonal vegetables, funding the work of the upcoming season, and sharing in the risk and reward of local growing. In exchange, we plant, cultivate, harvest, and distribute a bountiful selection of organic vegetables. We offer a “Self-Select” program, where each person selects the vegetables they’d like to take home from the harvest, allowing you to customize your farm to table experience.
Farm Experience
We offer our farmshare subscribers a unique opportunity to experience a real working farm right here in Naperville! Throughout the summer, there are many opportunities to connect with the farm such as free U-pick days (peas, green beans, ground cherries and cherry tomatoes), Pizza Night on the Farm, farm tours, children’s activities and summer camps. Subscribers also enjoy visits from our local farm partners who bring their delicious fruit, meat, eggs, milk, flowers, organic grains, flour, and organic sourdough breads to farmshare pickups at the farm!
community partners
In addition to being program of The Conservation Foundation, we partner with other non-profits and local farms to bring our communities together on this precious protected land. During our growing season, we typically provide around 20,000 pounds of produce to Loaves and Fishes and other local pantries through our Farm to Pantry program, with the support of county funding. Please reach out to us if you’re interested in partnering to strengthen our local food system and help meet the increasing fresh-food need of those experiencing food insecurity.
ORGANIC & SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
We are proud to say that all of our crops are USDA certified organic produce and we achieved certification from the Real Organic Project. Our farming practices meet the strict standards of the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP). Annually, our farm undergoes a rigorous certification renewal process that involves detailed documentation of our field plans, pest mitigation, sources for seeds (and other inputs), and produce handling processes. We practice crop rotation, plant cover crops, utilize natural inputs to nurture the soil, and don’t use any non-organic approved fertilizers to help ensure the highest quality of soil fertility possible, giving you incredibly nutritious – not to mention delicious – veggies! You can taste the difference.
Picking Up Vegetables
Check out what it’s like to pick up a share at the farm and see what a veggie “unit” looks like by joining Lea at a pickup!
Recipe collection
Wondering how to use your fresh, seasonal produce? We’ve got ideas! In our carefully curated Recipe Repository, you’ll find vegetable storage and preparation tips, along with a whole catalog of recipes we’ve collected over the years. When you become a shareholder, you’ll also receive our farm’s weekly newsletter with recipe inspirations for the harvest, a “Veggie of the Week” spotlight to help you learn more about what’s being grown, and other resources to make your farmshare experience one you’ll look forward to week after week and year after year.
Connect With Us
You are always welcome to contact Green Earth Harvest’s Business Manager, Sheryl Fasone, with any questions about Green Earth Harvest. Email her at [email protected] or call her at (630) 428-4500, Ext. 154.
