I am a staunch supporter of family farms and sustainable agriculture, and I prefer shopping at small, local businesses over large corporations. This deeply held belief is why the sight of an Amazon package on my porch inevitably triggers a sense of guilt.
The Amazon box symbolizes my struggle to uphold my values in a hyper-efficient, global marketplace. When I need to source specialty ingredients such as Spanish guindilla peppers or Japanese white shoyu, which are not available locally, Amazon’s accessibility and efficiency conflict with my commitment to supporting local businesses. Every Amazon purchase feels like a betrayal, supporting a model that erodes the local vitality I support. But rationalizing these purchases is just an excuse for choosing the path of least resistance.
While 100% “Buy Local” is unattainable, I always try to check for local alternatives before shopping online. This is why I was excited when I walked through the doors of the new Salt Fork Food Works food hub in the former Ad Astra space on East Adams Street in Springfield. Its shelves are brimming with goods from more than 40 local farms and businesses. As I explored their vast offerings, I saw numerous opportunities to ease my guilt about filling Jeff Bezos’s pockets.
As a necessary disclosure, I work at Caprae Restaurant, which is part of the same parent company as Salt Fork Food Works. Caprae is located at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery in Champaign.
My week is divided between the restaurant, where I work on weekdays, and my home in Springfield, where I return for the weekends. A key part of my job is managing the incoming deliveries of produce and proteins from our local farm suppliers. Because the farmers often deliver the orders in person, I’ve had the opportunity to build direct, personal relationships with them.
I was pleased to find several of the products we use at Caprae on the shelves at the Salt Fork Food Works Springfield food hub. These included Cahokia rice, a long-grain variety sourced from a fourth-generation biodynamic farm in southern Illinois. This rice is not only delicious but also high in protein, has a low glycemic index, and is free of heavy metal contaminants. Also familiar to me were the meats, poultry and eggs from Abundant Pastures, also located in southern Illinois. And of course, the store’s inventory also includes the award-winning cheeses and gelatos from our own Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery, as well as an enticing assortment of baked goods from its sister company, Central Illinois Bakehouse, including its popular “croughnut.” A croughnut is the Bakehouse’s cross between a doughnut and a croissant.
Salk Fork Food Works stocks stone-ground organic flours from local mills: Funk’s Grove in McLean and Janie’s Mill in Ashkum. My year as a baker and pasta maker in Minneapolis involved working with similar stone-ground, heirloom flours from a nearby mill, so I am excited to once again bake with such high-quality local heirloom flours such as Turkey Red and Red Fife.
The food hub sources much of its inventory through a partnership with The Farms of Illinois. This distribution service represents a collective of farmers dedicated to regenerative agriculture, emphasizing collaboration with nature, enhancing soil health and reducing waste. Local farms contributing to this supply include Bland Family Farms (Jacksonville), Buckhorn Dairy (Mount Sterling), Itty Bitty Micro Farm (Springfield) and Lemay Mushroom Operation (Springfield).
The store offers an exciting variety of artisanal goods. These include goat milk soaps from The Wright Soapery in Urbana, utilizing milk sourced from Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery. They also feature syrups and pickles from Granite City’s Earth Candy, alongside shrubs, syrups and jams from Berries and Flour, a women-owned culinary goods business in Champaign. For coffee lovers, it stocks selections from Sirius Coffee Roasters in Lexington and Elm City Roastery in Jacksonville. Additionally, shoppers can find fresh pasta from Jacksonville’s Corner Deli.
According to Salt Fork Food Works owner Lauren Brokish: “Everyone is coming out, and we’re selling lots of local food and a ton of croughnuts! We’re so happy that people are working us into their schedules. The biggest comment we’ve gotten is how happy everyone is that there is now a year-round option for groceries downtown. We know that people would like to see us open more days, but our Saturday-only model works really well for us and for our farming partners. We’ll try to have new items each week, so be sure to visit weekly to see all the fun seasonal stuff.”
Salt Fork Food Works, 308 E. Adams St., is open every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. year-round.
After my recent visit to Salt Fork Food Works, I stocked up on a few ingredients to make holiday treats. This sweet potato appetizer is a good option for holiday gatherings because it’s gluten-free and vegetarian-friendly.
Sweet potato appetizer with fresh chèvre and dried cranberries
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, sliced into ¼ to ½-inch rounds (See note below)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
4 ounces Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery Chèvre Frais
½ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
Honey, for drizzling
Fresh rosemary, for garnish
Note: I used a round ring mold to make uniform sweet potato rounds.
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, toss the sweet potato rounds with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Transfer the sweet potatoes to the sheet tray, spacing them evenly.
Bake the sweet rounds for eight to 10 minutes. Then flip them with a spatula and continue baking for another eight to 10 minutes, or until fully cooked. Be sure to check them periodically as oven performance can vary, which can affect baking times.
When cool enough to handle, roll the edges of the sweet potato rounds with sweet paprika, and top with a spoonful of fresh chèvre.
Drizzle with honey and garnish with the dried cranberries and fresh rosemary.
After a 40-year career as a dentist, Peter Glatz has embarked on a fulfilling second career, exchanging his lab coat and scalpel for a chef’s coat and knife.
This article appears in December 4-10, 2025.
THAT SHIT LOOKS GOOD