The Pilsen Community Market has been a Community and food advocate for twelve years in order to educate in better options for food sources and sustainability. The PCM came to form as a community market first, looking to connect local artisans, farmers and makers to their local consumers, as well as a meeting place for the community to come together. PCM is comprised of an entirely minority board.
Pilsen Community Market at Honky Tonk
NEXT SUNDAY! May 15, 2022
“It’s a showcase of diverse products from the surrounding community, and yet so much more. People like to stay and hang out, listen to live music and take in the scene!” ~Esmirna García
“We can all agree that plants are beautiful. However, there are plenty of positive reasons beyond aesthetics why you should have them in your space. Plants are living beings that bring benefits from improving air quality, your mood, and immune system to meditating and learning life lessons while caring for them.”
Supporting Local Farmer's Market
Fresh, local foods. The fruits and vegetables are picked at the peak of their growing season, meaning this produce is the freshest and the tastiest available.
A wider variety. Farmers markets can offer a lot of variety, vastly different even from what you see in the grocery store. Take a chance and try a new fruit or vegetable!
Seasonal treats. By shopping at farmers markets, you get to find the truest flavors of the season and connect with the growing season where you live. Enjoy fresh asparagus, spinach, and strawberries in the spring, indulge in fresh peaches and apricots in the summer, and cook with fresh pumpkins and apples for some amazing fall flavors!
It’s good for your health. Produce and foods found in farmers markets are minimally processed and often grown without using pesticides, antibiotics, or genetic modification. Nourish yourself with nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables!
Herbal teas—commonly known as tisanes in Europe—have been used by various cultures around the globe for thousands of years. Our early ancestors used a myriad of herbs, flowers, berries, roots, and barks to create aromatic elixirs, many of which they believed could be used for medicinal purposes.
Although “tea” is in the name, it’s important to note that herbal teas are not derived from the Camellia sinensis plant, which is harvested to produce black, oolong, green, and white teas. Unlike these “true” teas, herbal teas usually do not contain caffeine. Additionally, the flavors, aromas, and healing properties of herbal tea can vary greatly depending on the exact ingredients used.
Adding an herbal tea to your daily routine is a wonderful way to support your overall wellness. Source: The Republic of Tea
NATURAL SOAPS 3 reasons to use them
Natural soap won’t dry out your skin or cause any other skin irritation as all of the ingredients are gentle and skin safe.
Natural soap doesn’t contain any synthetic ingredients, which can be absorbed by the skin (the body’s largest organ) and sometimes get into the bloodstream causing problems.
Natural soap is often more subtle scented in a refreshing way.
Source: Dr. Squatch
Pilsen Community Market: A Celebration of Diversity Where Community Thrives
By Franky
In 2020, Pilsen Community Market is celebrating its 12th anniversary. It was founded at Pilsen, a neighborhood that has become a historical landmark since it has been a port of entry for a rich diversity of immigrants. At the downing of the 20th Century, Pilsen was inhabited by Czechs, Poles, Germans, Albanians, among other immigrants from Eastern Europe, yet due to a transformation of immigration patterns to the United States, it turned into one of the most representative Mexican neighborhoods of the Midwest since the 1960s. Assuming an identity marked by color and murals that transformed the landscape, Mexicans started settling in as Europeans moved out to the suburbs. It is said that Pilsen was constructed by the Czechs and painted by the Mexicans. Not long ago, Pilsen was deemed one of “The 12 Coolest Neighborhoods Around the World” by Forbes and Time-Out magazines. The source of its coolness emerges from a cultural Renaissance that is being experienced on its streets, theatres, galleries, restaurants, trendy bars, and at its National Museum of Mexican Art, all of it, expression of an innovative immigrant culture.
Pilsen Community Market represents a microcosm of the neighborhood as a whole. At the same time, it is one of the only two farmers markets in Chicago that operates as a non-for profit organization. Here, art creators, virtuous cooks, hardworking farmers, agricultural laborers and beekeepers sell the product of their work. Nonetheless, El Mercadito has gone further than being a place to buy organic products, food, and art crafts. It fosters a much broader social impact by 1) easing the access to healthy and sustainable food; 2) promoting culinary arts and culture; and 3) conducting nutrition, health and art workshops.
Out of the 10 or so weekly participants, 80% are women. The majority are Latinas proposing an alternative economic model to their household economy. Two wonderful examples of success are embodied by Marcelina Hernández, chef and owner of Yvolina’s Tamales and by María Parra, agricultural worker and owner of Parra Family Farms. Besides her perseverant spirit and unique seasoning and recipes, Marcelina offers vegan options cooked with organic products, which is her signature. On her behalf, María is one of those strong and determined women who loves working with the soil and under the sun. Most of her life, she worked on the fields, but later she involved herself into trading her products. At different points in time, they both approached El Mercadito and from a couple of sales carts their businesses became achieving enterprises. Marcelina became the most widely recognized Tamal Lady in town appearing in prestigious publications. Today, besides being a member of the Pilsen Community Market, she has her own restaurant. María decided to acquire her own produce business and launched a line of organic products.
One could say that El Mercadito equals the sum of its parts: a business incubator, a space for artistic expression, and a promotor of health, food sustainability, and education. However, the Pilsen Community Market is much more than that. It is a place that opens its doors for community to come together and celebrate diversity in all senses of the word.
Franky is a cultural advocate, a transgender activist and a writer. She co-founded literary magazines in Chicago, such as Fe de erratas, contratiempo and El BeiSMan. As an organizer, Piña has promoted Pilsen Fest, an annual celebration of arts and culture. Lately she has been involved with promoting experimental writing spaces and means to exhibit and support the work of women in the arts, culture and politics.
