Roots & Vine Food Hub

04/02/2026

Chemical companies are making huge moves in states to claim immunity from pesticide-illness lawsuits. It's more important than ever to support small farmers using organic and true regenerative farming practices.

Breaking (Bad) News: Kentucky Becomes Third State to Bow to Bayer-Monsanto. Senate Bill 199, sponsored by Senator Jason Howell (R-District 1) and co-sponsored by Senator Craig Richardson (R-District 3), passed the State Legislature on March 19, 2026. SB199 steals Kentuckians' constitutional rights by providing a legal shield to pesticide manufacturers, giving pesticide makers immunity from lawsuits when their products cause harm. SB199 was delivered to Governor Andy Beshear's desk and he did what was right, vetoing the bill on March 31. But Bayer's puppets in the KY State Senate and House moved quickly, marshaling enough votes to overturn Gov Beshear's veto on the same day. The KY Senate veto override passed 24-12, with 6 Republicans crossing the aisle to join all Democrats to stop the veto override. The KY House veto override passed 56-32, with 13 Republicans voting with all Democrats. But it wasn't enough to stop the overturning of the veto. SB199 is now law in Kentucky. Kentucky joins North Carolina and Georgia in taking away the rights of its residents for the benefit of foreign pesticide corporations. Absolutely shameful. These legislators must be voted out.

You can view the KY Senate and House votes here: https://legiscan.com/KY/bill/SB199/2026

03/27/2026

Check out this article from the Local Food Forum about Park Forest's efforts to help create and support a local sustainable food system that benefits farmers and the community!
We're excited and proud to work with the village and local organizations to create something truly dynamic - a non-profit organization focused on providing access to chemical-free food, health, nutrition and culinary classes and space for in person, real life coming together of community! Its not a "grocery store".. it's a Community Hub 💚

LOCAL FOOD l This contributed article focuses on efforts by officials in the Chicago suburb of Park Forest to increase access to locally & sustainably produced food

03/25/2026

Recent heavy rains and massive flooding! Ok, it may not be *massive* but it definitely required some inspection which revealed a little patchwork needing to be done in the front of house. Thankfully we didn’t start laying the floor yet! To quote an acquaintance, it shall forever be known as the “Fortuitous Flood” and work is underway with repairs. Stay tuned for updates!

02/21/2026

Upside down food pyramids,
something called glyphosate and
ultra-processed foods in the news got you 🫨?

02/13/2026

Did you know that in the U.S. food travels an average of 1,500-2,500 miles to get to your plate?

That’s a lot of miles

02/12/2026

Clean, nutritious food should be the norm - not food grown and raised in an industrial, chemical based system

02/11/2026

We may seem quiet but we’re like ducks and paddling like crazy underneath! Thank you all for your patience while we get the Hub ready!

02/05/2026

Last week we had the opportunity to head down to the Everything Local Conference in Springfield, IL to catch up with old friends, make new connections, tap into the Food As Medicine movement, learn new things and, of course, eat great food!!

01/23/2026

Traditional grocery store models have your money going to so many middlemen that the farmer ends up with only 15.9¢ on the dollar back to them - to run their farm and support their family.

With Roots & Vine, the farmers set the price and we respect that. No haggling them down. These are the people literally keeping us alive. We add a percentage to cover operating costs.

Sounds expensive?

The pricing will be comparable to other major grocery chains - we just cut out the middlemen.

And most of us are volunteers - heck, at this point we’re ALL volunteers. Because it’s not about money (unless you’re growing the food!), it’s about community.

It’s about getting food into our community - food that’s healthier than most food you can find in th grocery stores. Chemical free. Local.

Responsibly sourced if it’s something we can’t grow or raise here (Citrus in the winter months & Wild caught, responsibly fished seafood).

No, we’re not a grocery store.

We’re a community hub. We’re YOUR community hub! We’re creating food sovereignty through classes, workshops, education, supporting local economies and
access to fresh, local food.

We’re literally your neighbors and folks from neighboring communities who decided that if we wanted it then we needed to create it.

Have questions? Ask them.

Need further explanations? Shoot us a message.

Want to join in the fun? Fill out the survey and shoot us a message or email. We will have volunteer opportunities!

It literally takes a Village. And we’re here for it.

- the team at Roots & Vine 🌳💜

01/20/2026

Sign up for emails to keep up to date during development and news of future classes, workshops and events!

Join the R&V mailing list for updates on all our programs and food hub happenings. We promise not to spam you!

01/11/2026

Coming Soon to Park Forest: Roots & Vine Food Hub -

It’s been a while since we met so many of you at the Southland Local Food Expo. Before we get into things, we wanted to thank you for providing your feedback and ideas in our survey all those months ago. It’s been a huge part of our work as we establish our foundation. So without further adieu, ...