Green City Market Founder Passes

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Aug 13, 2008 5:08PM

The Tribune's Stew blog reports that Green City Market founder Abby Mandel passed away this morning. After 11 years of running the annual Best of the Midwest Market at Navy Pier, Ms. Mandel founded Green City Market in 1999 as a way to bring locally farmed foods to people and raise awareness of sustainable food practices. Her work at Green City Market made Ms. Mandel one of the leaders of the local farm-to-table movement.

Ms. Mandel was a trained chef, syndicated columnist, activist and cookbook author whose work at Bon Appetit magazine helped bring about the food processor revolution. Her columns in that magazine often focused on using shortcuts to cooking with fresh ingredients. Ms. Mandel was a founding member and past president of the American Institute of Food and Wine's Chicago Chapter. She also was a member of the local Les Dames d'Escoffier chapter, serving as national president from 1993-1995.

Ms. Mandel's legacy can be felt not only at Green City, but the breadth of farmer's markets throughout the city and metropolitan area. Take the time to visit Green City this weekend and give a thought or two to her memory. [The Stew]

Image via The Purpose Prize Website.