Advancing food access on the South Side in partnership with Chicago Cares
From the start, the 61st Street Farmers Market was founded by a passionate group of local volunteers and continues to make an impact in the community with their support. Today, we couldn’t be more grateful to Chicago Cares for bringing an amazing team of volunteers every week to help at the Market and the Hoop.
As Chicago Cares celebrates 35 years of mobilizing volunteers to support historically disinvested communities on the city’s south and west sides, we want to share their impactful stories at our Market.
Bright and early, volunteers join market staff and vendors to help set up the Market, and they assist throughout the day by supporting vendors, shoppers, and community partners, participating in chef demos, entertaining children at our Sprout Station tent, and harvesting, planting, weeding, and watering at the Hoop, our educational garden.
Chicago Cares began working with the Market in 2024 and has quickly become a valued member of the Market community. At that time, the Market struggled to attract consistent volunteers throughout the busy summer months. With Chicago Cares, the Market went from 1-2 consistent volunteers each week to 10-15 in the summer. In 2025, Chicago Cares reported that over 200 of their volunteers supported the Market with more than 800 hours of service.
“It has been a gift to be able to depend on Chicago Cares. This has taken a lot of pressure off and has been so helpful to our ability to successfully run the Market, provide Market programming, and harvest at the hoop house garden. They are a true partner and go above and beyond expectations to support our organization.”
EMILY CROSS, THE MARKET’S SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER
“Y’all are not just doing a farmers market, but you live about it. The genuine care for each vendor, volunteer, and shopper, and caring about so many different aspects is awe-inspiring. Seeing the way the Market reacts to cuts in Link benefits, the work around food systems in Illinois [...], it sparks so much joy for me because it shows how much you really do care.”
ORLANDO BECKUM II, PROGRAMS MANAGER AT CHICAGO CARES AND VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR FOR THE MARKET
Left to right: Orlando | Connie, ED | Adam, our Market Assistant
Echoing Orlando, it also sparks so much joy for us to witness a team of volunteers from Chicago Cares helping around the market and caring for the people that we care for. We are a proud partner of Chicago Cares in advancing racial equity on the South Side through food access and community engagement.
