This week's Patch Portraits also features Niles' "Mr. Canoe," and Winnetka's sporting social entrepreneur.

For Glenview Farmers Market Manager Roxanne Junge, it’s all about eating fresh and knowing where your food comes from.

"If you talk about a supply chain for your food, it's the farmer and it's you--if you get to know your farmer then you really get to know your food," Junge said.

"It started with chard," said Junge, referring to the leafy greens her mother grew in their garden when she was young. "It was something about that cool connection between the garden and my plate that stuck with me."

Read more: Local Chef Shares Market Finds, Recipes

For the past several years, Junge has been helping to grow the Glenview Farmers Market and bring the high-quality local food she loves to more area residents. Junge believes the market is not only a great shopping opportunity but also a chance for learning.

"One of the big things is the seasonality,” Junge told Patch. “People come to the market wanting all the things they see at the grocery store all the time. It's an educational piece of a farmers market to have farmers explain what items are in season or what will be in the next week.”

Educating consumers about seasonality is just one of the teaching initiatives at the market. The market also provides canning and preserving demos, cooking demos by local chefs using fresh items from the market and a booth dedicated to lessons on environmental issues.

This year, Junge has also started an initiative to accept Link Cards at the market and to give people who pay using them double value, so they can buy produce at the market for half price. To pay for the program Junge said she sought out only local funding and avoided federal money because she believed strongly in the community’s generosity to help their own.  

For more information the Glenview Farmer’s Market and a full list of vendors click here. 

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