College of Lake County (CLC) is one of the country’s top 10 greenest community college campuses. They aim to be a regional leader in sustainable agriculture and resilient food systems.

Their goal? Coordinate the many county organizations working separately to create a unified food-system approach. Through food production, education and training, we can create economic vitality, promote environmental sustainability and address public health and wellness.

The 24,000-square-foot facility located on the College of Lake County Lakeshore campus in Waukegan supports all aspects of the local food system from farm to table, including:

• Training & educational programs for growers
• Innovative growing systems that produce diverse crops year round
• Essential infrastructure to process, store and sell locally grown and produced provisions

The Urban Farm Center is a mixed-use space housing three main businesses:

Lakeshore Farm: A 12,000-square-foot, year-round growing space offering training and production in:

• Microgreens growing
• Mushroom growing
• Vertical hydroponic growing

Lakeshore Kitchen: A 1,000-square-foot shared commercial kitchen for:

• Small food entreprenuers to grow their business
• Culinary and nutrition education
• Farm-to-table meals for students and community

Lancer Fresh Zone: A 1,700-square-foot retail space for:

• Locally-grown produce
• Prepared foods from Lakeshore Kitchen
• Locally-produced food products