Ravenswood Manor on Saturday Pickup Information

Site Host

Nancy and Tom MelvinShareholder since: 1992Site host since: 1992

Site Host Contact Information

Preferred Way to Contact: Text 773-983-9926 (cell)Secondary Way to Contact: Call 773-983-9926 (cell)

Site Address & Link to Map

2860 W. Leland Ave - Chicago, IL 60625

Pickup Day

Saturday

Pickup Hours

10:15 am - 6 pm

Can I Pick Up My Box After Hours in Exceptional Circumstances?

Yes, if you contact your host by 8 pm on pickup day to make special arrangements.

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Directions To Your Site

This site is a brick bungalow with a dormer window in front, located on the north side of a dead end street around the middle of the block. The river creates the dead end to the east, where California Ave. would be if the river weren’t there. Access Leland from the west off Manor Ave. Leland is parallel to and 2 blocks south of Lawrence and 2 blocks north of Wilson. (Both Lawrence & Wilson have bridges crossing the river.)

Where To Find Your Box

From the front of the property: Follow the path on the right side of the house through the back garden to the garage, where you’ll find the boxes stacked. Use the orange side door to enter the garage.

From the alley (accessible from Manor, just north of Leland and South of Giddings), look for the Melvin’s brick garage with the green-stained wooden door and the lantern windows on top of the roof. The green doors will be closed, enter the garage through the orange side door facing the yard. The gate to the yard is on the left (east) of the garage door.

If you are coming after dark, be sure to bring a flashlight, as there are neither lights nor electricity in the garage.

Where to Return Your Recycled, Flattened Vegetable Box

Return your empty, flattened box to the PVC box storage bin, which will be inside the garage, directly up against the middle of the green, three-fold garage door which is the north side of the garage. If your flattened box doesn’t fit in the PVC box storage bin, you can set it down next to the box storage bin.

Special Requests From Your Site Host

Please, please keep the garage door closed at all times, especially during hot temperatures to keep the vegetable boxes cool!

Respect everyone’s box and only pick one for yourself.

Be A Good Neighbor

  • Be sure to find the vegetable share labeled with your name. If you are signed up for a fruit share, your fruit share is also labeled by name.
  • If someone else will be picking up your share(s) for you, please remind them to take only the share(s) labeled with your name.
  • Be sure to flatten your empty vegetable box and stack it in the designated location for recycling.
  • Please recycle fruit boxes on your own; do not return them to your pickup site.
  • Your site host is providing a very generous contribution to your community and to the farm by making this site available. Please make an extra effort to help keep this site clean and tidy.

Thank you!

Site Host Profile

“I love hosting. I love supporting this form of new initiative. I love being part of the future of agriculture. I love John’s writing and Haidy’s sense of humor. I love meeting my shareholders at all times of the day and night and striking up conversations about meaningful topics. I love sharing recipes. I love it all!” ~Nancy Melvin

History: Nancy and another teacher at the Waldorf School called Farmer John in the early ’90s asking him if he would consider creating a Chicago drop site for his newly formed CSA out in Rockford. That first year our garage welcomed a small group of Ravenswood Manor neighbors and Waldorf parents and teachers wanting biodynamic food for their families. Now we have two delivery days with more than a hundred families a week coming through the bright orange door of our garage, dedicated to vegetables. When we needed to replace the original roof we added a distinctive lantern of windows to provide lovely interior light – still no electricity after dark.

Now: Tom and Nancy are both artists. Someday that garage may double as a drawing studio; for now Tom’s painting studio is nearby in Albany park. His work can be found at www.thomasmelvin.com and includes woodblock prints, huge architectural trompe l’oeil, sign painting and small gouache watercolors. Nancy is a textile artist and a waldorf grades and handwork teacher of more than 20 years. She currently works within the community of artisans at Union Handmade, 3860 N. Lincoln Ave in Chicago making organic cotton clothing and toys and hand dyed silk scarves with dyes from her garden: www.unionhandmade.com. Rudolf Steiner calls the newest art to be created the social arts and both Tom and Nancy feel that supporting biodynamic farming by hosting a large and friendly drop site is truly an act of social artistry.

Last winter Tom got a commission from Burpee to paint illustrations for a seed packet of bee and butterfly friendly flowers to be used by the National Park Service. Silk scarves that he painted with bees pollinating their favorite flowers are at Union Handmade, 3860 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago IL 60613. Below is a detail.

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