Understanding how food gets from the farm to your fork can be puzzling, so Illinois Farm Families are filling in the missing pieces. During PORK-a-pa-ZOO-la at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo on June 30, visitors can learn how Illinois farmers grow soybeans, raise pigs and produce pork.
“We understand consumers have questions about where their food comes from, and we want to help answer those questions in an entertaining way,” says Dereke Dunkirk, a hog and soybean farmer from Morrisonville, IL, and president of the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA). “Families will see farming in action from start to finish.”
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., children can visit five interactive play stations to solve a farm to zoo puzzle. Families will see how soybeans grow and learn what pigs eat, and when the puzzle is completed, they will receive a special prize. Interactive activities include:
Visitors can try free samples of pork burgers and purchase DaBurger, a juicy, one-third-pound ground pork burger. DaBurgers were introduced to Chicagoans last fall at all Chicago Bears home football games and will be featured on the Soldier Field menu again this season. DaBurger varieties are currently being served at U.S. Cellular Field at all White Sox home games and have been on the menu at the United Center for all events including Chicago Blackhawks hockey and Chicago Bulls basketball games since mid-January.
Lincoln Park Zoo has free admission. Learn more about the zoo at www.lpzoo.org. To learn more about Illinois Farm Families, visit www.WatchUsGrow.org.