Q&A with Eliza Fournier, Urban Farm Center Director

Eliza Fournier is director of CLC’s Urban Farm Center, a modern, high-tech growing space, learning lab, kitchen and market, currently under construction in downtown Waukegan. Fournier’s work involves growing and empowering the local food system in Lake County, as well as leading CLC’s Greenbelt Farm in North Chicago.

Q: Introduce yourself and your role at CLC.

I started as an environmental studies major seeing how food and farms connect people to the land and the environment that we depend on for daily life. I’ve spent my career nurturing that. To be able to grow the Urban Farm Center and generate excitement about how food can help create a more resilient environment is exciting to me.

Q: What’s special about how CLC has adapted to meet the needs of the community?

CLC has gone to bat for the people of Waukegan, in terms of getting the Urban Farm Center moving forward, because it’s something that we’ve heard our stakeholders and community members get excited about. I think it’s really special that CLC listens to students and community partners. It’s such a diverse county, what’s important to one community can be very different from what’s important to another community, but we all have shared values.

The idea for the Urban Farm Center was actually brought to CLC by external partners, including philanthropic partners here in Lake County. For them to view CLC as a trusted home for their investment, and then to back that up with additional investments to make it happen is a true testament to the warmth that people feel for CLC throughout the county.

Q: How has your role evolved at CLC?

I have several hats that I wear as a CLC leader. One is, of course, the Urban Farm Center director. The vision for the Urban Farm Center, the first capital campaign that CLC has ever done, is to support all aspects of the local food system from farm to table, including growing food and how to prepare and eat food. It’s helping to create jobs, enhance health and create a sense of community in this beautiful high-tech space.

Anytime we needed letters of support, it has been so rewarding to see everyone from elected officials to partners to neighbors, stepping up with the most beautiful letters expressing their excitement about this project.

Q: What excites you about where CLC in general is heading in the future?

When I joined the college, we were on the tail end of COVID, and people were hesitant to come back to campus. In the last three and a half years, seeing how vibrant the campuses have become again is exciting.

Since then, the ATC, Prairie at Brae Loch and the Student Center have all opened. There’s so much happening everywhere. People are feeling a real sense of ownership in Lake County for the college and pride in CLC.

I hope that everyone who steps inside the Urban Farm Center becomes an ambassador for it and for CLC. I hope that people will talk about how the Urban Farm Center helped them grow their business, grow their health and grow their understanding about what work and jobs in the food system are like. I hope that people say it’s a place you have to see.