Local Farmer Launches Online Fundraiser

Prairie View farmer Tim Frillman is appealing to the community for donations to help fund an improvement to his business venture.

Frillman, the owner of Frillman Farms on Aptakisic Road, hopes to raise $2,500 by Feb. 11. The money would be used to purchase a heating system for his hoop house, a structure that shelters his homegrown vegetable plants.

Pledges are being accepted on Kickstarter.com.

In his video, Frillman explains how donations would benefit his business venture. The temperature inside the hoop house was 32 degrees when the video was made, he said. A heating system would allow him to bring the temperature to 70 degrees, protecting his peppers and tomatoes from frost and giving him a jump start on the 2013 season, he said.

"Keeping seedlings at 70 degrees is critical during the germination process. This heating system will ensure that plants stay warm during the threatening, cold nights; protecting my investment," he wrote on Kickstarter.

As of Friday evening, 39 supporters had pledged $1,618 toward his heating system. Frillman will only receive the money if he reaches his $2,500 goal. Visit his Kickstarter page to learn more or to pledge your support.

Frillman, a 2004 Stevenson High School graduate, sold fresh produce and honey last summer at the Buffalo Grove farmers market. The honey comes from five beehives on his eight-acre Prairie View farm. He is perhaps best known for his .

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