The current boom of consumers demanding fresh, local foods is undeniable- one can even walk into big, corporate grocers and have local Michigan produce right at their fingertips. Restaurants and cafes are catching on as well, which creates menus full of fresh and tantalizing recipes for an excited and curious cliental. But why the sudden push for local foods in our restaurants, and how does it benefit us, both at consumer (as civilians) and producer (business owners, farmers) levels? Let me count the ways!
Economic Benefits:
- We’ll start with the most obvious one. Restaurants who order supplies from local businesses and farms set up the scene for those companies to flourish. This also creates more jobs in the area, which in turn boosts the local economy. When local businesses flourish, there is more of a sense of community and the quality of life increases for everyone included. Additionally, when the food is directly purchased through the farmer, all of the proceeds go straight into the farmer’s pocket and not some unknown middle-man’s.
- The concept of farm-to-table restaurants draws people into cities they had never been before if that restaurant wasn’t there. Consumers are curious about these novel farm-to-table food establishments, and they will travel to seek it out. Food Dance, for example, is known all over west Michigan (and for good reason; it’s absolutely delish!). When more people come to Kalamazoo, more money comes to the city, and that benefits both producer and consumer.
- From a business standpoint, when the food is locally sourced, there are reduced costs for shipping and packaging. Plus, the food is more fresh, so it actually stays good longer than produce that had been shipped around the nation.
Environmental Benefits:
- Getting produce from local farms is more environmentally friendly because big factory farms tend to increase soil erosion (which leads to unusable soil since it removes the top layer that has all the nutrients for crops to grow). Big factory farms also use more acres than what is usually needed of precious land (because of soil erosion) and tend to use it inefficiently compared to small farms.
- The amount of methane gas produced by livestock on large-scale factory farms has significantly contributed to our greenhouse gases (which cause climate change) and has polluted our water systems more than any other greenhouse gas. Eating and purchasing locally sourced foods helps prevent factory farms from getting our consumer “vote,” and in turn hopefully those corporations will reduce production of livestock, which reduces methane gas emissions.
- Transportation of foods across the globe harms our environment because it contributes to greenhouse gases and climate change. To move produce 1,500 miles burns around 500 gallons of diesel fuel for one semi-truck. Eating locally sourced foods cuts out the middle-man transportation and reduces greenhouse emissions to make for a healthier earth.
Nutritional Benefits:
- Since the food isn’t traveling nearly as far to get to the consumer, there’s less preservatives and other weird chemicals on and in the produce, which makes for an overall healthier mind and body.
- Smaller farms tend to cut down on antibiotics and hormones (and most times they don’t even use any at all) for their livestock which transfers into the consumer eating less of those toxins. Plus, the animals usually are more humanely treated and that’s a huge bonus!
The list of all the wonderful benefits of eating from farm-to-table establishments can go on and on, so you all are lucky I’ll stop myself here. Now equipped with this knowledge, it’s time to explore some of our many incredible local food and beverage establishments in Kalamazoo who adhere to these standards. I decided to pick the brains of the masterminds behind Water Street Coffee Joint, Black Owl Café and Principle Food & Drink who all use locally sourced ingredients in their menus. And, of course, if you feel spunky and want to cook your own farm-to-table meal, you can always stop into The PFC Natural Grocery & Deli or the Kalamazoo and Portage Farmer’s Market and pick up fresh Michigan grown
produce there!
Water Street Coffee Joint
Interview with Katie Hurst, Marketing Director
Q: Why do you personally support farm-to-table concepts?
A: “We believe that supporting a farm to table concept is not only good for our customer but great for our community. Eating and buying from local farms supports local economy and job growth by keeping our hard earned dollars closer to home and also provides healthier, fresher foods due to less travel and processing time.”
Q: How would you compare the taste and quality of farm fresh food you buy to whole sale foods from big corporate companies?
A: “You may not know this, but Water Street is a from-scratch kitchen. All the food that you can purchase in the shops is made by hand, in small batches, and always with as much local product as we can get. What we love about farm fresh food is that it comes straight from the source, has less preservatives, and stays fresh and beautiful a lot longer. These qualities make local produce and handmade food the perfect complements.”
Q: How do you think your use of farm to table concepts have increased your cliental and business livelihood?
A: “Earlier this year, we started a monthly post in the shops to raise awareness for the ingredients that come from local farms and businesses. We also try to share and promote our local farm partners on all of our social media as well. Customers love seeing the face of the people and farms that grow their food and they also feel better about what they're eating when they can see directly where it's coming from and who their purchases are supporting.”
Q: Who are your main suppliers?
A: “Silverbeet Farms, Crisp Country Acres, Harrison Pickle Company, Kalamazoo Pickle Company, Schultz Fruitridge Farms, Jack and Jill’s Maple Hill Farm, and also Gordon Food Service also now has programs where we are able to order food through local Michigan farmers.
Black Owl Café
Interview with Nigel, Chef
Q: Why do you personally support farm-to-table concepts?
A: “I think we’re in a time right now where the economy is always changing and the idea of micro-economies are very appealing because we can work together [with local farmers] and create something better. And also I think food is going to be in better shape if it’s not traveling a thousand miles.”
Q: How would you compare the taste and quality of farm fresh food you buy to whole sale foods from big corporate companies?
A: “Again, it’s going to be fresher and we’re going to have better flavors from it and overall a better product, which is why we buy from farmers whenever we can.”
Q: How do you think your use of farm to table concepts have increased your cliental and business livelihood?
A: “We definitely have been trying to bring in the more vegetarian-vegan crowd with our food, and aiming more towards plant based dishes, so I think that helps our livelihood.”
Q: Who are your main suppliers?
A: “We don’t do a ton of it [supplying from local farmers] at the moment since we gear more towards buying in the summer time, but we encourage farmers to come in directly and let us know what they can do for us, and in turn we tell them what we can do for them. We don’t really have main suppliers since we are constantly shopping around for whatever is the highest-quality product.”
Principle Food and Drink
Interview with Paul, Chef
Q: Why do you personally support farm-to-table concepts?
A: “Personally, it’s a matter of taste. Seasonality and availability lend better flavors since the food isn’t forced to grow in unnatural climates and then shipped.”
Q: How would you compare the taste and quality of farm fresh food you buy to whole sale foods from big corporate companies?
A: “I find most people don’t compare the tastes of farm fresh vs. produce from a whole saler. If you sit down and taste a carrot that’s farm fresh vs a carrot from a whole saler, it’s completely different. It was a breakthrough for me when I finally did compare different foods back to back.”
Q: How do you think your use of farm to table concepts have increased your cliental and business livelihood?
A: “The people are taking notice of [fresh foods] now. Farm-to-table is less of a trend, and more of way of life. People expect it now. Some restaurants are using it as a marketing thing to advertise who they are, but we don’t. We don’t list farms, but we definitely let customers now that we heavily source local.”
Q: Who are your main suppliers?
A: “We use Crisp Country Acres, Vertical Paradise, and Butternut Sustainable. We also use West Michigan Farm Link to connect to tons of different farmers at any time, especially farms who specialize in certain produce.”