If you live in the Bay Area it should not be too difficult for you to join the challenge issued by Bon Appétit Management Company and enjoy a meal today made only from local ingredients. The truth is, if you live in the Bay Area, it shouldn't be much of a challenge to do that most days, but let's take it one day at a time.
On Tuesday, September 27, 2011, the Bay Area-based Bon Appétit Management Company (BAMCO) has called on all its chefs at the more than 400 locations in 31 states that they operate to cook a meal from 100% local ingredients (allowing for use of non-locally produced salt). Some cafes will go all out and make everything on their menus for the day locally sourced and grown from within a 150-mile radius, even harvesting seawater for salt.
Today you'll find all-local meals on the board at Café Bon Appétit at the University of San Francisco, at ebay in San Jose, and at Google in Mountain View - all BAMCO-run food service locations.
What might seem like quite a challenge to some is not as tough as it might be, even for those collectively putting out some 80 million meals a year. BAMCO chefs benefit from the company's Farm to Fork program http://bamco.com/sustainable-food-service/farm-to-fork . Launched in 1999, the initiative asks their chefs to buy as much local food as possible directly from small, owner-operated farms and artisan food-makers within a 150-mile radius of their location. BAMCO's Farm to Fork suppliers now number more than a thousand, and through them, the cafés direct millions of dollars annually back into local communities, helping to build a sustainable food system and bring diners the freshest food available. As a result, their chefs already know a lot about what's available in their area throughout the four seasons, and how to make the best use of it.
Distribution has also improved since BAMCO started sourcing more ingredients from local suppliers. These days there are fewer Farmer Janes personally delivering tomatoes to their kitchens' back doors. As the demand for local food has grown, farmers have responded by forming or joining co-ops in order to meet the ever-increasing demand without compromising their values. Meanwhile, demand for local food is so strong that distributors are now willing to work with smaller growers to help distribute their wares regionally. A "hub-and-spoke" infrastructure that includes small farms is a critical piece of a healthier food system.
BAMCO's experience is that "small" is good - but "medium" can be good, too. Back in 1999, wanting to support sustainable agriculture, BAMCO asked for advice in defining what kind of growers should qualify as Farm to Fork supplier. The result was "owner-operated, within 150 miles of a BAMCO kitchen, and with annual sales under $5 million." They subsequently realized, however, that while those criteria allowed them to source from "bigger small" produce growers, it excluded "bigger small" meat producers, so they added a "mid-size" category through which they can access and support more suppliers of humanely raised meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy.
Bon Appétit Management Company launched their first Eat Local Challenge in 2005, when "local food" was a novelty, not a national movement. The idea was to encourage people who cared about preserving flavor and community to bypass the supermarket aisles and seek out the bounty of food growing all around them, wherever they might live. Since then, the word "locavore" has entered the dictionary and new farmers' markets are sprouting up around the country, even in the coldest states.
The reasons to eat food grown by small, local farms are many. Local food tends to have a quicker trip from field to table so it's fresher and therefore tastes better and is more nutritious. Local food also encourages biodiversity, preserves open space, and protects the environment, improves local food security and supports a more diverse local economy.
If you'd like to join the challenge, the farmers market is on at the Ferry Building today. You might also want to check your local market for local ingredients. Bi-Rite Market, Rainbow Grocery and sometimes Whole Foods are good possible sources. Or check LocalHarvest.org for a farmers market, restaurant or grocery near you offering local fare.
Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
TUESDAY - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Here are just a few of the things you'll find for lunch or dinner today: Mutsu apples, San Marzano tomatoes, Romano beans, Basil, Rainbow chard, Pepper cress, Concord grapes, Cherry tomatoes. If it was Saturday, you could have picked up some rice or beans from Massa Organics. Oh well, there will be more than enough available from the other farmers at Ferry Plaza for you to meet your Eat Local Challenge.
Enjoy.
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For more information from Bon Appétit Management Company (www.bamco.com) about their sustainable food initiatives, visit:
Low Carbon Diet
Fish to Fork
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