The Farmplate Blog

Farm to Table at Vermont’s Skinny Pancake: What’s On Your Plate?

Jeff Gangemi Nov 15, 2011 What's on Your Plate? 0 comments

In a few short years, Burlington’s Skinny Pancake creperie has become something of an institution. Co-founder Benjy Adler started his business in 2003 as a two-man operation with his brother Jonny. Together, they manned a cart on the main pedestrian walking mall in Burlington, making sweet and savory crepes for hungry passers-by. In 2007, they opened a full-fledged restaurant on Burlington’s waterfront.

Benjy later launched a second Skinny Pancake location in Montpelier, and in 2010, he launched The Chubby Muffin in the Old North End of Burlington.

All three locations – along with the still-running food cart – source a majority of their food locally from a group of about 30 farms and artisans. Benjy and team love showcasing some of the less traditional Vermont fare, like rabbit from Fresh Tracks Game and Poultry Farm in West Haven, and yak from Vermont Yak Company in Waitsfield.

Here are the rest of the local farms and artisans from which The Skinny Pancake sources more than 60% of its ingredients:

Winding Brook Farm • Morrisville, VT
Small Step Farm • Waitsfield, VT
Pete's Greens • Craftsbury , VT
Boucher Family Farm • Highgate Center , VT
Shadow Cross Farm • Colchester , VT
Layed in VT • Barre , VT
Champlain Orchards • Shoreham , VT
Misty Knoll Farm • New Haven , VT
Monument Farms Dairy • Weybridge , VT
Gleason's Grains • Bridport , VT
VT Coffee Company • Middlebury, VT
Wilcox Ice Cream • Manchester , VT
VT Smoke and Cure • South Barre , VT
Cabot Creamery • Cabot , VT
VT Butter and Cheese Creamy • Barre , VT
King Arthur Flour • Norwich , VT
Littlewood Farm • Plainfield , VT
Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks • Montpelier , VT
Manghi's Bread • Montpelier , VT
Bee Haven Honey • Montpelier , VT
Vermont Soy • East Hardwick , VT
Butterworks Farm • Westfield , VT
Taylor Farm • Londonderry , VT
The Cellars at Jasper Hill • Greensboro, VT
VT Artisan Coffee and Tea Company • Waterbury , VT
VT Sweetwater • Poultney , VT
Otter Creek Brewing • Middlebury , VT
VT Yak Co. • Waitsfield , VT
Greenfield Highland Beef • Plainfield , VT
Hill Farmstead Brewery • Greensboro, VT
Lincoln Peak Vineyards • New Haven , VT
Arethusa Collective Farm • Burlington, VT
Screamin' Ridge Farm • East Montpelier , VT
Maple Brook Farm • Bennington , VT
Rookie's Root Beer • Burlington , VT
Love & Tea Co. • Montpelier , VT

The Skinny Pancake, which offers up affordable meals and a fun atmosphere, has also become one of the “go-to” music venues in Burlington, Vermont. “I got into this business for fun and found meaning along the way,” says Adler, who says he sources locally for many reasons.

The five main reasons, he says, are embodied in the acronym SCENE, which stands for Security, Community, Environment, Nutrition and Economy. “The most compelling reason for me is Economy. My restaurant puts hundreds of thousands of dollars back into the local economy and into farmers’ hands. They tend to be conscientious spenders themselves,” says Adler. “We’re creating wealth for everyone.”

Jeff Gangemi is FarmPlate's Director of Partnerships and Communications. A lover of both local and far-flung foods like soup dumplings and carnitas tacos, Jeff believes in the power of food, writing and entrepreneurship to effect social change.