local food

At Duo Restaurant in Denver, the reputation for bringing local food from farm to table has been carefully cultivated since the restaurant opened its doors in the hip downtown neighborhood of Highland about seven years ago. Co-owners Stephanie Bonin and husband Keith Arnold have real food and community in their bones. “We are passionate about our restaurant being an extension of who we are and what our values are. Seasonal eating, sourcing locally and decreasing our footprint on this Earth are only some of those values,” says Bonin. For Bonin and Arnold, “building relationships with farmers is as important as building relationships with our customers, and both take a concentrated effort -...

Seattle’s Café Flora, which recently marked its 20th anniversary, invited a group of local farmers and food producers to celebrate at the restaurant in a kind of local food hoedown not unlike the farmers markets where the producers sell their wares.  That’s the kind of respect this restaurant and its owners show for the farmers and artisans who make their vegetarian fare as popular as it is. “When it is your neighbors growing the food, I think you can taste the difference. Guests visit us from all over the country and all over the world to get a true taste of the Northwest because they know it's going to be fresh, local and flavorful," says owner Nat Stratton-Clarke. Since opening...

Thanks to author and speaker Ben Hewitt, the small, rural town of Hardwick, Vermont, is now affectionately known far and wide as "the town that food saved," or to some, as the "Silicon Valley of local food." Ben's book, The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food, published by Rodale Books in 2010, tells the story of Hardwick's revitalization. Not long ago, the town struggled financially, but it has since reinvented itself through a dynamic local food economy. Be sure to read more about the book on Ben's website and pick up a copy of it at a locally owned bookstore near you.  As a member of the Upper Valley Food Co-op board of directors, I had...

Have you heard that Saturday, May 19, is Food Revolution Day? Started by the Jamie Oliver Foundation, it's a worldwide event designed to celebrate healthy eating and bring people together at dinner tables and local events. Here's from their mission: "Food Revolution Day is about connecting with your community through events at schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers' markets. We want to inspire change in people’s food habits and to promote the mission for better food and education for everyone." As individuals, we can do something about the issues revolving around health, culture and the environment. There's a feeling of power, even revolution, about our food...

The benefits of supporting independent local businesses over large corporations can be significant for the economic health of communities. A recent study by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance found that only 16% of the money spent at big box stores stays in the local economy. In contrast, local retailers in the study returned more than 32% of their revenue to the local economy.  One way some communities have devised to keep money close to home is through local currencies, where a community or association essentially develops its own money, which can only be used in a limited area at participating organizations. Berkshares and Ithaca Hours, in the Berkshires region of Western...

NAME: Kristen Johanson FARM: Blackberry Meadows Farm AGE: 37 Can you provide some brief background information about your farm? In your opinion, what makes it special or unique? Blackberry Meadows is an 85 acre organic farm run by a group of young people. The farm was purchased from the original owners as a turnkey operation six years ago and the current owners have been able to maintain its profitability. We are committed to growing healthy, nutrient dense produce, poultry and eggs, as we foster the vitality of our soils and our community. We grow for our 150-member CSA as well as local restaurants and farmers markets. Each season we mentor a number of young people as interns and...

Hello! My name is Anna Villarruel and I will be interning at Farmplate for the next few months. I’m a senior at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, but originally hail from Santa Barbara, California. My love affair with food started when I was suddenly separated from my mother’s cooking the summer before freshmen year of college. Suddenly, avocados, mangos, and oranges weren’t in season year-round and sunlight was completely out of the question for six or seven months. As I became more acquainted with the Northeast, words like “local food,” “sustainable agriculture,” and “CSA’s” quickly became a part of my vocabulary. My constant trips back and forth across the country have...