New guide will connect farms to restaurants

Local
Source: Fauquier Weekend
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7 2009

A local listing

After only a few days of gathering information, the Piedmont Environmental Council has heard from several Fauquier County farms that are interested in being listing in its upcoming “The Farmer-Chef Express” directory.

Participating farms include: Flat Rock Farm in Marshall, Lakota Ranch in Remington, Oak Spring Dairy in Purcellville, Rock Run Creek Farm in Goldvein, and Whitewood Stable Inc. in The Plains.

Thus far, PEC has not received word from any Fauquier County restaurants interested in participating, though organizers expect that to change.

Piedmont Environmental Council is putting together a new guide, aimed at connecting farmers with area chefs to increase the consumption of local food.

The directory, dubbed “The Farmer-Chef Express,” is due out March 15 and will list producers interested in selling to restaurants and chefs who are interested in buying locally grown food in the Virginia Piedmont and the Shenandoah Valley regions.

“We hope that it will make it easier for growers to add diversity and stability to their farm business by forming well-chosen partnerships with restaurants,” a press release issued by PEC's Melissa Wiley said. “Lists of products offered by growers give chefs an idea of which growers best suit the needs of their restaurant, and lists of products requested by chefs give growers an idea of which restaurants would be the best partners for them.”

The guide will also include a cross-referencing index of farms and restaurants to help compatible growers and chefs identify one another quickly, Wiley said. PEC also publishes Buy Fresh Buy Local guides, which are geared toward, and made available to, the general public.

Available to farmers and restaurants, the new guide is being created in response to research that shows that approximately 50 percent of food eaten in the United States is now bought and consumed away from home. “For this reason, restaurants are important local-food campaign partners and play a central role in strengthening the local food system,” Wiley said.

To be included in the directory, information must be submitted by Feb. 15. For more information, contact Wiley by e-mail at mwiley@pecva.org or telephone at (434) 977-2033. An online form is also available under “Get involved” on the Web site www.buylocalvirginia.org .

Del.icio.us

I hope diners will be able to get their hands on this guide. We would absolutely choose to patronize chefs using locally grown and raised food, rather than consume food from unknown sources that's created a large carbon footprint. Right now, we only know of one such restaurant near us. This needs to be promoted more.

Posted by balabala

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