Going Straight to the Source
Butler County farms, restaurants, schools and institutions are part of a major trend in the United States: snapping up food grown, raised or processed locally.
“It is really better for each community to support those farms and businesses that are your neighbors,” said Jennifer Daurora, part of the McGinnis family and business development director for McGinnis Sisters Special Food Stores.
“It's kind of old-fashioned. It's what was happening in the '40s and '50s,” she said.
In the 2014 Culinary Forecast of the National Restaurant Association, the top trend is locally sourced meats and seafood followed by locally grown produce.
“The American palate is changing,” said Christin Fernandez, association spokesman.
“It started off with the local restaurants but has grown,” Fernandez said. “It is a slow and steady integration even with fast- food restaurants.”
Nick Fusta, owner of Mama Rosa's Restaurant in Penn Township, said, “Whatever my 85-year-old Mama Rosa doesn't grow in her garden behind the restaurant, I purchase local.”
Fusta's purchases include not only a wide variety of produce but also local wine and beer. He agrees there is more local sourcing now.
“Folks will seek us out since they know that we're interested in providing local foods whenever possible,” Daurora said.
“We've always done it. We were doing local before it was cool,” she said. “It just makes sense from a value standpoint.”
Local for McGinnis Sisters means the food is grown no more than a three-hour drive from their stores.
“The food is only traveling a few miles instead of a thousand miles. It's a quality issue,” Daurora said.
“Customers respond to that feeling of community,” she said.The McGinnis Sisters buy more than produce locally. For example, the Adams Township store incorporates local mustards, salad dressings and other condiments, and they serve pizza made with local dough and sauce. In the store, customers also may find pork and other local meats, cheeses and eggs when available.“On the side of the farmers and producers, transportation has always been an issue in our area,” Daurora said. “They don't always have time to bring it to us and we don't have time to go get it.”“The other challenging thing is educating the consumer about the worth of the items when they are small batch or locally done,” Daurora said. “Small-batch items are not always efficient to make. Consumers have to be willing to pay more so that the farmer or producer can earn a living.”Several Butler County farmers get their products to buyers through the Northwest Pennsylvania Growers Cooperative and Penn's Corner Farm Alliance.“We have a lot of farmers that don't want to go to farmers markets and try to find markets for their goods. We formed a cooperative so we can have a food hub to distribute their products better,” said Amy Philson, cooperative manager.“These are small farmers that may not have marketing outlets on their own because of time and resources,” said Neil Stauffer, general manager for the alliance, which works in southwestern Pennsylvania.“They are delegating the marketing and distribution and creating an economy of scale. It allows them to have access to customer bases that they wouldn't otherwise,” he said.Stauffer said a chef might not work with a single farmer but will work with a group of farmers who can provide a variety of goods.
“If you're independent you're putting your neck out,” said Kevin Jarosinski of Jarosinski Farms in Buffalo Township.“In 2007, I started out with 12 chickens,” Jarosinski said. “Every year I've developed and have grown with the help of Penn's Corner and other sources to meet the demand.”His flock of 200 hens lays about 70 to 100 dozen eggs a week. He also raises about 1,000 pastured poultry, two dozen hogs, several beef cattle and 20 acres of organic hay.Inspections by Penn's Corner and the U.S. Department of Agriculture verify Jarosinski follows good farming and sanitation practices and that his products are organically raised. He also relies on inspections done at Thoma's Meat Market in Saxonburg where he has meat processed.Jesse Allen of Wild Roses Farm and Mushroom Co. in Slippery Rock markets fresh and dried mushrooms through the Northwest Pennsylvania Growers Cooperative.Allen teaches sixth- grade science at Emily Brittain School and has grown shiitake mushrooms on logs from his property for about three years. He also grows oyster and wine cap mushrooms. Most of his mushrooms are sold through the cooperative's Web store.Allen said the customer base for the cooperative has doubled in the past year. Restaurants want to purchase Allen's mushrooms so he is gradually scaling up to meet that demand.“I'm always trying to promote local food and good eating. I think there is a correlation between food and good health,” he said.
Increasingly, schools are conveying the same message. Buying locally for school meals has the support of both the Food and Nutrition Service of USDA and the School Nutrition Association. Their websites provide resources and showcase success stories. Grants also are available to start school gardens.“We've been looking to start a garden. That's one of my big goals, to start a garden with our agriculture department,” said Jennifer Zellefrow, registered dietitian and director of food services for the Moniteau School District, “But the growing season is so limited. Who is going to be responsible for maintaining it in the summer months when no one is here?”Last fall, Zellefrow put a variety of local apples on the school's menu. Daubenspeck's Orchard in Petrolia provided apples that are the size she needs.With the area's shorter growing season, Zellefrow's choices are limited because the school needs large quantities of food in-season. It also has to meet food safety standards and National School Lunch Program requirements.That works for apples. But Zellefrow said it would be difficult to buy meat and poultry that consistently fits within the program's limits on fat and calories.Darlene Carmack, food service director for the Seneca Valley School District, also tries to put local food on the menu.“Everything we do is done a year in advance and bid related,” said Carmack. “We utilize Pennsylvania-preferred products as much as we can, and I am looking into working with two additional produce companies for the 2015-16 school year.”“We go to the local farms when we can,” said Scott Zeckzer, corporate director of purchasing and food service for Concordia Health and Human Services.
“We're doing close to $300,000 of local food purchasing a year,” said Jeremy Kelly, certified dietary manager, certified food protection professional and Concordia's corporate chef.Kelly said that includes seasonal produce, bread, dairy products and some meats.Although Concordia wants to support local businesses, they cannot always get enough locally to meet its needs. Zeckzer said they still need to purchase other food through a distributor.“Availability is the toughest thing in our region,” said Kelly, who considers “local” to be within a 100-mile radius of Concordia.“A produce purveyor can get it all year round and it's a great product. Tomatoes are in abundance this time of year, but in April and May you're not going to be able to get even a local green tomato,” Kelly said.For meat, availability is an issue because of the size of local farms.“We probably go through 1,500 to 1,600 pounds a week in beef,” said Kelly. “We just don't have that type of farming around here to keep us supplied with beef all year round.”Getting local products to Concordia is not easy, even if the farm is within a few miles.“Transportation is definitely an issue. They don't have a delivery service,” Kelly said.Zeckzer and Kelly emphasized that local suppliers also have to meet Concordia's standards for sanitation.A change to centralized purchasing for Concordia's facilities in January 2013 made it possible to expand local sourcing. That changed the menu and meal preparation.“If it's fresh and it's local, it's going to taste better,” Zeckzer said. “What (food service staff) are seeing is better pricing and better quality.”“Buying fresh local food is a really good way to eat,” Allen said. “It makes you more creative in your eating. You plan your menus around what you have. You are eating seasonally.”“It's always changing. It's exciting. You have to be open to new things,” Daurora said. “It's really a treasure hunt.”
