More and more Bloomington restaurants are moving away from corporate partners and looking instead a little closer to home.
Restaurants like Hive Bloomington are turning to local farmers and artisans to provide them the products they need as the “food-to-fork” movement continues to grow.
“Food-to-fork” or “Food-to-table” in practice is nothing new. In fact some establishments across the country date as far back as the 1970s.
Take for example Chez Panisse in Berkley, California. Opened in 1971 by Chef Alice Waters, it was one of the first farm-to-table restaurants borne from the hippie counterculture.
Waters wanted a farm-to-table restaurant because she believed that produce from local farms would be more flavorful and fresh than the produce at other restaurants.
Nearly 50 years later, the movement booms across the nation with locally sourced restaurants in every corner of the country. Patrons of farm to table establishments feel the same way Waters did all those years ago.
“Most of the time it’s healthier, and you know where your food’s coming from,” said IU sophomore Sarah Turner.
A student shares her perspective on the importance of farm to table partnerships.
And for the businesses themselves, it has become something of a prerequisite.
“We’ll have people come in and ask us where things are sourced and where they come from, especially if we advertise that we source things locally,” said Rachel Gogocha, a manager at Hive Bloomington. “I think there are customers, especially in Bloomington who are looking for that and are looking for those same sustainability topics.”
Hive, like many restaurants in Bloomington, work most closely with with Rhodes Family Farms, Fischer Farms, and Miller Amish Poultry. Co-ops like Bloomingfoods and Rose Hill Farm Stop are working to bring even more local farmers into the fold, and directly to consumers too.
For people like Turner the additions are more than welcome as they only serve to help the community more.
“It’s 100% worth it. I love supporting local,” said Turner. “I was just driving through Bloomington, and there’s all these little farm towns, and I want to make sure they’re supported.”
Manager Rachel Gogocha goes into detail about how Hive Bloomington forms relationships with local farmers
The support of Turner and others has helped turn farm-to-table into more than a buzzword. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, or SARE, found that in 2012 local and regional food sales totaled $6.1 billion.
Not only does this local sourcing generate much needed revenue for farmers, but it helps retain food dollars (or the money per paycheck spent on food) in local communities, and it adds incentive for young people to return to these communities and bring business opportunities.
SARE also found an increase in food-to school programs that bring fresh, healthy foods to young students while educating them on the benefits of making healthy purchases as they grow up.
