Business Record
07-01-02
From Farm to Fork
BY SARAH BZDEGA
For about six weeks in the summer, Matt Russell and Patrick Standley of Coyote
Run Farm in Lacona regularly drop off a variety of produce ranging from heirloom
tomatoes to beets to Basil Prosperi's Lucca restaurant in the East Village.
Depending on what restaurant owner Stephen Logsdon receives, he will cook
dishes that highlight these local ingredients.
"That's the purest sense of the farm going directly to the restaurant," Russell
said.
It is this farm-to-fork system that's bringing a fresher taste and more variety to
Des Moines food, while supporting farms like Coyote Run.
"The relationships are important," Russell said. "It's trust and support that have
helped grow the trend toward using local foods in restaurants."
Many small independent restaurant owners have developed ties with Iowa
farmers. These chef-owners often buy produce, meat and dairy products locally,
seeing this as a way to distinguish themselves from other restaurants in Greater
Des Moines.
In Iowa's capital city, surrounded by farms, this is something of a new trend. And
it's helping generate a local food system where farmers have a direct connection
to chefs and diners.
"[Restaurant owners] are buying it. They're putting it on their menus. Consumers
are coming more and more. ... Farmers are growing businesses around this. So
all the pieces of the system are starting to work together and we're really seeing
it take off," said Russell, who also is coordinator for the State Food Policy Project
at Drake University's Agricultural Law Center and the Des Moines Buy Fresh Buy
Local campaign.
However, the people in the restaurant industry heading in this direction are still a
small number who are "completely committed to it," said Amit Sharma, an
assistant professor in the School of Hospitality Management at Pennsylvania
State University. Sharma recently completed a study examining the economic
factors that would influence restaurants and producers to purchase or sell locally
grown or produced foods through the Leopold Center for Sustainable
Agriculture at Iowa State University.
Through his research, Sharma found that restaurants using locally grown foods
see this as a way to attract people who want a quality dining experience and may
be willing to pay more for organic and local foods. In addition to being committed
to it, he said, these restaurants also need to be led by a highly trained chef.
"What's essential is a trained chef, someone who can, at the drop of a hat, think
of how to make use of certain local products," Sharma said, "because local
produce is seasonal," and dependent on the weather and other variables. Thus,
chefs don't always know what they'll receive from farms, and have to be creative
and have customers who enjoy new dishes rather than set menus.
Andrew Meek, chef-owner of Sage restaurant in Windsor Heights, will order
specialty items just to try new recipes, said his wife, Lisa Meek, such as
rattlesnake beans and purple potatoes. "He's talented, and he can try those
things and create something out of them," she said, "where I think with a larger
restaurant or more corporate one, they have set menus and unchanging recipes."
Restaurant owners committed to buying locally cite several reasons, including a
desire to support the local economy and sustainable farming and to have a better
understanding of where the food they serve comes from. But above all, it's the
taste.
"When you use seasonal ingredients, you're getting foods at their best," said
Jeremy Morrow, chef and co-owner of Azalea Restaurant & Lounge in the
Kirkwood Hotel, and Star Bar on Ingersoll. In fact, he created Azalea's menu to
feature seasonal ingredients.
Morrow works with farms, such as Cleverly Farms in Mingo and Sheeder Farms
in Guthrie Center, to get about half of his ingredients locally. In addition to
vegetables, meats and dairy products, he also has started using organic soybean
oil produced in Iowa for salad dressings and in the fryer.
Meek, at Sage, is working with a local farm to raise lamb for his restaurant and
he occassionally buys pheasants from Malloy Game Birds, in addition to regularly
receiving produce and dairy products from local farmers.
Mojos on 86th also prides itself on using local products, getting about half of its
ingredients locally during the peak growing season and about 20 percent in the
winter, said owner and chef Rob Beasley. He buys produce from Cleverly Farms,
which he says "grows the best arugula I've ever eaten," chicken and eggs from
Sheeder Farms and dairy products from Cloverleaf Dairy in Guthrie Center.
Not only do these restaurant owners see buying locally as an advantage to their
business, but the producers are also finding that selling to restaurants can be a
major business opportunity. A few sell to several Greater Des Moines
restaurants, including Niman Ranch of Thornton, Sunstead Farm in Waukee and
Cleverly Farms.
"It takes commitment," Sharma said, "but if farmers can commit to this market,
then it can be another lucrative option for sales."
Pros and Cons
The average cost of food per pound is lower for local foods ($3.80 per pound for
local versus $4.30 for national products), according to Sharma's study. However,
the time restaurants spent purchasing local products is longer and preparation
can take longer, because organic foods are less consistent in weight and size
than national products.
Though tomatoes bought through national distributors have been genetically
altered so that they all are about the same, Beasley said, local tomatoes come in
varying sizes, which means that some recipes have to be altered.
As a result of these inefficiencies, the cost can be higher for menu items made
with local ingredients.
Yet Sharma's study also showed that patrons may not be willing to pay a
premium for local foods. When patrons were offered menu choices made from
local or national products at different price levels, 41 percent selected the local
menu option. Of that group, 45 percent would not pay a premium, 31 percent
accepted a premium of $1 and 24 percent were willing to pay an extra $2.
The report concluded that restaurants should tell diners which dishes use local
foods, and market to consumers who are looking for and willing to pay extra for
them.
"I think the biggest uncertainty for (restaurant owners) on whether to use local
produce or not," Sharma said, "is whether customers will like it and whether they
will make a profit."
Producers and restaurant owners in Des Moines are starting to see the market
for local and organic foods grow. "What we're seeing now is consumers
expecting local ingredients," said Russell, who has seen interest for local foods
growing firsthand when he sells his products at the Downtown Farmers' Market.
The Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign is also a sign of a growing interest in local
foods, with nearly 700 people pledging to spend at least 5 percent of their weekly
food budget on local products. The group printed 60,000 directories of vendors
and businesses that support the local food system.
To attract this segment, restaurants are promoting the local ingredients they use
on their menus or telling patrons the source of the food. "You have to be willing to
pass on the information to your customers," Morrow said. "If you're going to
charge more, they need to understand they're getting higher-quality food and the
money is staying in their community."
Relationship building
Morrow's connection with Iowa producers is based on 10 years in the restaurant
business. "It's important to me to try to connect with farmers," he said, "to know
where [the food] came from and when it was harvested."
Andrew Meek also has worked hard to develop relationships. "I think there's a
family feel when you talk about the family-run farms," said Lisa Meek.
However, many restaurant owners and producers are unwilling to dedicate the
time needed to develop these types of relationships. "With restaurants, it's all
about time," Logsdon of Lucca said. "We're already getting ready for the next
day."
Sharma's research found that growers want restaurants to give their produce
needs in advance, so they can prepare to meet them. Yet, restaurants cannot
always commit to the amount of foods they need, but want to know they will
receive it as soon as needed.
"The biggest thing we have found is there's a lack of information sharing from
both sides," Sharma said.
Russell also believes there could be a better system for farmers to distribute their
products locally and they could use national distributors' systems as models.
Grown Locally cooperative in Northeast Iowa recently hired a coordinator to
distribute food for about a dozen farms, Russell said.
But for it to become a profitable business, Russell said, "we would need to scale
up and probably specialize."
As demand for local foods grows in Des Moines, more restaurants could go this
direction in the future.
"I think people like the idea," Morrow said. "Part of it is health, another part of it is
economics and