By Kyle Jarvis Sentinel Staff

A group of local volunteers is working to get more locally grown food on restaurant menus, and several Keene-based restaurants have already signed on.

The Monadnock Menus initiative began earlier this year through the Monadnock Farm and Community Connection program, which aims to strengthen the connection between the public and local farmers, said Jennifer F. Risley, program coordinator for the Hannah Grimes Center in Keene and participant in the Monadnock Menus effort.

“It’s a group of volunteers looking to bring more awareness to local food and farms,” she said. “We provide services for farmers, such as giving them new markets and promoting farmers markets.”

Risley said Monadnock Menus was inspired by a similar program in Vermont called the Vermont Fresh Network.

“There’s a registration fee for restaurants who sign on of $20 annually,” Risley said. “We go to restaurant owners and ask them if they’re interested in participating. We give them a packet with all the information and we try to encourage them to identify what’s already on their menus that’s local.”

In return, the participants are listed on the Monadnock Menus website, and in Monadnock Table Magazine, Risley said.

Restaurants are also encouraged to set their own goals for carrying locally grown food on their menus, Risley said.

Several local restaurants have joined the effort, including Little Zoe’s Pizza, which opened in The Center at Keene about seven months ago.

“Being a small business in the community, we want to support other small businesses,” said Melanie J. Forster, who co-owns and operates Little Zoe’s with her husband, Ed.

The take-and-bake pizza shop already uses locally produced products, including King Arthur flour and Cabot butter, both from Vermont, chorizo sausage from the North Country Smoke House in Claremont, and produce from the Tenney Farm in Antrim, Forster said.

Luca Paris, co-owner and executive chef of Luca’s Mediterranean Cafe in Keene’s Central Square, also uses locally grown foods, he said.

“It’s something we do anyway, it’s part of what we do,” he said. “The Green Wagon Farm (of Keene) and I have done a lot together, as well as Boggy Meadow (of Walpole) and Abenaki (Springs Farm, of Walpole).”

Brewbakers Cafe on Main Street in Keene has also been offering locally grown foods on its menu, said Jeffrey J. Murphy, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Eliza.

“It’s amazing in this area how much local foods have been integrated with local cafes and restaurants,” he said. “It (Monadnock Menus) was a natural fit for us, and really a no-brainer.”

All of the coffee at Brewbakers comes from Terra Nova of Gilsum, Murphy said, while much of the bread comes from Bakery 42 in Antrim and Orchard Hill Farm in Alstead.

When it comes to produce, Brewbakers gets locally grown fruits and vegetables from Milkweed Farm in Westmoreland, Green Wagon in Keene, Abenaki Springs in Walpole and the Spring Sun Farm in Westmoreland, Murphy said.

They also get most of their beef from local producers like Manning Hill Farm in Winchester.

“For us, we have personal relationships with most of the farmers we deal with,” Murphy said. “They’re people, and it’s great working with people. Plus it’s fresh, it’s right there.

“It’s important that we do what we can to support them, to make local farming more viable,” he said.

Paris pointed to other benefits of fostering relationships with local farmers.

“Ultimately it’s better for the environment because you’re eliminating some of that transportation cost,” he said. “We’re just doing what people used to do years ago.”

For more information, visit http://monadnockmenus.wordpress.com.

Kyle Jarvis can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1433, or kjarvis@keenesentinel.com.

Selling directly to restaurants, retailers and institutions can be a great way to expand your business and develop a reliable customer base. This tip sheet is part of a series (all available at www.buylocalfood.com) designed to help farmers respond to the unique challenges in reaching out to and maintaining relationships with direct wholesale purchasers. When you approach restaurant owners, chefs, retailers, and purchasers at hospital, college and workplace cafeterias, you need to be prepared and professional. What follows are some tips for getting started and for keeping the relationship going strong over the years. View Selling Tipsheet.

•    Pricing & Invoicing Tipsheet: http://buylocalfood.org
•    Rodale Institute’s Tipsheet: http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org

Farms Outside Our Region Growing Grains:

• Beidler Family Farm, Randolph Center, VT: wheat, spelt, millet
• Brookfield Farm, Rollinsford, NH: wheat
• Four Star Farms, Northfield, MA: wheat, barley & buckwheat
• Great River Farm, Windsor, VT: wheat, rye & corn
• Know of others?  Leave a comment below.

Interested In Growing Grains? 

• Browse Northern Grain Growers Association’s Website

Restaurants across the country eager to show their support for local farms and food have begun enrolling in American Farmland Trust’s 2nd annual Dine Out for Farms™ event, which will take place October 16-22, 2011.

Dine Out for Farms™ is a national, weeklong event that brings together restaurants and consumers to support a sustainable future for America’s farms. Participating restaurants educate their customers about the importance of farms, while raising funds to protect farmland from sprawling development.

“We’re thrilled that restaurants across America are showing their commitment to local farms and ranches by participating in Dine Out for Farms™,” said Jane Kirchner, senior director of Marketing and Communications for American Farmland Trust.  “Many chefs and restaurant owners get it that protecting local farms is key to serving up the delicious, locally grown foods that customers crave.  Saving farms is a cause that everyone in the restaurant industry can get behind.”

Restaurants can participate in Dine Out for Farms™ with a special dish, by donating a percentage of sales, or by making a straight donation. Participants receive a suite of educational materials that encourage consumers to dine out often and make a difference.

To date, seven restaurants that participated in last year’s inaugural Dine Out for Farms™ have re-enrolled, including The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm in Lovettsville, VA; Cock & Bowl in Occoquan, VA; The Supper Club Greensburg Train Station in Greensburg, PA; Ray’s Boathouse Café and Catering in in Seattle, WA; Full Circle Catering in Lexington, VA; The Sheppard Inn in Hanover, PA; and Founding Farmers in Washington, DC.

Restaurants interested in learning more about Dine Out for Farms™ can go to www.farmland.org/dineout and click on “enroll” or contact Gretchen Hoffman at 202-378-1251 or ghoffman@farmland.org.Individuals interested in recruiting their favorite farm-friendly restaurant for Dine Out for Farms™ can click on “get involved.”

Read more here… Menus at Waterhouse offers bistro food

Have you eaten there?? Let us know how it is!  Send us some pictures and some local highlights.

From the top of Mt. Monadnock looking South-West, you can catch a glimpse of a farm that has attracted families and farmers to the Monadnock Region since the mid-1800’s.  Since establishing as a farm in 1785 and building the farmhouse and inn in the 1800’s, East Hill Farm has been a family destination hot spot for over a century.

The Inn at East Hill Farm today fills a unique niche in our community.  Visitors come from all over the country to stay at the farm and enjoy the pond, the hiking on nearby trails and the direct farm experience.  Naturalist workshops are offered including a mushroom walk with David Wichland of Wichland Woods Mushrooms, cheese making with Farmer Dave and traditional farm crafts such as candle making.

While at the farm, visitors sit down to as many as three meals a day, all prepared fresh at the farm.  The typical menu ranges from homemade soup to freshly baked bread that melts in your mouth, roast turkey and mashed potatoes.  What’s unique about this menu is that it not only uses some of the products from the farm, but purchases produce and other value-added products from local farms and businesses.

When asked whether the Inn is hoping to shift their menu to include more fresh produce and local items, the owner, Sheri St. Laurent, commented that there are significant efforts being made to buy more local products.  They currently purchase seasonal produce from Tracie’s Community Farm in Fitzwilliam, produce and corn from Coll’s Market in Jaffrey, berries and fruit from Monadnock Berries in Troy, milk from Manning Hill Farm in Winchester, and sausage, hamburger, eggs and ham all come from their own backyard at East Hill Farm.

What is unique about the Inn is that they aren’t just selling meals like many of the Monadnock Menus member restaurants.  They are attracting people to come stay in the Inn andenjoy an authentic, relaxing family vacation- the food is just one element of the visit.

“We have made the commitment to buying local because it feels right. It feels right because it is beneficial to everyone involved.  Consuming as much locally produced anything makes sense” says Sheri when asked why they make the commitment to buying local.  “Its not easy to change the menus for our visitors based on available produce because many people appreciate the regularity of the menu”.  As a resort location, the Inn is trying to think of ways to increase the amount of local food being served to visitors while keeping everyone’s favorite meals on their plates.

One way they hope to go about doing this is by creating a Local Farm Fare dinner one night per week where they focus on the ingredients within the meal and try to source as many of the items within the meal from nearby farms as possible.  Jennifer Murray, Sheri’s sister, who is an integral part to the Inn’s operation and marketing, hopes to post a sign next to the menu in the dining hall with a list of locally sourced items and where they came from, as well as post the local menus online with links to the farmers and businesses.  The Inn hosts a Growers Dinner as a part of the NH Farm to Restaurant program each year, and both Sherri and Jen want to see this type of local food enthusiasm at the farm more often.

One of the challenges to buying locally is simply balancing the cost, but the Inn has found success through attending community events and being a part of local food networks, such as the Monadnock Farm and Community Connection’s Matchmaker Event.  “Network, network, network!” Sherri emphasizes the importance of being a part of events such as the Matchmaker and making an effort to meet with farmers and community members that are acting as food advocates.  They met David Wichland at the Matchmaker, as well as connected with Cheshire Gardens, located in Winchester NH.  They met Tracie of Tracie’s Community Farm at a community forum in Keene and regularly receive updates from the Conservation District about upcoming events and opportunities to connect.

Excitement over local food and farms is increasing in the Monadnock Region and around the United States.  Here in the Monadnock Region, we want to continue making connections between our local farms, food establishments and consumers.  The Inn at East Hill Farm is yet another great example of a family owned business that is not only taking the step to feed their customers high quality, fresh products, but they’re connecting everyone they touch with the source for where it came from.  “If you can, buy in season. Just do it !”

Until next time, keep your eyes out for the Monadnock Menus logo and encourage your local food establishments to “Get Local on the Menus!”

“There’s Michelin and there’s Zagat. Neither of them tell you where your food is coming from. Real Time Farms does.

Now any eatery (from the hipster food truck to the dorm food menus of your alma mater) can tell the story of the farms and food artisans that supply their menu. Curious how the beef in your favorite dive bar hamburger was raised. Click on “hamburger” and see pictures of the cow in the pasture and read about how the cow was raised. Feeling good about what you are eating just got a whole lot simpler.”

Read more… Real Time Farms blog

Interested in joining the movement to increase transparency about where your food is coming from?  Contact Real Time Farms and become a member!

Here’s how:   Become a Member

Is your favorite restaurant not on our list of members?  Ask them if they know about our program!  Give them a local request card to let them know you’d like to see more local food on the menu and thank them for making a commitment to supporting more local farms, value-added producers and businesses.

Hope you all are enjoying the first greens of the season!

“Think of Swanzey and what comes to mind? The town’s oxen mascots, Monadnock Regional High School, and maybe a covered bridge or two.
How about organic pizza topped with locally grown fresh vegetables (served
in recyclable containers with compostable utensils), handmade by kind and
cheerful people dedicated to their community?

That’s exactly what the new Hillside Pizza, located on Route 32 in front of Arnone’s Family Fun Center, is bringing to the Monadnock Region.”

Read more…Our Local Table Monadnock

http://www.cantinemex.com/