Page 33 - Indulge June/July 2015
P. 33
The farm-to-table movement goes back to the age- Curious Goods has a chalk board in its restaurant that
old concept of buying locally made and grown goods lists where its food comes from.
to support the local economy — vitally important to
keeping a vibrant community. "The customers love to see that," Muszynski says. "We
work with the farmers, they work with us and it makes us
When you buy from a local source, you know where happy and the customers happy."
that meat or produce came from, says Jodi Gauker, of
Gauker Farms in Fleetwood, Berks County. "You can taste the difference of asparagus shipped in
from Peru or California compared to one that was just
"We can tell you how long that meat has been in the picked — it's like night and day," Muszynski says.
freezer," she says. "We can track it back to even the farm
where we bought the calf." Hotel Bethlehem’s Chef Michael Adams incorporates
local produce into the menus of both the 1741 on the
Gauker and her family were at the Macungie Farmers Terrace and the Tap Room restaurants.
Market on a recent Thursday. They distribute to several
small markets in the Chester County area as well as “We use Liberty Gardens, Gottschell Farm, Lancaster
through their store at their farm. Farmers get only Farm Fresh,” he says. “We are currently developing
pennies on the dollar for their produce or livestock. some relationships with some local meat and poultry
suppliers as well.”
America's farmers get 15.5 cents of each dollar spent on
food in the United States in 2011 — that includes money Knowing where the ingredients come from has a direct
spent eating out, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture's impact on the taste of the dishes served.
Economic Research Service in an April 2015 report.
“It means that the fresh ingredients reflect the end
So what is the rest of the money spent on? Things product in a positive way,” Adams says.
such as the costs of marketing, processing and shipping
the food, as well as the grocer. Local ingredients also means menus shift and
change with the seasons as some produce arrives and
Even that 15.5 cents doesn't represent what actually items end their seasons.
goes to farmers because that amount also covers
processing, shipping and other costs of getting the food “I take the local, beautiful ingredients and let them
to distributors. The USDA says about 6.6 cents of each shine,” Chizmar says. “You can really only do that
food dollar spent in this country represents food actually with the most pristine ingredients and we are lucky to
produced on U.S. farms. have that kind of access here … This time of year it
is really fun as we get into the strong growing season
"It's vitally important for people to support local farms, where we change the menu often and a lot … This is
especially a 10-acre farm like ours," said Linda Koss, the cornerstone of what we do here. They are central
owner of Jus Kiddin Around Farm in Germansville. to our mission, philosophy and sense of community.
Without them what we do would not be possible the
Not only for the economic reasons, but also for health way that we want to do it.”
reasons it's important to know where your food comes
from and how it was grown or raised.
"If you buy something from the supermarket, you're not
sure what's been sprayed on it," she said. "I've been known to
walk the fields, hand-picking potato bugs off my potato plants."
Koss and family supply produce to the restaurant, the
Curious Goods at the Bake Oven Inn — their next-door
neighbor. It's a practice Curious Goods owner and chef
Muszynski has endorsed since the
restaurant opened in 2008.
JUNE/JULY 2015 • INDULGE | 33
old concept of buying locally made and grown goods lists where its food comes from.
to support the local economy — vitally important to
keeping a vibrant community. "The customers love to see that," Muszynski says. "We
work with the farmers, they work with us and it makes us
When you buy from a local source, you know where happy and the customers happy."
that meat or produce came from, says Jodi Gauker, of
Gauker Farms in Fleetwood, Berks County. "You can taste the difference of asparagus shipped in
from Peru or California compared to one that was just
"We can tell you how long that meat has been in the picked — it's like night and day," Muszynski says.
freezer," she says. "We can track it back to even the farm
where we bought the calf." Hotel Bethlehem’s Chef Michael Adams incorporates
local produce into the menus of both the 1741 on the
Gauker and her family were at the Macungie Farmers Terrace and the Tap Room restaurants.
Market on a recent Thursday. They distribute to several
small markets in the Chester County area as well as “We use Liberty Gardens, Gottschell Farm, Lancaster
through their store at their farm. Farmers get only Farm Fresh,” he says. “We are currently developing
pennies on the dollar for their produce or livestock. some relationships with some local meat and poultry
suppliers as well.”
America's farmers get 15.5 cents of each dollar spent on
food in the United States in 2011 — that includes money Knowing where the ingredients come from has a direct
spent eating out, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture's impact on the taste of the dishes served.
Economic Research Service in an April 2015 report.
“It means that the fresh ingredients reflect the end
So what is the rest of the money spent on? Things product in a positive way,” Adams says.
such as the costs of marketing, processing and shipping
the food, as well as the grocer. Local ingredients also means menus shift and
change with the seasons as some produce arrives and
Even that 15.5 cents doesn't represent what actually items end their seasons.
goes to farmers because that amount also covers
processing, shipping and other costs of getting the food “I take the local, beautiful ingredients and let them
to distributors. The USDA says about 6.6 cents of each shine,” Chizmar says. “You can really only do that
food dollar spent in this country represents food actually with the most pristine ingredients and we are lucky to
produced on U.S. farms. have that kind of access here … This time of year it
is really fun as we get into the strong growing season
"It's vitally important for people to support local farms, where we change the menu often and a lot … This is
especially a 10-acre farm like ours," said Linda Koss, the cornerstone of what we do here. They are central
owner of Jus Kiddin Around Farm in Germansville. to our mission, philosophy and sense of community.
Without them what we do would not be possible the
Not only for the economic reasons, but also for health way that we want to do it.”
reasons it's important to know where your food comes
from and how it was grown or raised.
"If you buy something from the supermarket, you're not
sure what's been sprayed on it," she said. "I've been known to
walk the fields, hand-picking potato bugs off my potato plants."
Koss and family supply produce to the restaurant, the
Curious Goods at the Bake Oven Inn — their next-door
neighbor. It's a practice Curious Goods owner and chef
Muszynski has endorsed since the
restaurant opened in 2008.
JUNE/JULY 2015 • INDULGE | 33
