Appeal of Locally Sourced Food

[alarmguy]

As consumers, and human beings that have to eat, what do you think of the issue of locally sourced ingredients? If you were to go to a small restaurant in a rural town, or a small restaurant in your own local community, would you find it more appealing if the ingredients of your food were sourced from local farmers and markets, or would it not matter to you so long as it tastes good?

I would go for price, more so for a daily or couple times a week meal in a small rural restaurant.
As long as the taste is there is all I care.

If I am out to dinner which is a weekly treat for us, in a more expensive restaurant, even a chain like BoneFish Grill I wouldn't mind once a month paying extra for something locally sourced IF it tasted better but the thing is, I dont know how I would verify its local other then trusting someones word selling me something, which means I still most likely would not be happy because I am not sure I would trust it.

 

[Breanna]

I've discussed this topic in the past with everyone from my Dad, best friend, boss, relatives, classmates, to the strangers at the pool. Only 1 person said it would influence them, out of about 100.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Here's who delivers the "local" fresh seafood

 

[PandaBear]

Here's who delivers the "local" fresh seafood
View attachment 48777

Where is the "sea" in Dallas?

 

[vavavroom]

Where is the "sea" in Dallas?

Could be fresh pond food. I prefer fresh frozen over questionable "fresh" fish.

Say Fresh frozen fish, fish fresh frozen, frozen fish fresh, fish frozen fresh five times in a row as fast as you can.

 

[PandaBear]

Could be fresh pond food. I prefer fresh frozen over questionable "fresh" fish.

Say Fresh frozen fish, fish fresh frozen, frozen fish fresh, fish frozen fresh five times in a row as fast as you can.

IMO frozen fish is never "fresh". It must be live the day I got it to be fresh.

 

[vavavroom]

IMO frozen fish is never "fresh". It must be live the day I got it to be fresh.

Fresh caught is doable where I live. It's not possible for everyone everywhere. Fresh frozen means it was frozen when it was fresh. Nothing wrong with that. There are many foods that tend to be fresher in fresh frozen form than in what passes as fresh at the grocer's. Take berries, for example. How old are those berries in plastic containers on the shelf? Do you think they picked them this morning? Furry strawberries, anyone? My freezer is full of fish, steaks, and berries.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Where is the "sea" in Dallas?

Right here
800 Trinity Dr.
Lewisville, TX 75056

 

[PandaBear]

Fresh caught is doable where I live. It's not possible for everyone everywhere. Fresh frozen means it was frozen when it was fresh. Nothing wrong with that. There are many foods that tend to be fresher in fresh frozen form than in what passes as fresh at the grocer's. Take berries, for example. How old are those berries in plastic containers on the shelf? Do you think they picked them this morning? Furry strawberries, anyone? My freezer is full of fish, steaks, and berries.

The process of freezing cause some damage to the taste and texture. I do not consider freezing the same as fresh, although they can still be very high quality. It is good enough for grilling and baking but not good for eating raw (fruits) or steamed unseasoned (fish).

 

[y_p_w]

Fresh caught is doable where I live. It's not possible for everyone everywhere. Fresh frozen means it was frozen when it was fresh. Nothing wrong with that. There are many foods that tend to be fresher in fresh frozen form than in what passes as fresh at the grocer's. Take berries, for example. How old are those berries in plastic containers on the shelf? Do you think they picked them this morning? Furry strawberries, anyone? My freezer is full of fish, steaks, and berries.

Quite a few things are picked not quite ripe so they can survive transportation. Especially tomatoes.

I had some strawberries from a store that noted the general location where they were from, and the date they were packaged. I had one package from the Oxnard area that claimed to have been packaged the previous day. And they were amazing. That wasn't local though, but it's only about a 6 hour drive.

 

[PandaBear]

Quite a few things are picked not quite ripe so they can survive transportation. Especially tomatoes.

I had some strawberries from a store that noted the general location where they were from, and the date they were packaged. I had one package from the Oxnard area that claimed to have been packaged the previous day. And they were amazing. That wasn't local though, but it's only about a 6 hour drive.

Farmers market usually have more ripen fruits and won't last as long as the supermarket ones as well, despite from the same area.

 

[y_p_w]

Where is the "sea" in Dallas?

Do you consider freshwater fish, clams, etc. to be "seafood"?

 

[PandaBear]

Do you consider freshwater fish, clams, etc. to be "seafood"?

In the US it is, in China I heard some people categorize them as "river food". That technically turns into a "is soy milk a milk" debate.

 

[JHZR2]

I’d prefer local, at least for what matters...

That said, if it makes the price double or triple. If a $4 breakfast sandwich becomes $10, it may be an issue.

It probably depends upon customer base. But if it can be done cost effectively, and from scratch, I think that’s typically a selling point, short of a convenience store or fast food joint.

 

[MolaKule]

Most of the vegetables and meats here are locally sourced and are reasonably priced, even the Catfish. It is often difficult to tell the difference between greenhouse grown veggies and in-season veggies.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Freshwater fish is definitely not seafood (hence not being from the sea). The only fish I like is saltwater fish. Freshwater fish tastes too "gamey" for me.

 

[JimPghPA]

They should post that it is locally sourced and that supports local growers, and also cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions compared to trucking or flying food in from a distance.

I thought the big appeal of local was the reduction of greenhouse gases. Not so much the local supporting.

BTW, another idea for any food establishment would be a low carb menu for people who are pre-diabetic or diabetic.

The local first-watch restaurant has a whole side of there menu low carb with the amount for each item listed.

 

[y_p_w]

I’d prefer local, at least for what matters...

That said, if it makes the price double or triple. If a $4 breakfast sandwich becomes $10, it may be an issue.

It probably depends upon customer base. But if it can be done cost effectively, and from scratch, I think that’s typically a selling point, short of a convenience store or fast food joint.

I don't know if a restaurant would really have an incentive to do as such unless there's some sort of return. And in that case it needs to be known to the customer, even so far as to state the name of the supplier on the menu.

Still - not everything is in season or available everywhere. I was in the Seattle area where oysters are extremely local, but lemons are not. I went ahead and bought one anyways at a premium price of $1.25 at a supermarket. The label said it was from California, so go fig.

Even here you never really know with produce. There are some retailers that will feature specific origins for some produce. That might be easy enough to find on clamshell packaging or where there's a sticker. If I'm looking for blueberries, in season they could be relatively local or even come from as far away as Oregon. And during the winter, berries might come from California, but more likely they'll be from Mexico or even South America.

Also - running a restaurant is often very different than shopping for meat/produce for a household. They'll often get regular deliveries, although it may not be that different from how many people get grocery deliveries these days.

 

[PandaBear]

They should post that it is locally sourced and that supports local growers, and also cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions compared to trucking or flying food in from a distance.

I thought the big appeal of local was the reduction of greenhouse gases. Not so much the local supporting.

BTW, another idea for any food establishment would be a low carb menu for people who are pre-diabetic or diabetic.

The local first-watch restaurant has a whole side of there menu low carb with the amount for each item listed.

It depends on who you ask. For me local source is about staying fresher than shipping in from far away. This of course depends on what you are doing with your food and what grade you get. Frozen local source low grade broccoli may be worse than restaurant grade Mexico broccoli, for example. Locally sourced oranges from Seattle area may be worse than Brazilian import, you really have to get what is good in your area and get the fresh one, use the savings to pay for a better grade. It is the result that matters.

There may be people who want to pay more for local, fair trade (like coffee) but that's no guarantee the ones who did all the hard work gets paid (like the coffee farmers may not get the premium you pay for the fair trade, the middle man may, or the field workers may not get the money but the large agri farm on wall street may make the money instead of the local co-op).

 

[SeaJay]

IMO frozen fish is never "fresh". It must be live the day I got it to be fresh.

Rarely will that happen in a restaurant. Commercially caught fish unloaded at many docks can easily be a few days old. Then the fish has to be purchased by the wholesaler who ships it to the restaurant. From dock to restaurant is easily a days time in most cases.