Appeal of Locally Sourced Food

I'm just first curious what was the cost of the above breakfast sandwich that the wife made.

They priced out to ~$1.75/ea material cost, but that's with her buying everything at retail cost. I'm sure the business could get a little better deal buying in bigger quantities.
 
As someone who has worked in the restaurant industry for a number of years. It really depends on the customer base. If the customer base is all in on it and wants to support the business by paying the higher price for locally sourced ingredients then go for it. Most people more than likely would be in favor of a less expensive price point.
 
It really depends on his clientele and where they expect the price/quality to be. If this is kind of a trendy Main St place with an "atmosphere" or whatever, definitely go the local sourced route, advertise it, and set the price where it needs to be. If people go there because it's fast, convenient, and/or cheap though, they may care less about ingredients and may be turned off if "everything here is more expensive now."
 
They priced out to ~$1.75/ea material cost, but that's with her buying everything at retail cost. I'm sure the business could get a little better deal buying in bigger quantities.
I'm sorry I missed in past post scrolling back I see you posted cost. I'm in the camp of that this only works if this is for a higher end clientele otherwise it's just a breakfast sandwich people want to come in and order for a competitive price and taste good.
I think if it were me I might offer something on the menu such as above sandwich like a weekly special along with a regular menu just test the waters to see if it goes over.
 
Going to a "locally sourced" restaurant, you'd have to wonder just how local it really is. Reminds me of all the people who fall prey to the "organics" section at the grocery store.

As you pull up to the local mom and pop fresh seafood restaurant, you see the Sysco truck backing in:D
 
There are freshwater clams and mussels. Many are pretty good eating. I have heard that the invasive zebra mussel is edible but frankly not very good. Birds will eat them though.
The mussels were big and the clams were little necks. These are saltwater I'm sure.
 
Locally sourced is not just about purchasing locally. Its often in support of small, local (nearby) family farms and growers over corporate agri-business.

I regularly support several restaurants that locally source, and their proteins are almost exclusively from local family farms raised without growth hormones and antibiotics; likewise vegetables are organically or near organically grown. The difference in taste is certainly noticeable. I think an apt comparison is farm-raised versus wild caught seafood. To me the premium in price for a better product is well worth it.

As far a produce and vegetables being seasonally available, some producers grow year round on small scale in greenhouses.

I think a lot of the idea of locally sourced is an offshoot of the Slow Food movement started in the mid 1980s that emphasized local food and traditional cooking, along with other objectives.
 
I do when I can. I don't do it to use it like some trendy virtue signaling, I do it because my friends and neighbours do what they can to support the community and I do what I can to support them.

That and locally we have some great produce and amazing meats/dairy and poultry. Why spend more to get high density feed lot garbage or holier than thou organic foods shipped in when you neighbour's do it better and cheaper.
 
Going to a "locally sourced" restaurant, you'd have to wonder just how local it really is. Reminds me of all the people who fall prey to the "organics" section at the grocery store.

As you pull up to the local mom and pop fresh seafood restaurant, you see the Sysco truck backing in:D

There isn't necessarily a whole lot of fraud regarding what is or isn't organic. The question is really if it's worth it or if the food tastes better or has more nutrition. I'm from a place where a lot of people buy organic and I question why.

I suppose part of the "local" argument is about getting something that's generally going to be in season. There are other rationales such as keeping money in the local economy and knowing more about the suppliers for your food.
 
Going to a "locally sourced" restaurant, you'd have to wonder just how local it really is. Reminds me of all the people who fall prey to the "organics" section at the grocery store.

As you pull up to the local mom and pop fresh seafood restaurant, you see the Sysco truck backing in:D

The one butcher I frequent has the name of the farm on a lot of their bagged cuts, they are all pretty local. Same with the dairy/cheese products, the address is right there.
 
Sorry, in reading your post again, I think paying a fair price for actual quality is different than using those trendy words to pander to the lefty gentrification crowd just to charge more.

Myself, I have no issues paying for quality food. There may not be enough of us types out there to truly support and float a business like that.
 
The success of higher priced locally sourced food depends on the customer base as already noted and the commitment of the owner. He didn't request it from the consultant, and it was apparently presented without an equivalent sandwich of mass produced ingredients. Maybe he should be presented with sandwiches made with both kinds of ingredients and let him decide if the difference in taste would be worth the difference in what he would need to charge. It will take effort to put a premium product on the menu and the owner really has to buy into the concept.
 
In general, I do support the local economy and I buy locally grown food over imported food when possible but I have been to places where I'd rather not eat locally grown food. As far as restaurants are concerned, it's common to see local restaurants advertising using mostly locally sourced foods. If it's a seafood restaurant at the coast I tend to trust them that the fish is local. I still may not eat it, depending on what it is.
 
There isn't necessarily a whole lot of fraud regarding what is or isn't organic. The question is really if it's worth it or if the food tastes better or has more nutrition. I'm from a place where a lot of people buy organic and I question why.

I suppose part of the "local" argument is about getting something that's generally going to be in season. There are other rationales such as keeping money in the local economy and knowing more about the suppliers for your food.
My problem with all the so called organic stuff is how pure and truly uncontaminated is it? Do they grow in in a controlled greenhouse with purified air, water it with purified water, ship it in purified containers and trucks, etc, plus way too many variables to even type out. I think (and have read in various journals) that it's the biggest sales scam and gimmick out there. Not necessarily fraud, but a racket.
 
My answer would be it depends.

People will not mind spending money if they have money, but if you are selling to the middle to low income folks then you need to worry about it. So really, what is the cost and how much more can he charge?

I tends to buy organic depends on what it is, but if it is not available it is no big deal. To me I understand organic doesn't means it is always safer but it is usually grow slower, so it has better taste and higher nutritional density. Many of the food we eat today is already very bland compare to the slower growth heirloom version, organic is closer to the heirloom growth rate and taste IMO and in some things like strawberries, fewer harmful substances used to grow them.
 
My problem with all the so called organic stuff is how pure and truly uncontaminated is it? Do they grow in in a controlled greenhouse with purified air, water it with purified water, ship it in purified containers and trucks, etc, plus way too many variables to even type out. I think (and have read in various journals) that it's the biggest sales scam and gimmick out there. Not necessarily fraud, but a racket.

They're never going to get to the point where every single thing that could "contaminate" a supposedly organic crop has to be eliminated. It's just not possible in a world where even organic crop fields use tractors running on petroleum fuels.

Organic doesn't necessarily mean free of pesticides either. It means they can use certain natural pesticides. There are also several synthetic pesticides that are allowed because they're thought of as safe with no natural alternatives. One would be pyrethrins, which are derived from chrysanthemum. They're similar to synthetic permethrin, which you'll find in bug foggers, or ant killers.

Q: Are pesticides allowed in organic farming?

A: Natural or non-synthetic pesticides are allowed by the USDA National Organic Standards. These same standards prohibit MOST synthetic or man-made pesticides, for example, glyphosate (Roundup®). An example of a non-synthetic pesticide is a naturally occurring microscopic fungus used to infect and fight targeted insects.

That is the short answer. As you know, everything is more complicated than it seems, so here is the long answer.

The organic standards prohibit the use of most synthetic pesticides, however, under very special circumstances the National Organic Program allows the use of synthetic pesticides under highly controlled applications. The list of exceptions to the “no synthetics” rule is called the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances and is published by the USDA.
 
Organic doesn't necessarily mean free of pesticides either. It means they can use certain natural pesticides. There are also several synthetic pesticides that are allowed because they're thought of as safe with no natural alternatives. One would be pyrethrins, which are derived from chrysanthemum. They're similar to synthetic permethrin, which you'll find in bug foggers, or ant killers.
This.

The moot point of organic that many believers don't understand is, organic doesn't means no pesticides, it just means they use organic pesticides. Which is why tests show they do not have "benefits" vs non organics.

The real benefits come to the way you are willing to support whether a field should be treated a certain ways, whether some highly debatable pesticides or fertilizers should be used, and whether you are slowing the growth using organic fertilizers so the flavors are better. You want no pesticides? You can do what the Asian consumers do: show me the bugs so I'll believe it. I don't trust your certification and I don't trust your brands.

In the US I think we can trust non organic food grown, but in many other countries I'd be worried about farmers abusing pesticides and get consumers poisoned (it happens more often than you think), and the organic certification means at least someone will look at things and avoid the extremely desperate farmers violating the most basic safety guidelines.
 
This.

The moot point of organic that many believers don't understand is, organic doesn't means no pesticides, it just means they use organic pesticides. Which is why tests show they do not have "benefits" vs non organics.

The real benefits come to the way you are willing to support whether a field should be treated a certain ways, whether some highly debatable pesticides or fertilizers should be used, and whether you are slowing the growth using organic fertilizers so the flavors are better. You want no pesticides? You can do what the Asian consumers do: show me the bugs so I'll believe it. I don't trust your certification and I don't trust your brands.

In the US I think we can trust non organic food grown, but in many other countries I'd be worried about farmers abusing pesticides and get consumers poisoned (it happens more often than you think), and the organic certification means at least someone will look at things and avoid the extremely desperate farmers violating the most basic safety guidelines.

There's been some controversy when the US federal government decided to get involved with the USDA Organic program. Some feel it's a lowest common denominator program which allows some companies to greenwash their products. There are private organizations that perform their own certification and that some feel have tighter standards than USDA Organic.

I think in many ways that certain natural pesticides may be better because they do decompose much faster than certain long-lasting synthetic pesticides. However, there are synthetic pesticides that decompose quickly. It's really more or a philosophical argument about what's "natural" and not necessarily what's better for the safety, taste, or quality of food. In some ways these practices may be better for soil health though, but it's not something that's automatic because of the label.
 
Going to a "locally sourced" restaurant, you'd have to wonder just how local it really is. Reminds me of all the people who fall prey to the "organics" section at the grocery store.

As you pull up to the local mom and pop fresh seafood restaurant, you see the Sysco truck backing in:D
I love going to the local Farmer's Market and the sticker on the pepper says Produce of Mexico.

I worked in a produce dept at a large midwest chain for 23 years. Yes, 25 years ago we carried organics. In the ensuing
years, I can say that there were/are very few large scale growers of organics that produce a consistent quality product.
Organics will be mainstream when the quality comes up and remains consistent. Local grown organics in the Kansas City area are of such a small scale they can not supply the 23 stores our chain has in the area.
 
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I finally got the wife to start using the local meat store and... not sure we'll ever go back to run of the mill store meats. Just that much better. We eat less than we used (goodbye teen years!) and so it's not as hard to justify the better cuts of meat.

There was a local CSA doing vegetables and we got to try a bunch of stuff that we'd not normally try out. That was nice.

Feels good to support the local economy also. We usually do the package deals, pay up front. Easier to swallow the cost that way--otherwise we ogle the price and say "OMG we could get cheaper at ___". Some habits die hard.
 
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