If you have ever had a favorite neighborhood bakery or farmer’s market, you know that the quality of food they produce is much higher than what you can get from mass food distributors that are the suppliers for most restaurants. More often than not, it is much more expensive to produce high quality food on a smaller scale, so the cost is passed on to the consumer- which explains why a loaf of bread that is made two doors down from my restaurant costs nearly 20% more than one baked hundreds of miles away and brought in on the truck. This fiscal reality is the reason few restaurants feature local food.

I want to tell all restaurateurs that using local food is an environmental imperative and that there are a few easy ways to incorporate it into your menu, without busting your budget.

First of all, restaurants need to utilize local food producers not just for food quality, but for convenience. Aside from the fact that you would be reducing the restaurant’s carbon footprint by purchasing food that has traveled the least distance, you are insuring the accessibility of the product. All too often, a restaurant will run out of a specific ingredient and be forced to place a frantic call to a big-box producer, begging them to ‘hand-carry’ the item to the restaurant. Not only does this require a special trip from the warehouse, with only one item in tow, but the producer may or may not have that product available. This can mean 86ing items that customers expect to see on the menu, which is never good for business.

Instead of being at the absolute mercy of big-box food distributors, there are ways to strategically use local food to enhance your menu, and pad your wallet.

• Change with the seasons: Obviously, fruits and veggies are the best when they are in season. Instead of having a fresh veggie focused menu all year round, why not save those dishes for a summer menu? You can replace dishes that are heavy on the veggies with things like tempeh, TVP, black bean and polenta. By using products that are in season, you can ensure that they will be available when you need them. You can also sleep comfortably knowing that your tomatoes did not fly four hundred miles to get to your kitchen.
• Make it special: Because daily specials change, well, daily, and because they are not usually the highest sellers on the menu, they can be the perfect way to incorporate local food into your menu everyday! In fact, many restaurants have begun to craft their daily specials around which foods can be bought fresh at the market that morning.
• Make a deal: Many local businesses, like bakeries and creameries, will provide discounts to restaurants that purchase in bulk. Further, you can set-up a weekly schedule to pick-up your food, so the business is sure to have enough in stock.
• Let the world know: Often times, when using as much local food as possible, restaurants find that their food costs sky-rocket. While nobody like to be a penny-pincher, rising food costs can mean higher prices for the customer. If price hikes are absolutely necessary, don’t try to slyly slip them by the customer; let them know that local food costs more. Many customers do not mind paying more for local food, as long as they know why the prices have changed.
• Always advertise: If you are using bread from a specific local bakery, or cheese for a local creamery, talk with the owner of that business and try to work out a deal where they would display your logo in their store, and you would use their logo on your menu. This is a great way to cross-market and attract a new customer base.

Your restaurant may not be ready to go 100% local, but these steps will help any establishment increase the amount of local food on the menu. If the higher costs of local food are really hard to swallow, try to incorporate local food little by little. Try picking up your weekly herbs at the market as an alternative to purchasing them by the case from a large-scale distributor. Soon enough, you will find that the convenience and peace of mind that comes from supporting local business (as well as decreasing your carbon footprint) are well worth the money you might have saved otherwise.