The Locally Sourced Food Craze is Also Good for Business

Locally produced food doesn’t just taste better (since it needs less preservatives to keep it fresh). It’s also good business because customers love seeing restaurants that make an effort to go green while at the same time providing them with top quality food on the menu.

The Stumbling Block to Local Food Sourcing

The trouble of course with local sourcing is the fact that in many cases it’s simply not practical. If you’re running a sushi restaurant for instance, you simply have to have to certain species of fish available and you simply must have Japanese rice available. That’s fine if you happen to be located in a state where these things are produced, but if you’re not, it’s just not going to happen.

And frankly, for most businesses today, working exclusively with locally produced food is simply not an option. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if the thousands of restaurants in New York City all decided that everything they use had to be produced within 100 miles of their location?

There is no way there is enough farm land to support that amount of food production in the area, never mind any logistical issues about certain foods simply not being suited to grow in the cold of New York State.

But It’s Not an All-or-Nothing Proposition

However, just because going local for your food production may not be practical for everything doesn’t mean it’s not practical for anything. Many, many paper products today for example have stepped on the green wagon by proclaiming that they incorporate recycled paper.

The fact that they may only incorporate 20% recycled paper does not make their advertising any less effective. They will mention this, but at the same time, people who are conscientious will know that the company they are buying their toilet paper from is doing something for the environment, providing that warm and fuzzy feeling that’s so necessary in business.

How Can Your Restaurant “Go Local”?

What it really takes to begin a “go local” campaign then is a simple decision to do it. You can advertise that your restaurant makes every effort to locally source products rather than having to bring in food with preservatives which also pollute the environment.

Even if you are only able to source a handful of your ingredients on a local level, the difference it will make could be profound both to your customers. They can dine at your establishment and feel good about where they choose to eat out–something you’ll enjoy as well!

Tags: customer relations, green business, local food