Slow Food, Fast

Anyone who knows me should know that I love Chipotle. Unfortunately for the past 3 years, I've lived in Chipotle-free areas, which is a detriment to my guacamole intake and personal happiness. I just saw this video clip (Chipotle Founder Steve Ells) and was reminded why I appreciate this fast food chain and savor what they create.

Madison Farms has taken great strides to get local, fresh foods into restaurants and grocery stores around Western North Carolina, but one of our most important goals is feeding folks (of all ages) with these fresh ingredients via institutions. We started as an organization whose chief mission was to supply local produce to the Madison County School system. Farmers easily identified produce they could grow in spring and late summer (or store well in fall and winter) that the schools consistently ordered. (Potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, bell peppers, and so on). After we developed this marketing system for K-12 cafeterias, we shifted the model to college cafeterias. And then to hospital cafeterias.

There certainly have been bumps along the road from farm to fork, but I think our story stands as a great model of success. We're coming off a successful meeting with cafeteria staff at Mission Hospital in Asheville where we heard repeated enthusiasm for the food we provide the hospital. The chef shared tedious memories of stringing beans last summer (they, of course, come pre-strung from a larger, industrial food supplier), but he also assured us it's worth it.

The string-bean culprit: Greasy Beans

What's worth it? We're not one-stop shopping (no matter how hard our farmers try, they cannot provide bananas, not even in the hottest of summer months). We don't pre-shred, pre-slice, pre-anything our produce (although we're experimenting with it). Our produce isn't perfect looking -- tomatoes and potatoes are the worst at being misshapen but still perfectly delicious!

But then think about the varieties of homegrown vegetables, the flavors, the quality, the freshness, the remarkable nature of something grown mere miles and picked days before it is laid to its final resting place: our plates. We (local food supporters) get it, and chefs certainly support it. But there's plenty more people to persuade. At least we don't have to worry about the folks at Chipotle (did you watch the video yet?).