In The News

The Higher Standard of Local Sourcing
Grace Zarnas-Hoyer, Table Magazine

"Buying local" is more than a catch-phrase these days. It's almost redundant. We all know that our food tastes the best and is the best for us when it is sourced within a close radius of where we live. But there's one local food producer that's raising the standard — and really getting its hands dirty (in a good way).

Parkhurst Dining introducted the FarmSource program in 2002, pioneering the infrastructure needed to get local products into more restaurants, schools, and suppliers. “Through FarmSource, we work with more than 250 local farmers and producers, all within a 150-mile radius of our locations," says director Jamie Moore. "In fact, we have been recognized by the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) for our ongoing support of local agriculture. This program greatly reduces the distance food travels from harvest to table." Today, Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, including member companies Parkhurst Dining and Cura Hospitality, continues to source more than 20 percent of its food locally, which represents $23.6 million in local purchases.

Students have been a huge focus for Parkhurst's FarmSource program, and the company caters to several local university, with the highest standards:

  • Produce sourced with 150 miles of the location
  • Dairy products that come from independently owned and operated local farm families that choose not to treat their herds with rBGH/rBST
  • Meat that is produced at USDA-inspected facilities, which source their animals from farms that are within a 3 hour drive from the processing facility. These producers ensure high standards of animal care, well-being and nutrition
  • Artisan products, which are local food businesses that devote their time, energy and passion to a limited line of products and emphasize high quality and unique flavors.

In 2011, several Parkhurst chefs attended the PASA Farming for the Future annual conference to gain knowledge on how to feature more local products on their menus, as well as how to engage their guests on the health benefits of fresh and local foods. Inspired by what they learned, many of the chefs have organized ways for guests to participate in community supported agriculture programs, where shares of produce are pre-purchased from farms.

Grow Pittsburgh recently offered a class to Parkhurst dining service operators on responsible urban food production. The goal of this class was to make sure that the locations that wanted to start growing food had the tools and troubleshooting knowledge to make it happen. For example, Allegheny College (Meadville, PA), a Parkhurst-managed campus, now has an Aquaponic operation. Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combines a traditional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. Basically, the fish waste provides the nutrients for the plants to grow. At this specific location, they are raising Tilapia and growing romaine lettuce. “It’s really great to have an organization like this in our backyard that can assist our managers with how to start a garden at their college or university,” says Moore.

Farm tours at Parkhurst were also abundant during the growing season. This summer, chefs and managers toured Susquehanna Mills of Montoursville, PA, a provider of natural cooking oils, pressed from locally grown crops. Susquehanna presses an assorted variety of oil crops such as canola, sunflower and soybean. Parkhurst purchases their GMO Free canola oil as the primary ingredient in making their salad dressings. Not only does Susquehanna Mills compliment Parkhurst’s FarmSource program, but it also fits into their “Know your Source” program, which dives into the growing, labor and sustainable practices of the partners that Parkhurst utilizes in their operations.

The most recent tour was in July at Brenckle’s Farm and Greenhouse in Butler, PA. This is one of the primary western PA farms that supply Parkhurst with a variety of seasonal vegetables. When Parkhurst team members visited Brenckle’s last year, they had anopportunity to plant zucchini and pepper plants. This year, chefs and operators helped the farmers harvest some of the vegetables that they grew. At the end of the day ,participants feasted on fresh grilled vegetables over greens for an easy-to-prepare summertime salad.

For more information about Parkhurst Dining, visitwww.parkhurstdining.com



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The Higher Standard of Local Sourcing
Grace Zarnas-Hoyer, Table Magazine

"Buying local" is more than a catch-phrase these days. It's almost redundant. We all know that our food tastes the best and is the best for us when it is sourced within a close radius of where we live. But there's one local food producer that's raising the standard — and really getting its hands dirty (in a good way).

Parkhurst Dining introducted the FarmSource program in 2002, pioneering the infrastructure needed to get local products into more restaurants, schools, and suppliers. “Through FarmSource, we work with more than 250 local farmers and producers, all within a 150-mile radius of our locations," says director Jamie Moore. "In fact, we have been recognized by the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) for our ongoing support of local agriculture. This program greatly reduces the distance food travels from harvest to table." Today, Eat’n Park Hospitality Group, including member companies Parkhurst Dining and Cura Hospitality, continues to source more than 20 percent of its food locally, which represents $23.6 million in local purchases.

Students have been a huge focus for Parkhurst's FarmSource program, and the company caters to several local university, with the highest standards:

  • Produce sourced with 150 miles of the location
  • Dairy products that come from independently owned and operated local farm families that choose not to treat their herds with rBGH/rBST
  • Meat that is produced at USDA-inspected facilities, which source their animals from farms that are within a 3 hour drive from the processing facility. These producers ensure high standards of animal care, well-being and nutrition
  • Artisan products, which are local food businesses that devote their time, energy and passion to a limited line of products and emphasize high quality and unique flavors.

In 2011, several Parkhurst chefs attended the PASA Farming for the Future annual conference to gain knowledge on how to feature more local products on their menus, as well as how to engage their guests on the health benefits of fresh and local foods. Inspired by what they learned, many of the chefs have organized ways for guests to participate in community supported agriculture programs, where shares of produce are pre-purchased from farms.

Grow Pittsburgh recently offered a class to Parkhurst dining service operators on responsible urban food production. The goal of this class was to make sure that the locations that wanted to start growing food had the tools and troubleshooting knowledge to make it happen. For example, Allegheny College (Meadville, PA), a Parkhurst-managed campus, now has an Aquaponic operation. Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combines a traditional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. Basically, the fish waste provides the nutrients for the plants to grow. At this specific location, they are raising Tilapia and growing romaine lettuce. “It’s really great to have an organization like this in our backyard that can assist our managers with how to start a garden at their college or university,” says Moore.

Farm tours at Parkhurst were also abundant during the growing season. This summer, chefs and managers toured Susquehanna Mills of Montoursville, PA, a provider of natural cooking oils, pressed from locally grown crops. Susquehanna presses an assorted variety of oil crops such as canola, sunflower and soybean. Parkhurst purchases their GMO Free canola oil as the primary ingredient in making their salad dressings. Not only does Susquehanna Mills compliment Parkhurst’s FarmSource program, but it also fits into their “Know your Source” program, which dives into the growing, labor and sustainable practices of the partners that Parkhurst utilizes in their operations.

The most recent tour was in July at Brenckle’s Farm and Greenhouse in Butler, PA. This is one of the primary western PA farms that supply Parkhurst with a variety of seasonal vegetables. When Parkhurst team members visited Brenckle’s last year, they had anopportunity to plant zucchini and pepper plants. This year, chefs and operators helped the farmers harvest some of the vegetables that they grew. At the end of the day ,participants feasted on fresh grilled vegetables over greens for an easy-to-prepare summertime salad.

For more information about Parkhurst Dining, visitwww.parkhurstdining.com



View original article here