Open Invitation to Restaurants and Inns
Contact: Nancy Baron
496-2763.
Your participation is welcome and encouraged!
We are
inviting local restaurants and lodging establishments to
participate in the Mad River Valley Localvore Challenge!. For more information Mad River Valley Localvore
Challenge, click here.
What Does This Mean for Your Business?
Each restaurant or lodge can individually decide how
they would like to participate during the challenge
week. The Common Man, for example, will be offering two
"local"
specials each night, made from local ingredients. Beaver
Pond Farm Bed and Breakfast will offer at least one
wholly locally made selection each day during the
challenge.
Some lodges may choose to offer a "local breakfast"
weekend. A restaurant may host an evening of local
specials paired with local wines. How you define your
participation is up to you!
And, residents of the Mad River Valley often eat outside
of the valley so if your establishment is outside of the
Mad River Valley, you too are encouraged to participate. Why Participate?
There are many good reasons to join us in this
challenge:
- It supports your local fellow businesses growing and
producing food.
- It will stimulate your chefs to think more about
incorporating local ingredients into their everyday
menus. (see #1)
- Your establishment gives local Challenge participants
the option to eat out instead of cooking their own 3
meals every day of the challenge.
Participation can garner positive PR for your
restaurant and the Valley. This website
will post all participating restaurants and lodges on
their Website. We will post the challenge week on
www.MadRiverValley.com. People interested in eating
healthy, local food match up very well with the
demographics of the targeted Valley visitor and eating
locally is a hot and growing topic. There have recently
been articles about localvore efforts in Time Magazine,
USA Today, the New York Times and Business Week to name
just a few publications.
The Chamber will issue a press release and conduct
some follow-up PR surrounding this movement and event.
We foresee positive press and recognition for the
Valley.
Eating locally is good for the environment. Less fuel
is used to transport foodstuffs to your establishment.
And, in general, farming practices within our 100 mile
radius are more sustainable than food produced on
factory farms. Rules for Participation
Thus far, the Localvores group has only defined
participation rules for Valley residents. Given that we
are restaurants and lodges, we, of course, always need
to offer our customers coffee, tea and soda, as well as
offering non-local selections on any given day.
Residents will pledge to eat and drink entirely locally
for one week. More specifically:
- The food must be grown AND processed within a 100
mile radius of their homes. It is important to remember
a “Vermont” label is not necessarily an indication that
the ingredients started out close to home.
- They can use dried spices from around the globe
(things that would keep in a sailor's pocket for 6
months), examples include cinnamon, salt, baking powder,
baking soda, pepper, etc. This exemption is popularly
know as “Marco Polo Rules.”
- Residents will also be given 5 wildcards to "buy"
ingredients that they can eat, drink or incorporate into
their meals for the week. For example, a family may
choose olive oil, chocolate, coffee, tea and Tabasco.
For complete resident household rules, as well as
information on Vermont labeled foodstuffs, click
here. We are looking for input from participants as to how
you would best like to set rules for our group. Should
it be Marco Polo rules, plus 2 wildcards on any given
day for our specials? Do you want to limit our wildcards
to things like cooking oil, lemon juice, vanilla and
condiments? How to Participate
To participate in the event, please send Nancy Baron an email
with your intent to participate, as well as the rough
definitions of what you are planning, e.g., will you be
offering a "local night" or "breakfast" where your
patrons can eat an entirely local meal, or offering
local lunch specials throughout the week. The sooner
that we get sign-ups the sooner we can start promoting
the event and businesses. Also, please send me your
thoughts on local ingredient rules. Having something set
in stone will help all participants complete their
menus. Moving Forward
Many of us already belong to the Vermont
Fresh Network. Would it make sense for us to also define our own Localvores association
within the Valley dedicated to using ingredients within
our own 100-mile radius? The MRV Localvores is
developing a logo that we could use on our Websites and
in our materials, should we decide to formally setup
rules and promote our use of local ingredients.
Just a thought - your input is appreciated. If you have any ideas or questions, please don't
hesitate to call 496-2763 or email Nancy Baron. |
