Just because you see it on the menu, it doesn’t mean it’s true.

 

An article in San Diego Magazine, by Troy Johnson, describes the ongoing corruption of the farm-to-table ideal.

 

“Like any good movement, farm-to-table has now been severely co-opted. The stories of restaurants deceiving their customers—or flat-out lying to them—have increased,” writes Johnson.

 

Sometimes a restaurant will falsely claim that their ingredients come from a certain farm, hoping the owners of that farm never find out. Other times, restaurants will purchase only a small amount from local farms and then strongly imply that that’s where all their produce comes from.

 

“Sometimes it can be very blatant,” says Tom Chino of the famous Chino Farms near San Diego. “Chefs will come look, write down notes, leave without buying anything, and then say they’re serving our food at their restaurants.”

 

It’s important to note that not all restaurants do this. It’s unfortunate that it occurs, however, because genuine farm-to-table has respectable goals. It supports local growers and gives us a connection to the food we eat.

 

Local produce is not always available because traditional farming is seasonal. The best flavor is found in produce grown traditionally at the peak of the growing season. Fortunately, to paraphrase Alan Jackson, it’s always peak season somewhere. That’s why, at GoodFarms, we follow the sun to bring to your table the best tasting produce from the best locales at the peak of season. Like your local farmer, we care about you and your family, and we want to make sure you have access to healthy produce grown responsibly every day of the year.

 

That’s why we say, “buy locally when you can; buy responsibly always.”