Farm Fresh Friday to highlight local food

The Estill Development Alliance and EKU Cares have partnered to organize a “Farm Fresh Friday” in area restaurants on July 25.
As part of the Eastern Kentucky Local-motive initiative that stresses “buy local, think local,” the groups are working together to make connections between local food producers, growers and restaurants.
Joe Crawford, director of the EDA, said EDA board member Mark Reese, also a regional outreach specialist with EKU Cares, gets credit for the idea and for doing most of the legwork.
“He brought it up,” said Crawford, “He said, ‘We’re not doing enough to connect the dots.’”
Reese sent out letters to restaurant managers and owners to gauge interest; subsequently, five restaurants will be participating, including the Wigwam, the Right Place, Thyme on Broadway, Michael’s, and Rader’s River Grille.
He also asked restaurants to provide a list of items they are interested in acquiring from local farmers.
On Friday, July 25, those restaurants will be serving a variety of homegrown meats and produce.
Tonya Floyd, owner of the Wigwam in Ravenna, says the signature country boy burgers and sandwiches that are always served at the Wigwam will be dressed with locally-grown tomatoes, and their famous coleslaw will be made from locally-grown cabbage.
She is also planning a special “farm-fresh meal” for the day.  From 11 a.m. until closing (or until the food runs out), the Wigwam will be serving Boston Butt pork roast produced by Brown Farm Meats, fresh-fried corn from Doug and Sondra Arvin’s farm, a vegetable medley, and creamed potatoes (provided by Robin Reed).
For dessert, they plan to serve homemade apple pie made with apples from Boyd’s orchard, and homemade ice cream.
Homemade jams, jellies, and apple butters will be offered to round out breakfast, which is served all day, every day.
The owner of the Right Place, Valerie Flinchum, is already incorporating fresh vegetables into her menu.  She said her cooks serve kabobs made with fresh vegetables, and they also make an oven-roasted vegetable mix. She is planning to serve apple dumplings on Farm Fresh Friday.
Rader’s River Grille will be running a menu special of green beans, new potatoes, fried apples, green tomatoes and pork shops, all bought locally.
Employee Steve Rader said he hadn’t previously given much thought to buying local because it is so easy to open a can of vegetables.
“Let’s see how this goes over,” he said.
Michael’s Restaurant also plans to incorporate fresh ingredients into its menu.  They will be using local cabbage, tomato and cucumbers, for example.
Michael says he thinks it is great to use locally grown food, but supply and convenience are his greatest deterrents.
Thyme on Broadway has a few special dishes planned as well.  Owner Sherry Reams said their tentative menu will include a Caprese salad and a gourmet grilled bacon, tomato and cheese sandwich, plus they will be using fresh ingredients in their regular salads.
Reese said there is a growing market for fresh local food, but the supply is hard to come by. He hopes to see that change.
He also said that even chain stores like Walmart and Kroger are increasingly buying local to sell in their stores.
One of the deterrents to restaurants buying local produce is convenience.  Wholesale companies deliver on a regular schedule, and owners often don’t have a lot of time to seek out local goods.
Both Crawford and Reese hope to see the community support local growers and restaurants.
“This is a pilot idea,” said Crawford, “but we hope to help restaurants build some relationships with local producers.”