Project Update #3

What dead basil looks like

Last week was the first frost of the year. While covering with a blanket was enough to save most of the plants, basil in particular was a hard hit casualty of the early cold. I learned that basil is very sensitive to frost, so we had to pull up all the plants and try to salvage what green leaves we could for drying and handing off to RPS. Unfortunately, most of the basil leaves had turned a purplish grey color, and had to be thrown in the compost.

Michael Simmons

In other garden news, we recently had a visit from local garden guru Michael Simmons, who taught our Garden Corps group about how to install a drip irrigation system. Currently the corps member take shifts to garden by host or bucket, but the plan is to install a comprehensive drip system by early spring to save both water and labor and still meet all the watering needs of the plants in the garden. In addition to being a patient and effective teacher, Mr. Simmons inspired us all with his cowboy-aesthetic fashion.

Lastly, this week I sat down to speak with Steve Swihart, president of the Bloomington Independent Restaurant Association (BIRA). Following up on my discussion with the Local Growers' Guild, I wanted to get an understanding of how local restaurants view local food, and their attitude to a potential local food hub and distribution network.

According to Steve, the most important thing to restauranteurs is a steady and reliable supply of food, and that would be the most important element of a local food hub. So,  if there were a product that for some reason couldn't be fully supplied on a given week from a local farmer, it would be up to the food hub to source that product, even if from conventional wholesalers. Currently 50-75% of BIRA members are interested in local food sourcing, but without the guarantee of a steady supply it just would not be practical economically for them. Right now Steve is working to get accurate forecasts of the type of demand the food hub could anticipate for local restaurants, but otherwise it is 'wait-and-see' until the food hub is up and operational. BIRA is optimistic about the benefits more local sourcing, both for the boost to restaurant quality and branding through fresher ingredients, and for the contribution to the local economy. Steve cited a study that 82 cents of each dollar go back to the community when a local product is bought, as compared to 51 cents from a national outlet. So although there is slightly more cost upfront, a local food hub could certainly have benefits for many stakeholders in the region.