On Tuesday, Sept. 24, students eating dinner in Klages Dining Room can take Bon Appétit Management Company’s Eat Local Challenge and enjoy a delicious, 100-percent local meal from our chef’s table expo station.
All ingredients for this meal will come from local farmers and artisans within 150 miles of George Fox; the only exception is salt! The Eat Local Challenge highlights our chefs’ creativity, educates guests about eating locally and seasonally, and supports and publicizes great local farmers.
When Bon Appétit launched its first Eat Local Challenge in 2005, the idea of caring about “local food” was a novelty, not a national movement. The idea behind the annual event was to encourage people to look beyond their supermarket and seek out the bounty of food growing all around them. American Farmland Trust estimates that, in general, of $10 spent on food, only $1.58 gets back to the farmers and ranchers who grew it; middlemen take the rest. By buying directly from local farms, Bon Appétit has played a vital role in the local food movement over the last 14 years.
In addition, Bon Appétit is also sponsoring a national ELC food photography contest. Students and guests that night can take a photo of their 100 percent locally sourced meal on Eat Local Challenge Day, then Tweet or Instagram them along with #eatlocalchallenge. The best photo from all 500-plus cafés across the country will win a $200 gift certificate to a farm-to-table restaurant in their area and signed copies of two new food movement books.
Be sure to check out our menu that night at cafebonappetit.com/georgefox. We hope you enjoy this year’s Eat Local Challenge!