If you’ve never stopped to ask which township’s chicken your morning omelet came from, you’re not alone. While Woolwich and Wellesley boast bustling farming industries, Foodlink, the St. Jacobs-based resource for regional food producers, has launched a petition to encourage local restaurants to buy and serve Waterloo Region food.
“There are many, many local restaurants that are already really passionate about local food,” said Foodlink board member Jane Barkley. “Sometimes I think it’s a matter of understanding what we have available in our region. Not everybody is necessarily aware of the wealth of resources that we have here in Waterloo Region.”
“Restaurants: Show us your commitment to local food!” is the organization’s newly-launched petition on Change.org, encouraging area restaurants to seek out homegrown foods in farmers’ markets and grocery stores. The petition – which comes with the hashtag #giveuslocal – emphasizes that buying local would help the area’s economy and food system sustainability, and warns that signers will “vote with [their] dollars.”
Aside from supporting the local economy, Barkley stresses the potential health benefits.
“You get into talking about organics and non-genetically-modified foods, and it just opens up a conversation about other things that have health implications. We know more about the food that we’re closer to than we do about food that is shipped to us from far away.”
But if the benefits of buying local are so seemingly obvious, then why do so many restaurants avoid that route?
“There can be any number of reasons,” said Barkley. “There are some obstacles that are process-based. They may have to go through a distributor, supplier or wholesaler, and that decision may be made by a head office.”
But more than anything, she has found that the biggest source of trepidation comes from the fear of higher costs.
“If we’re pushing restaurants to use local food, or there’s a perception – or a reality – that’s it’s more expensive, who’s going to assume that cost? Is it going to be the restaurants or the consumers, and will the consumers go to the restaurants if they have to assume the costs?”
For this reason, Foodlink hopes the petition will be a jumping-off point to discussions between restaurateurs, food producers, and their customers about how best to boost local products.
“It’s important to dispel the myths, but also tackle the reality, so that restaurants don’t feel that they’re being expected to shoulder all of the costs,” said Barkley. “There are definitely community liaisons who are there and willing to support the restaurants that use local food.
“It really is about the community working together and communicating.”
