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Summary <br />Restaurants offer a viable market channel for farmers, one that offers potential for <br />growth. Increased communications between farmers and chefs—as well as education for <br />both groups—is needed to facilitate this growth. A strong business relationship between <br />chef and farmer is also critical to success in this market. These relationships take time to <br />nurture, but the trust built by them allows farmers to work directly with restaurants <br />without the need for third party certification. Plus restaurants have the opportunity to <br />educate consumers about the value of local food, which could help increase demand for <br />local food. <br />Recommendations <br />1. Build relationships between chefs and farmers through farm to table dinners, <br />educational events and restaurant associations. <br />2. Promote restaurants that support local farmers, as well as the economic benefits of <br />this support, through the communication initiative recommended in Produce <br />Production Recommendations. Promote the CEFS 10% campaign as part of this <br />effort. <br />3. Support micro - aggregators and distribution models that allow farmers to deliver <br />to restaurants without using broad line distribution companies. <br />4. Educate chefs about ways to use whole animals in menu planning, which will <br />enable them to serve local meat economically. <br />C. Food Service Market Channel: Institutions <br />Cabarrus County contributes to funding for the Department of Aging, Kannapolis City <br />and Cabarrus County Schools, and the Cabarrus County Jail. Together these institutions <br />spend more than $3.6 million on food annually.° "' Carolina Medical Center (CMC) <br />Northeast, a privately managed hospital in Concord, is another institution with significant <br />food purchases. <br />This summary includes key points taken from telephone interviews with Cabarrus <br />institutional food buyers, as well as a meeting of County Departments Heads and other <br />County staff working to implement the Local Food Purchasing Policy. Interviewees <br />include Paul Hunt, Michael Murphy, Lundee Covington, Kate Parker, Tina Farmer, John <br />Seidenschmidt, and others who wish to remain anonymous. Questions were designed to <br />establish current food purchasing practices and to identify opportunities and challenges <br />associated with purchasing locally - produced food. <br />Issues and Themes <br />County institutions have relationships with broad line food distributors <br />When purchasing food to serve clients— seniors, students and inmates <br />institutions contract with broad line food distributors. Sysco distributes to the <br />Department of Aging and to the County Jail, and US Foods distributes to the 37 <br />schools in the Cabarrus County School System. The distribution company bids on <br />the contract, which is awarded to the lowest bidder. Fresh Point delivers produce <br />to CMC Northeast, which awards bids based on service and price. <br />19 <br />Attachment number 1 <br />1 -1 Page 254 <br />